Participating in the 2025 ACCA National Employability and Future Business Innovation Competition (formerly the ACCA Job Hunting Competition) was one of the highlights of my university experience. Organized by ACCA China, the nationwide competition develops students' employability through real-world business case analysis, presentations, and professional assessments. My team won the Changsha Regional Championship, and I was honored to receive the Best Individual Award.

The competition, first established in 2004, brought together thousands of students from universities across China and challenged participants to tackle complex business issues rather than purely technical accounting tasks. The cases my team worked on were not about bookkeeping, journal entries, or preparing financial statements. Instead, they focused on business strategy in the online language-learning industry and ESG-related challenges facing modern organizations

To many people outside the profession, this may come as a surprise.

As an accounting student, I have often encountered a common perception: accounting is mainly about recording transactions, preparing reports, and dealing with numbers behind a desk. Some even describe it as a profession with high responsibility, long working hours, and relatively limited rewards. These views are especially common among high school students, first-year university students, and sometimes even parents helping young people make career decisions.

Yet my experience in both academic and professional settings has shown me a very different reality: The accounting profession is becoming increasingly connected to business strategy, technology, sustainability, and decision-making.

The challenge facing China today is not simply attracting talent into the profession—it is closing the gap between perception and reality.