Photo Caption: NUS Global Merit Scholarship recipient Shane Lim says that despite 2020 being a tough year for students due to the disruptions, he feels that his course has placed him in a good position to tackle what lies ahead.

By Gilbert Wong

Beyond just wreaking havoc on economies around the world, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has also made the operating environment more challenging for businesses. Financial reporting is now more challenging.

Mr Shane Lim, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration (Accountancy) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) under the NUS Global Merit Scholarship, believes that the role of an accountant is becoming even more crucial in such times.

To help businesses navigate out of troubled waters, he notes that accountants now need to have a good balance of business sense and leadership abilities. These are qualities he hopes his NUS degree will help him develop. 

“It is of essence for us to be able to grasp the quantitative and qualitative aspects of numbers to ensure effective data-driven decision-making,” the 21-year-old says. 

“Accountancy, also known as ‘the language of business’, allows one to not only understand financial and economic information, but to also effectively communicate such information to stakeholders and the public.”

He adds that his undergraduate course has given him a unique learning experience, as it provides a strong foundation of business knowledge from a myriad of domains. 

“The course not only hones my technical competency in accountancy, but also develops my transferable skills in terms of leadership, communication and management,” he says.

Beyond the classroom

Mr Lim had the opportunity to help his fellow students improve their financial literacy and industry knowledge when he served as a technical lead at NUS Invest Fiesta 2020 – the NUS Investment Society’s flagship event – which was held as a webinar last October.

During the three-day event, he was part of a team that brought in various industry professionals to provide valuable insights on the financial industry, such as investment methodologies and the fintech industry. 

Though 2020 has been a tough year for many students, Mr Lim feels that his course has placed him in a good position to tackle what lies ahead. 

He believes that he has experienced and learnt from “the best of both worlds”, having taken formal classes that provide a familiar sense of structure and online learning which has pushed him out of his comfort zone and challenged him to embrace self-directed learning.

“It is important that we embrace such challenges to grow as individuals and to excel in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world,” he says.

Visit https://nus.edu/freshmenscholarship for more information.