“People’s understanding of what accounting encompasses is limited to financial statements and financial transactions. However, it is way deeper than that and far more entertaining. This leaves me to say that this major can open up diversified career paths to anyone pursuing it, especially at this age. The technical, analytical, and critical skills accounting offers are a cornerstone to survive in today’s market.” – Veronica Micheal, accounting and finance graduating senior. 

Accounting is one of the most popular majors among AUC students, but what makes it so attractive? We talked to our students to find out.

Sarah Sherif, an undergraduate junior, is the classic ‘numerophile.’ “I chose to major in accounting as I love numbers and transactions,” she said. But for her, it is also a little more than that. “I would like to be like my father as he is my role model, and he is an accountant, too,” she expressed.

Similarly, Micheal, an accounting and finance graduating senior, explained how her love for accounting goes way back. “Since high school, accounting has been one of the very rare courses I enjoyed studying. I was sure there is something worth digging deeper into and completing a bachelor degree on,” she stated.  

On a different note, graduating senior Miral Fahmy told us how she got to major in accounting: “I chose accounting because the first introductory course I took has captured me, and when I proceeded with more accounting courses (before declaring my major) I found that it matches my mindset and is perfect for me.”

For Fahmy, majoring in accounting is important because of the wide variety of options it offers its graduates in the job market. “In addition, nowadays markets are in a fast dynamic state, which makes accounting one of the main anchors to regulate these fast changes and accommodate it to be beneficial for both the investors and users,” she elaborated.

“This major will allow me to have many job opportunities in the future, such as working in top well-known accounting firms or companies or banks,” confirmed Sherif.

Regarding possible career paths for accounting graduates, Veronica admitted that she only had a basic awareness of what she could pursue by majoring in accounting. Still, through her four-year journey at the School, she discovered where she wanted to be, ending up far beyond where she initially had in mind. 

“Definitely, accounting is affecting my career choice not just now after four years, but from the very beginning. I was able to enter local competitions held by important stakeholders in the field, win them, and build a strong foundation based on what the real market entails,” she highlighted. 

Veronica’s passion for accounting pushed her to be the vice president of the AUC Accounting Association. “I help those who are still lost to where they want to be, because I am sure this journey is worth every bit of realization to their dream milestones,” she told us.

“I think that I have learned a lot from this major – not only the academic content, but accounting also helped me in creating a mindset that is adaptive to many sudden situations and how to critically think about every situation I face in my daily life. Moreover, the professors at the department, almost all of them are real life practitioners, which gives us as students a glimpse of real business life and how everything in reality works,” expressed Miral.

But what does the future of accounting look like? According to Sherif, accounting will not disappear and will not be replaced by technology. She believes that information technology and artificial intelligence will ease the accountant's job, but they will not replace it. 

Bonus round: Double majoring in accounting and finance

Veronica is both an accounting and finance major. She shared with us why this was something that she chose to do and what combining these disciplines offer to her studies and her career: 

“The whole story started from attending a session of the ‘Alumni Talks’ suggested by my professors. During the talk, one of the alumni said: ‘accounting is the kitchen to any firm’, which lightened up for me the question of why not to double major in accounting as well. Now, standing a few months away from my graduation, I can confidently say that I have an edge over my finance colleagues. I am now able to understand what comes to me from the bottom of the iceberg because I have spent a lot in the kitchen.” 

Learn more about the Accounting major at AUC School of Business here.

The American University in Cairo's (AUC) School of Business recently hosted a group of undergraduate students from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs (SIPA) on campus for an undergraduate study tour.

The trip was part of a cultural exchange between AUC and Princeton, focusing on Egypt and Africa, tailored specifically to SPIA students. Students attended educational sessions on topics related to labor markets, developing human capital and innovation practices with a focus on the region's entrepreneurship ecosystem. They also met with public officials from the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) to discuss issues related to financial inclusion and women's access to finance, in addition to direct talks with young entrepreneurs and NGO leaders.

Field trips to the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Islamic and Coptic Cairo, Moez Street and Khan El-Khalili, and the Giza Pyramids were part of the program as well.

On the first day, students attended lectures on labor markets and human capital as well as challenges in the region featuring Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim, associate professor of operations management, and Dina Abdel Fattah, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Economics.

