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"All businesses need an accountant, no matter how small they are. They have to be secure at the bottom line," says Jenny. She believes an ACCA qualified accountant stands out from the crowd: "ACCA provides up-to-date skills and an overall broader view of business."

Since gaining membership in 1998, Jenny has worked her way up to become CFO of Nike Taiwan, with spells at Nike Inc. in the US and Nike China: "I chose ACCA, because it is an international accountancy body. I really enjoy travelling and with an international qualification under my belt, I hoped this would improve my self confidence, and enable me to develop my career overseas," she says.

She continues: "ACCA gave me access to the accounting profession. It equipped me with many skills, financial analysis, communication, team and project management."

Jenny encourages others to take their first steps in accountancy: "I studied mostly on my own, with some tutorial support. Effective time management was essential but I made sure I took time out to read and practise yoga which helps me to relax."

Jenny has strong feelings about the future of the profession. Since Enron, accountants have had to work hard to "re-establish the public trust through improved accounting standards, governance and self discipline." But she suggests that a number of significant developments can help in this, such as, how to manage the triple-bottom line and social and environmental accounting, can all help.

In the future, Jenny predicts that: "many basic accounting tasks will become automated by the introduction of computerised systems and programmes. But this will create more opportunities for accounting professionals to broaden their skills and contribute more to the management the whole business."