ACCA’s leading industry professionals – Rathnakala Kumaragurunathan

In recent times, the traditional perception of a finance professional has changed dramatically, reflecting an evolution of the role itself – a broadening of the employment spectrum, and individuals themselves opting to enhance their otherwise number- crunching confined profiles within organisations.

One such progressive finance professional is Rathnakala Kumaragurunathan ( Rathi), Associate Director – Head of Training & Knowledge Management at Acuity Knowledge Partners who believes the finance profession scope has evolved and is now vast with individuals having greater opportunity to play more diverse roles. Rathi is also a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants.

“The finance profession has changed from what it used to be, by leaps and bounds. In a conventional way, finance is a profession that looks at a person playing a backward role or someone just playing a numbers game. But that has dramatically changed today,” says Rathi.

She added that one of the key reasons for this is possibly due to a widening of the scope of the role to meet today’s business demands and the availability of more options within the industry, supplemented with more strategic roles and opportunities available in other spheres like in investment research, capital markets, digitization and even coding.

Rathi started her journey in the finance profession some 13 years ago by taking on a role as an investment research analyst at Amba Research (now Acuity Knowledge Partners). She played different roles supporting many clients on both buy- side and sell- side research over her tenure. At present, she oversees the training and development function of the organization, putting her skills and extensive experience into good use by nurturing talent of the future within the field of finance.

An analytical mind also doesn’t necessarily mean that such individuals don’t have or cannot have a creative side. Rathi says it’s important to balance the two as the learnings and insights gained from leisure activities, hobbies, or passion will always add value to your core role.

“I was fortunate that from a young age I had other interests apart from academics. One such interest was Indian classical dancing ( Bharathanatyam), which has given me that mental fortitude to push myself to do a little bit more and overcome challenges I may face along the way,” she says.

And her passion and adventures for non- finance related interests continue. Rathi has recently found a new passion of fitness and boxing, which she says has further shaped her career in finance, especially during the prevalent challenging times shrouded by the adverse effects of the COVID- 19 pandemic. “This has helped me to manage pressure better and see challenges in a better light, which is a great way to balance and manage my work and life ” she added.

Ms.Nilusha Ranasinghe , Head of ACCA added “Global trends are transforming the world of work and reshaping the future of the accountancy profession. Careers in the profession are adapting with the requisite skills being transformed and learning opportunities evolving as the profession takes center stage in building sustainable businesses for the future. Rathi is a strong example of this and is a leading member of ACCA. “

She added “gaining the ACCA qualification can give a person’s career a boost and open doors to more varied and senior roles. The skills gained through the qualification can really help set you apart from others in the industry and impress pro s p e c t ive employers who value and respect our qualification. Therefore adding the ACCA qualifications to your CV can make you a truly valuable asset to any organization. “