Developing an entrepreneurial mindset
- Ray Talimio Jr.
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
"A CPA license opens doors. An entrepreneurial mindset transforms opportunities into lasting enterprises."
IN the late 1980s, receiving an invitation to join SGV & Co. was considered a badge of distinction among accounting graduates. The firm actively recruited from leading universities but earning that invitation was never automatic. Applicants underwent a rigorous series of screening examinations and interviews. For graduates from provincial schools, academic performance, including Latin honors, certainly helped. Leadership, communication skills, and active participation in extracurricular activities also counted. Looking back, I believe it was the combination of these qualities that earned me the opportunity to begin my professional journey with one of the country's premier accounting firms.
That invitation was only the beginning.
Not long after joining SGV, one of its client-banks offered me the position of internal audit manager. It was an opportunity too good to pass up. The opportunity to move faster in my career came much earlier than I expected and I decided to seize it. Looking back, I realized that the best career moves are not always measured by how long we stay in one organization but by how prepared we are when opportunity comes.
Years later, my wife, Melanie, and I established our own public accounting practice. Like me, she is a CPA and a former SGV professional. That could have been our destination, but instead it became another beginning.
We kept asking ourselves a simple question: "What else can we build?"
That led us into the pawnshop and jewelry business. To better understand the industry, we organized seminars within our locality together with resource persons from the then Technology and Livelihood Resource Center. Those engagements became valuable learning experiences as we immersed ourselves in the business. We even planned to pursue gemological studies at the Gemological Institute of America in Thailand, but many other opportunities came our way before that plan materialized.
While managing our accounting practice and business ventures, we also explored the direct selling business. Later, I helped my sister-in-law and her classmates organize an information technology company. Through one of our accounting firm's Japanese clients, we secured its first engagement by designing and implementing the client's accounting system. More than 25 years later, the company continues to operate successfully.
Today, my journey has entered another stage. Instead of searching for opportunities, opportunities now find me.
Years of working with investors, entrepreneurs, business organizations and government agencies involved in investments, financing and enterprise development have opened doors to several start-up companies. In many of these ventures, my compensation is no longer professional fees but shares of stock. Investors recognize that experience, credibility, networks and strategic guidance are valuable assets that contribute to a company's success.
Looking back, I realized that the greatest value of becoming a CPA was never confined to preparing financial statements, auditing books, or filing tax returns. It was learning how businesses work. That realization changed my mindset.
To my fellow CPAs, especially the younger members of our profession, I offer this challenge. Do not let your CPA license become the destination of your career. Let it become the foundation.
Build your technical competence, but never stop developing your entrepreneurial mindset. Learn to recognize opportunities. Create businesses instead of simply serving them. Build partnerships. Take calculated risks. Invest in ideas. Create jobs. Help businesses grow. In doing so, you will discover that the true value of a CPA extends far beyond accounting.
The Philippines will always need competent accountants. But it also needs more entrepreneurial CPAs who will build enterprises, create employment, generate wealth, and contribute to nation building.
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Ray G. Talimio Jr. is a national officer of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and an active member of the Association of CPAs in Public Practice.
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