FA3
Being a business major I interviewed Richard Monahan, the former financial
controller of the London branch of UBS banking. Richard is a friend of my dad’s and I was
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to skype with him on the 1st of March. The purpose
of my skype call was to gain knowledge on what finance and accounting are like in the
professional world. I am currently trying to make a decision on what my concentration within
the business major should be and this assignment provided the much needed motivation for
me to gain some useful information. Richard is an extremely reliable source, I was shocked
with his extensive résumé; He has had 30 years in the field of finance and accounting across
six different countries and five different industries. This made for a very interesting interview
and gave me an amazing chance to gain valuable knowledge on the forms and importance of
communication within finance.
I was intrigued to ask and find out what it was exactly that made Richard decide on
going into the business area of learning and becoming an accountant. I was curious because I
am currently deciding on what my concentration should be and I am going to have to make a
decision next semester when I am eligible to apply for the business program. I can not find an
obvious stand out concentration for me within business and asked whether Richard had
always known he was meant to be an accountant or if there were other professions he had his
eyes on. I was relieved to hear that I was not the only one that did not know what they were
deciding on until being forced under time to make a decision. Richard said it was mainly his
talent for maths that pushed him in the direction of accounting which sounds identical to how
I have accounting as a current front runner for my concentration. Richard explained he was
leaving school and needed to find a job. He thought about his strengths and made a decision
to try accounting, it was that simple. Richard encouraged me to do the same and follow my
