Why I decided to choose Audit Data Analytics as my niche?
By: Selvyn Allotey
Tags: Accounting, Data Analytics, Assurance, Data Science, Audit

Data Analytics for the Accounting Profession

My Data Analytics Journey

Data Analytics was something I never thought of pursuing back in High School. After hearing about it from a friend of mine, I thought it would mainly involve mathematics and a lot of computer programming which just seemed like a lot of unnecessary stress to be dealing with after High School. Not to mention, I was so bent on learning business so I could eventually start my own business when I got to college.

Upon being enrolling at the University of New Brunswick in September 2019 to the Bachelor of Business Administration program. I began questioning the program I had selected because I was not only able to get by easily by not studying but I felt as though pretty much everything that was being taught was readily accessible in a lot of the books I read in high school.

I thought I was here to be imparted with new knowledge and how to actually establish and run a business but it felt more like I was being taught how to manage someone else’s. In light of this, I decided to look for other programs I could dive into that would challenge me a bit more and also motivate me to do better.

I stumbled across Data Analytics once again but this time in a way that made me more interested in the subject considering the way it had been applied. A twitter user who uses Data Analytics to discuss football players and create interesting visualizations about individuals, the team playing style etc. got me very interested in this topic.

Consequently, I decided to drop the Business Administration and start studying Data Analytics on my own with the help of some online programs like DataCamp. I began studying Data Analytics in October 2020 and I have not looked back since!

My Accounting Journey

After beginning my Data Analytics Journey, my father had tried convincing me from a young age to consider trying the ACCA examination. In hindsight, I probably should have listened to everything he said earlier on because it would have surely saved me some more time now but I believe that’s life and the next best time to do something is now. I began the ACCA examination in December 2020. At the time of this blog, I have completed 2 Examinations of the Applied Knowledge level.

I have been self-learning for the ACCA since I began and I have to say that this qualification should not be taken as something just for accountants but for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the business, financial and even fintech domain. Just by completing two papers, I was able to see how useful the knowledge from this professional body would transform me upon its completion.

Everyone would have a different reason for pursing this qualification. I am not pursuing it to become an accountant but rather to refine my business and financial acumen to help understand the financial impacts of all my Data Analytics projects and convey them better to stakeholders.

Audit Data Analytics

The overlap between Data Analytics and Accounting is heavily associated with Audit & Assurance. By leveraging technology, Data Analytics in this space will more credibility or integrity to the financial information and thus making it even more useful to decision makers.

Considering my educational choices and my passion for both Data Analytics and Accounting, I believe Audit Data Analytics would be the right domain to focus on at this point in my career journey.

Lastly, I will be writing weekly blogs on the top of Audit Data Analytics stringing in Data Analytics and Accounting concepts to educate others who would also be looking to enter this field of Data Analytics.