CEBU CITY, Philippines — Accounting careers of the future will flourish when practitioners learn how to listen effectively and lead others through change.
Leadership gets emphasized as a critical part of competency for accounting job opportunities in the 21st century.
It’s one of 10 key areas, along with business acumen, operational knowledge, professional ethics and values, and data analytics, in the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) updated competency framework.
TOA Global was delighted to host 36 student leaders from 18 IMA university chapters during the IMA Asia-Pacific Student Leadership Conference on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
“Your career as accountants will be marked by change. There’s no escaping it,” said Ian Zafra, TOA Global’s Philippines President and Country Manager, who attended the conference.
“The World Economic Forum made this analogy in its Future of Jobs Report 2025: If the world’s workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 people would need additional training by 2030.”
Delegates spent the day at the TOA Global Cebu headquarters in Cebu IT Park, taking in sessions on personal branding and mentorship, as well as problem-solving and emerging technologies.
TOA and IMA leaders workshopped real-life scenarios, case studies, and solutions to finetune the student-delegates’ learning with real industry experience.
Accounting careers for student leaders
Delegates represented the top accountancy universities in the country, including the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, University of St. La Salle, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East-Manila, and University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Also in attendance at the IMA APAC Student Leadership Conference 2026 were Marcel Ewals, Asia-Pacific Regional Director of the IMA, TOA’s Vice President for Global Talent Anne King, TOA Vice President for Operations (North America) Rodel Murillo, CPA, and other leaders from both IMA and TOA Global.
“Definitely one for the books!” wrote Tricia Jao, deputy director at IMA. “The caliber of the students, faculty, speakers, and mentors was topnotch.”
An abundance of accounting job opportunities
TOA Global works with institutions like the IMA to connect employees to training and accounting certification opportunities.
Since 2013, TOA Global has placed more than 3,616 accountants, auditors, bookkeepers, and other professionals with international accounting teams and practices in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and Singapore, among other countries.
“The choice of whether or not to keep learning is up to you,” Zafra also said. “It’s important to keep pace with technology and to have an understanding of how Artificial Intelligence will continue to change our businesses, economies, and everyday lives.”
“But more than that, it’s valuable to keep learning in order to be agile and flexible in the light of new knowledge—and more resilient within the shifting landscapes we operate in. Staff member training that is current and tailored to each role and level is something TOA Global invests heavily in.”
Nine out of every 10 employers expect Artificial Intelligence and information processing technologies to transform their businesses by 2030, the World Economic Forum said in its Future of Jobs Report in 2025.
To build thriving accounting careers, it’s important for current and aspiring practitioners to expand their professional networks, stay alert for learning opportunities, and work with an organization that consistently invests in professional growth.
