Boonsiri Somchit-Ong is happy to admit that her career choice was a shock to her parents.
Even at school, Boon dreamed of becoming an accountant but coming from a family of teachers, her father wanted her to follow in the footsteps of her brothers and sisters.
'When I told them that I had signed up to do CIMA, they were surprised. They had no idea what that was,' she chuckles. 'But even at a very young age I’d set my heart on doing something related to money and business.'
Today, Boon plays a key role in the management of AMD's global accounting and financial services organisation (GAFS), one of the first global shared service centres in Malaysia.
She is responsible for ensuring that her 200-strong global team delivers first class accounting services support for the company's entire global network, so travelling is a major part of her work.
'We have GAFS staff located in Germany, the US, Canada, Singapore and China and I try to visit them as often as I can, to ensure that I get to hear any issues and concerns from them personally. Meeting with my staff also allows me to give them updates on what is happening within our organisation, so that we as the global team stay aligned at all times.'
Although Boon now has many years of experience under her belt, she believes her CIMA qualification created an ideal foundation for her career.
'CIMA was the only qualification that provided a broad business perspective and showed me how finance fits into the bigger picture. CIMA made me think and question everything,' she explains.
The shared service centre recently launched an accountancy training scheme and 18 trainees are currently being supported through their CIMA studies. In-house tuition is provided and exam fees are paid – as long as the papers are passed.
Although she turned her back on a career in teaching, Boon is keen to help her staff reach their full potential.
'My major challenge now is to work out how to motivate my team and how to coach and mentor them to become global citizens and the future leaders of AMD.'
