SBM3101: Exploring My Career Path Through Professional Development

This essay, submitted for SBM3101, focuses on a student's chosen career path, specifically in accounting. The student identifies the required subjects, including economics, statistics, accounting, management, and finance, and discusses their relevance to the accounting profession. The essay highlights skill requirements, both hard and soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and data analysis. A gap analysis identifies areas for improvement, like time management and ethical frameworks. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of career planning, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting further certifications to enhance career prospects in the accounting field, aligning with the growing demands of business and commerce.

SBM3101 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Introduction
Choice of own career path is a critical aspect in a student's life as the process involves
consideration of lots of factors that are both internal and external to the students. Such
choice and finalisation of own career path depend largely on the student's own strength
and weakness and most importantly inclination towards the specific subject or subject
sets which he or she may excel in the future. On the other hand, the market trend in
terms of job opportunity and growth potential for a specific and intended career is also
an important consideration in order to choose a finalise career. Researchers have
argued that such choice is largely driven by the theories of personal and professional
development and hence it may be interesting to identify the same from own perspective
of the researcher.
The instant essay delves into the discussion of own career path as chosen by the
researcher for own self from the context of the relevant theoretical framework. At the
very outset of the study, the researcher has identified the subjects he needs to complete
in order to complete his own study. Such identification will involve the detailed
description of the subjects one needs to complete to achieve the chosen career and
also the subjects which might be studied in future for the purpose of professional
development. In the subsequent sections of the paper, the researcher has discussed
the skills required to achieve the intended career. Furthermore, the researcher has also
identified the gaps in subjects and also the skills in the context of own chosen subjects
and skill sets. Based on the discussion, the researcher finally provides a

recommendation for own career and wraps up the discussion by way of concluding
note.
Professional Development and Business Communication
Identification of Subjects
In order to initiate career planning, it is important to identify the subjects which the
researcher needs o undergo in order to complete his own courses which are enrolled in
currently. Since the course is of business studies, all the subjects will relate to business
and commerce and are briefly enumerated herein.
Economics: The student will need to learn both micro and macroeconomics. In
microeconomics, the student will learn the economic theories like the law of demand,
supply, production and also the concept of market and competition etc. On the other
hand, macroeconomics section will focus on the application of those theories in the
national context. For example, the researcher will be able to learn the Australian
Government’s monetary and fiscal policy, nature of the market prevailing in the country,
unemployment, inflation etc.
Business statistics: Statistics is a core subject rooted in almost all kinds of subjects in
terms of its applications. In the given course, the students will learn the concept of
mean, median, mode, standard deviation, regression analysis, time series and
forecasting technique etc.
Foundation of accounting: Accounting is one of the core subjects in the given course.
The students will be able to learn the concept of accounting theories, journal, ledger,

trial balance, preparation of financial statements, rectification and adjustment to the
financial statements etc.
Fundamentals of management: Here, the students will study the basics and theories
of management, the concept of entrepreneurship, essence of organisational behaviour
etc.
Human resource management: This is another core subject in the unit wherein the
students will learn the different aspects of HRM like employee motivation, rewarding
and appraisal, recruitment and selection, staffing etc.
Accounting for business development: The course is divided into few parts and
focuses on the goodwill valuation and business, consolidation, merger and acquisition,
cost derivative accounting, accounting, management accounting marginal costing and
standard costing, variance analysis etc.
Managing people and organization: This is an extended part of HRM wherein the
students may focus on the organisational behaviour in terms of cultural diversity,
inclusion, organisational culture etc.
Marketing foundation: This is another core subject which will lay down the foundation
of the marketing concept in the field of pricing, promotion, market analysis, branding etc,
Fundamental of business finance: This course will focus on the financing and
fundraising aspects of the business by discussing the capital structure, cost of capital,
dividend policy, working capital management etc.

Business strategies: Discussion ion strategies will be limited to few widely applied
strategies such as blue ocean strategy, competitive advantage, cost leadership, product
differentiation, SWOT and PESTLE framework, Porter’s Five Forces model etc.
Management skills: This is primarily a soft skill part of the course where the students
will enable themselves to develop their communication skills. The same will involve
writing skills, oral skills, team bonding skills, analytical skills etc.
Innovation and entrepreneurship: Lastly, the given subject focuses on the concept of
entrepreneurship and different leadership theories along with their practical application
in the business context.
Identification of Gaps in Subjects
The preceding section of the essay provides a brief description of the subjects the
researcher will need to undergo in the given study program. However, the researcher
has chosen the career of “Accountant” in future and therefore, the subjects taught in
the program will be of great help for him. Moreover, the course program focuses on the
accounting paper which may be substantiated from the above mentioned subject lists
also where accounting related themes occupy substantial space.
As far as the job market in Australia is concerned, the same is extremely competitive
and hence it is expected that the same will provide ample opportunity as well for the
perspective and able students who can apply their knowledge they have garnered
during their study programs in terms of the business context (Chen and Huang, 2017).
In terms of accounting courses in the given study program, it may be stated that the
courses have been designed in an extremely strategic manner in order to give the

