Dr Ishani Chandrasekara is Programme Director for our Accountancy BSc. She was the first person in her family to go to university, receiving a full scholarship, before working at PwC Sri Lanka. She came to the UK to complete postgraduate and doctoral studies, and has since taught on degree programmes across the world.
What or who inspired you to pursue your studies in accountancy?
When I was a child, my father often talked about the importance of education. He finished secondary school and learnt to write, read, and speak in English all by himself, which was just enough for him to work as a graphite mine officer to support our living.
He said to me “you have to educate yourself; we don’t know what that might look like for you, but you’ve got to go and do that.” Twenty years ago, I made a simple promise to myself: wherever I go, I will uphold his values. My father didn’t know the term ‘accountant’, but he wanted me to become good at managing money. Over the years, I’ve gained a deep appreciation of learning from people both wiser and more experienced than myself.
How do you think your education has influenced the person you are today?
It was a great experience to go to university and to work on my vision of success. I am so grateful to my teachers, lectures, professors, and mentors who shared their professional knowledge with me. When I first started my undergraduate studies, the thought of everything that would need to be accomplished to make it happen was so overwhelming. I remembered feeling this way with the first assignment, and it was something I tackled all the way through to doing my doctoral studies in the UK.
My supervisor said, “just break your work down into smaller sections and focus on one small thing at a time.” As English wasn’t my first language, there were small daily actions I took to make things easier, such as making a list of reading to do, and doing little bits of research on each topic at a time. If I hadn’t started with the small steps, I think it would have been too overwhelming to even try, and my dreams would have never been brought to life."
What have the highlights of your career been so far?
I was recently invited to design and launch an undergraduate accountancy programme, in partnership with accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW). I wanted to understand what a programme in partnership with a 'big four’ professional services firm would look like, and how it could inspire and support our accounting students to make a difference. Our ambition was both exciting and daunting. A lot of critical thinking and leadership skills were required, as well as extensive collaboration with the ICAEW and PwC teams, visits to local schools, and gathering feedback from students and graduates. The programme is now recruiting students for the first intake, and I am very excited to serve as the Programme Director.
What advice do you have for young women who may worry that accounting is a male-dominated field?
I am very aware of this situation and my advice to young women is to be yourself, as I think there is so much power in authenticity, diversity, and confidence. As in any other profession, use your strong voice and platform to make a difference on issues that really matter to you, your profession, and to society. Valuing differences leads to better outcomes and that's why we at Queen Mary are focused on making a difference.
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