How can I upgrade my accounting skills?
Pervin Malhotra
Q. I have just completed my BCom (Hons) and ‘am keen to upgrade my accounting skills to be able to start working at the earliest. I am reasonably tech-savvy as I had computer science as an additional subject in Class XII. — Akash Dhiman
A. Amongst other professional certifications, here’s something that may really interest you
Managing the entire financial accounting process manually can be a hugely stressful and complex affair for any organisation. And Finance being the most critical part of any business, SAP FI (Financial Accounting) enables and upgrades financial processes and management with ease and accuracy besides enabling the company to review its financial status in real time.
This enables them to keep track of every financial transaction and helps in finance reporting at the end of fiscal year. The external reports generated with the help of SAP FI/Co are increasingly utilised by stockholders, banks, managers, administrators and tax authorities based on their specific requirements. It is easy to integrate Moreover SAP FICO modules can be easily integrated with other modules such as sales, distribution, and material management.
Experienced SAP FI/CO consultants are highly sought after and paid handsomely compared to those specializing in other modules.
To kick-start your career as a SAP FICO consultant, you need to build a strong base that covers all aspects of the SAP FI & SAP CO modules.
Sap Training is constantly updated in line with with the latest technology and methods of operating specific aspects of a business.
But regardless of new technical developments, FICO will always be needed and will continue to attract consultants as it’s the virtual stepping stone to explore and move forward to BPC or SAP HANA for instance.
What is lateral placement?
Q. What is a ‘lateral placement’ in a B-school that we read about in the papers? Why are these candidates offered higher salaries when they have done the same course? — Ira Saxena
A. Instead of having to start out at the entry level (i.e. as a Management Trainee or Asst. Manager), MBAs with relevant tech experience are offered lateral placement at a higher level within their functional area. For instance, an engineer with 3-4 years of experience who is passing out of a good B-school would be placed as a project manager in a manufacturing firm.
Fresh B-school grads usually face stiff competition from their seniors. Companies have shown a definite interest in hiring laterals — that is, people with at least two to five years of experience. Understandably, laterals are also offered higher salaries as compared to freshers because they can hit the ground running and don’t need as much training.
The duration and level of work experience are determined by the company; there’s no hard and fast rule. Latest trends suggest that if you have graduated from a top B-school with minimum 22 months of work experience, you can look forward to a heftier pay package and a challenging work profile that fits you to a T.
Is BCA equivalent to BTech?
Q. I have done BCA followed by PGDCA and MSc (IT). Please tell me whether BCA is equivalent to BTech (Comp Science) and whether all my qualifications put together are equivalent to BTech (IT/Comp Science)? — Shashi Sahni
A. While a three-year BCA is certainly not equivalent to a four-year BE/BTech, there's now an increasing trend to hire BSc (IT) graduates from good colleges for entry-level jobs in programming even at top companies like Infosys, TCS HCL etc (because they come cheaper than engineering graduates and require to be trained by the company in either case).
As for the sum total of your qualifications being equivalent to a BE/BTech, the answer is yes for all practical purposes. As far as employment is concerned companies will test you on your basic knowledge.
Scope in emergency medicine
Q. I am doing my MBBS from Rohtak. What are the prospects in emergency medicine in India? — Kulbhushan Kwatra
A. After doing your MD in emergency medicine, you could be treating someone with a broken hip at this moment and rush to deliver a premature baby the next. From operating an automatic defibrillator to conducting a pulmonary testing procedure, this jack-of-all-trades is in charge of life and death in a job that allows no room for mistakes. The only person above you is God.
The sharp rise in accident and trauma-related injuries has underscored the significance of the “golden hour” in medical circles all over the world. As you must be aware, the chances of survival are the highest if timely emergency treatment is provided within the critical first hour of impact or injury.
Typically what happens is that each time a patient with a particular injury is brought in, the related specialist (from medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, gynaecology or neurosurgery) is hailed, resulting in loss of valuable time. Further time is wasted in moving the patient from the emergency room to the concerned department.
With an Emergency medicine department and specialists in place, the patient can get all possible treatment including surgery right away — virtually on the spot.
Apart from the complex challenges and professional satisfaction of fighting life and death situations, the best part is that there are numerous opportunities in this field. Today, emergency medical professionals are required not only in hospitals but also on board ships, railways, airlines, as part pat of the disaster management teams, pre-hospital emergency development and high risk sectors as well as in mass casualty situations.
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