INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 61
MEMBER PROFILE
// C A R E E R PAT H
STORY CAROLINE ZIELINSKI
PASSPORT TO
OPPORTUNITIES
MOHAMED (MO) ALMULLA CPA FOLLOWED HIS FATHER’S ADVICE ABOUT
THE WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITY THAT ARISES FROM AN ACCOUNTING
DEGREE, AND IS NOW ENJOYING THE DIVERSE AND INTERESTING CAREER
PATH THAT HAS FOLLOWED.
I
t was his father’s meteoric rise from an
accountant at EY to the chief executive
auditor of a major bank in Bahrain that
made Mohamed (Mo) Almulla CPA choose
accounting as his major.
The 34-year-old, who now holds the role of
relationships director with Judo Bank, started
his commerce degree at Griffith University in
Brisbane intent on getting the most out of it
– which, according to his father, meant
focusing on accounting.
“An accounting degree is the most flexible
degree you can do,” Almulla recalls his father
saying. “If you do that, you can work in-house,
you can work in auditing, financing, banking.”
After completing the course in 2008,
Almulla – who was an international student at
the time – applied for permanent residency in
Australia. However, the global financial crisis
(GFC) made it impossible for him to find work,
so he returned to Bahrain for a stint with
KPMG to gain some work experience.
“After a year, I came back to Australia and
got an office manager and accounting role at
a mining services company in Brisbane, where
I cut my teeth and learned how to do
bookkeeping, budgeting, etc.,” he says.
BIG DREAMS
Almulla’s career in professional services started
in earnest at advisory firm KordaMentha, where
he worked as senior analyst on large restructure
projects in the post-GFC era, including managing
property restructures and doing due diligence
reports for lenders.
However, his big dream had always been to
work in a bank. With a few years of experience
under his belt, Almulla was able to turn a chat
over coffee into his next big opportunity.
“I ended up joining ANZ at the emerging
corporate division in Brisbane as an assistant
manager, lending money to businesses
looking to borrow between A$10 million
and A$40 million,” he says.
“I got a lot of experience assessing financials
from a lender’s point of view, assisting
businesses achieve their financial goals with
debt solutions.”
It was here that Almulla strengthened his
interpersonal and managerial skills –
something he realised is invaluable to the
modern accountant.
“Relationships became a big part of my role,
and I learned to deal with people and manage
different clients,” he says. “After one and a half
years, I was ready to move up, and became
relationship manager in the same division of
ANZ, but in the Melbourne branch.”
NETWORKING FOR SUCCESS
Two years with Judo Bank have now provided
Almulla with experience at a smaller company,
proving what Almulla had known all along –
that an accounting degree can lead to a
diverse and interesting career path.
However, Almulla warns that, in today’s
technology-dominated world, simply relying
on number skills will not be enough to cut
through.
“For a long time, accountants were in high
demand, but now they’re dealing with so
much more competition, technological
platforms and outsourcing that demand has
dropped significantly,” he points out. “People
need to distinguish themselves with
something else.”
This is where networking and people skills
come in.
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
A good accountant does more than
just numbers and compliance. He or
she is a business adviser
and a trusted member of the team.
“The best thing accountants can do now
is focus on business development and
networking. The people I see succeed in
accounting make an effort to know the key
people, to know their customers.”
The new generation of consumers want a
“good experience, to deal with people who
care, who return their calls”, Almulla says,
which doesn’t necessarily mean seeking
instant gratification in your role.
“The accountant who takes an interest in
your business, who becomes a trusted adviser
and who remembers your kids’ names is going
to be the one who becomes indispensable to
a client,” he says.
For those starting their degree, Almulla offers
the following advice – always keep an open mind
and don’t be afraid of asking questions. This also
applies for new graduates.
“Ask to do more than your job involves,” he
says, “to see what other opportunities there are
out there.
“Sometimes people get stuck in a role and
just do the one thing for a long time, and
that’s a problem if they’re ever out of a job,
as it’s hard for them to pivot.”
To build a successful accountancy career,
it always helps to think broadly.
“It’s about getting to know the businesses you
work with inside out, becoming a sounding board
and identifying the pain points,” he says.
intheblack.com October 2021 61