INTERNATIONAL CAREERS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE AND CONSULTING

TITLE: INTERNATIONAL CAREERS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE AND CONSULTING

Date: November 7th, 2015

Location:  Chiba University of Commerce (CUC)

Key people:

- Lecturer: Dr. Matthias Kipping, Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada.

- Welcoming speaker: Dr. Miyuki Aso, Vice president of CUC

- Chair: Dr. Hiromitsu Takemi, Dean of GSAF at CUC

- Interpreter: Dr. Masumi Nakashima, Professor at GSAF at CUC

- Moderator: Dr. Mikiko Watabe, Professor at GSAF at CUC

Attendance: About 80 attendees including IGSAP and CUC students, professors and administration staffs.

Concept: To assist graduate students in promoting themselves as international actors profiles through enhancing their technical skills by other behavioral and communication skills.

WRAP UP SUMMARY:

After a great welcoming speech from the vice-president of CUC, Mr. Miuki Aso and the chair, Mr. Hiromitsu Takemi, The commemorative lecture started by a self-introduction and background presentation in which Dr. Matthias Kipping highlighted his international background through his studies in France, USA and Germany and his transnational career positions in six counties and three continents, and then about his current position in Schulich School of Business in Canada; this was to point out that an international career is challenging and rewarding in both personal and professional levels.

The second point treated in this lecture is the current context of financial, accounting and consulting services called “Advanced services” by the lecturer. He pointed out that these advanced services have had some difficult times in the last ten years, but despite these problems they are still growing they remaining as strong industry through examples of the tremendous growth of some international banks and consulting firms, highlighting through the example of -growth by activity within the Big 4- that the consulting services are driving more importantly this growth. In the other hand from another perspective, these advanced services are attracting more than the half of business schools students. Finally we can understand clearly that these advanced services are the backbone of the worldwide economy.

The manufacturing industry has a business model based essentially on making a core model or a blueprint and then take it and put it in other countries (example of Toyota), or in case of a more complicated companies like Apple or Boeing who have an integration role to play, the task is not easy since it necessitates crucially an intercultural management effort to succeed in playing this key role (the example of how Airbus succeeded to become a leader through a good regional cooperation in Europe). In contrast, the service industry necessitates an additional variable to be considered which is the relationship or more importantly the trust building; to succeed in it; there are some understanding and communication skills that have to be developed as much as possible. In this regard, Dr. Matthias Kipping has pointed out some differences between societies (High context and low context societies) in developing these cross-cultural skills.

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