Next, they visited the Central Bank of Egypt and attended a talk by top executives in the financial inclusion sector on financial inclusion policies and the bank's initiatives to promote them. The students with Khaled Bassiouny, general manager of the bank's financial inclusion department, Sally Abdel Kader, general manager of the financial literacy department, Hani El-Banhawy head of SMEs banks strategies, and Mohamed Fayez, head of entrepreneurship and non-financial services.

Finally, the students attended a talk by Deputy Executive Director and Head of Planning and International Cooperation of MSMEDA Tarek Shash, who discussed the agency's ongoing efforts in financing and establishing a supportive environment for small and micro enterprises, spreading the culture of entrepreneurship, and implementing community development programs and labor-intensive public projects that contribute to employability, poverty alleviation, and improved living standards.

The visit is part of the school's internationalization efforts, which aim to place the school as the top destination for business education in the Middle East and Africa.

After spearheading its launch during the School of Business Business Forum in 2022, the school hosted the first Annual General Meeting of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (UNPRME) Chapter Africa at the AUC New Cairo campus on January 11.

The hybrid meeting provided a forum to discuss the strategic direction of the chapter and was followed by a session discussing the Implications of COP27 on Responsible Management Education in Africa.

“This meeting and what PRME represents reflect what AUC School of Business is all about. Also, all those attending the first annual meeting reflect their support and endorsement to the importance of responsible business,” said Dean Sherif Kamel. “Across Africa, our beloved continent, of course we have our differences but also we have our similarities and I believe that the PRME Chapter Africa is a platform where we can work together and learn from each other,” he added.

The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) is an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact. This global intergovernmental organization calls on the private sector to take action and contribute to social and environmental needs as expressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Complementary to and in support of this call to business, the focus of PRME is to build awareness of sustainability and the SDGs at business schools and universities around the world by integrating the SDGs into the teaching, research and practices of these institutions.

“PRME is a wonderful example of a United Nations initiative that actually shows the strong force from the global community,” highlighted Mette Morsing, head of PRME Secretariat.

The aim is to ensure that current and future business leaders have the knowledge and capabilities they need to make decisions that balance economic priorities with social and environmental imperatives to deliver positive change and create a better world for all.

“Business education is the most popular field in the world, we have a huge responsibility regarding how we teach young future leaders,” expressed Morsing.

PRME Chapter Africa aims at bringing PRME closer to the needs, aspirations, challenges and opportunities that are unique to African countries at a local and regional level. PRME Chapter Africa offers a specific platform for dialogue, learning, and action on responsible management, leadership education, and research in Africa, for Africa, by Africans.

“We have to think about our purpose while seeking guidance from other PRME chapters and those that have more experience working with PRME," commented Mumbi Wachira, professor at Strathmore University Business School and vice-chair PRME Chapter Africa.

“We wanted different programs and disciplines including business, economics, and political sciences to embed responsible management and SDGs within their Intended Learning Objectives (ILOs) one way or another,” continued Hadia FakhrEldin, professor at British University in Cairo (BUE) Faculty of Business Administration, Economics and Political Science, and CSC member, PRME Chapter Africa.

This new venture supports and promotes meaningful action towards tackling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through cooperation and partnerships between business schools and universities across Africa.

“To achieve PRME Chapter Africa’s mandate with only our member schools and those on the committee in their individual capacity, our efforts would be very limited, this is why strategic partnerships are essential,” stressed Cobus Oosthuizen, professor at Milpark Business School, and Chapter Steering Committee (CSC) member, PRME Chapter Africa.

In addition to the panel discussion, the meeting also witnessed the announcement of the winner of the 2022 PRME Global Students Sustainability Awards - Africa, which went to The Sustainability Club from Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. This year’s winning club demonstrated a strong commitment to SDG 15, which looks to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation halt biodiversity loss, as well as humanitarian aid.

Hosting the event, which was attended by over 114 physical and virtual participants from 14 countries from around the African continent and the world, comes in line with the School’s efforts in fostering collaborations within the region for the betterment of business and management education and thought leadership.

Find out more about PRME Chapter Africa here.