students an overall idea about the accounting discipline followed by the detailed
analysis and evolution of the intricacies of subjects. Corporate reporting is one of the
most success-critical aspects of the businesses and hence, it is wise to consider the
career of an accountant in future which will leverage the benefit of knowledge of
accounting in the practical field (Wehmeyer et al 2018).
However, CPAs are generally considered to be experts in the given field and hence it
may be wise to undertake such course in future, by way of company-sponsored course.
Alternatively, the certification courses on accounting theories, IFRS, Australian GAAP,
merger and acquisition, business reconstruction, insolvency, insurance and brand
valuation may also be considered as these areas are booming and it is expected that
the rapid and sustainable growth in the corporate accounting will significantly enlarge
the job opportunities in the respective fields as well (McIlveen, Perera and Blustein,
2018). Lastly, the courses on MYOB software and other accounting software may also
be considered by the researcher as initially the candidates will be generally required to
start their career with data keeping and transaction recording in order to support the
accounting functions of the corporate houses (Vondracek, Lerner and Schulenberg,
2018).
Identification of Skills
The preceding sections of the essay discuss the ‘hard skills’ required to complete the
study programs. However, it is also to be noted that ‘soft skills’ are equally important
and success-critical for the students to succeed in their professional life and therefore, it
is utmost necessary to identify the soft skills needed to apply the knowledge so earned

in the practical field in an efficient manner. The researcher underscores the importance
of interpersonal skills, including normally-expected verbal communication skills, that
are learnt as part of the course curriculum. It has been noted that oral skills including
group and public speaking, is extremely important for any job applicants (be it a job
interview or be its formal client presentation through PPT). In addition, the accountant
may need to write several reports as part of the organisations’ MIS (management
information system) to senior management (McMahon, 2016). Therefore, business
writing skills also play a significant role in the skill development process. Every
employee are needed to work in a group and understanding the group dynamic is also
the need of the hour and hence, team-working skills also assume its implication
accordingly. As the aspirants grow in the corporate ladder, it may be needed to
undertake the charge of management by managing teams and recruiting the workforce
(Vansteenkiste, Aelterman, De Muynck, Haerens, Patall and Reeve, 2018). Therefore,
the students should hone their job-interview skills as well. However, the same may be
viewed from an employee’s perspective also. In the initial days, graduates are to
sharpen their interview facing skills to get through the interview. The same may also
be linked with resume writing skills as a professionally written resume as the same
may act as a marketing document for prospective job applicants (Passarelli, 2016).
Finally, an accountant, it is important to analyse the data in a spreadsheet and hence
the technical skill relate to data processing and presentation with analysis may also be
kept into the consideration in developing the intended skill sets.

Identification of Gaps in Skills
In the final part of the essay, the researcher will aim to identify the gaps in the aforesaid
skills from an individual perspective. It is needless to mention that all these skills, as
stated above, are extremely critical for the students to acquire and develop with the
passage of time. However, the role of the accountant may demand certain other skills
like time management skills which are very critical for the successful execution of given
tasks and responsibilities. In fact, the said skill is needed in almost all kinds of jobs
irrespective of the designation and functions assigned (McIlveen, Perera and Blustein,
2018). Moreover, the ethical framework should be strong for the accountants who are
especially intending to secure the jobs of treasurer or cashier. They will be responsible
for handling cash at times, hence deal with book profit figure, It has been often
observed accountants are involved in misappropriation of funds and hence, it is required
to get trained on the process as to how to build a sound ethical mindset (Faris, 2018).
Conclusion
Based on the discussion and analysis performed in the preceding sections of the essay,
it may be construed that the identification of own career path and subjects and skill sets
is a tricky affair and consists of several considerations as stated herein. The accounting
profession has been extremely growing profession and expectedly the marker for the
same will continue to grow in future in line with the development and expansion of
business and commerce all over the world (Chen and Huang, 2017). In such a context,
it is wise to undertake accounting as a profession. In short, choice and justification are
apt and logical. However, there are certain certification courses that may enhance the

skills, knowledge and abilities of the researcher in the job fair and hence it is suggested
to undertake the same once the given course of business study is completed (Brockett
and Hiemstra, 2018). Finally, it may therefore be concluded that a well-designed carer
panning identifying own strength and weakness in the respective and chosen subject
field may contribute significantly towards a successful career and thereby help the
individual students to achieve their own aims and objectives of a sustainable career in
the future and in the long run in most efficient manner (Baruch, Szűcs and Gunz, 2015).

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