Mastering durable skills

Friday, May 29, 2020

Equipping accounting and finance graduates for a new skills economy

By Patty Mah

Blake Philips

We have entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution with technology spearheading and transforming the workforce and the future of business. It’s happening all around us. Blockbuster went bankrupt with the introduction of streaming services like Netflix. Taxis have repositioned their business models due to app-driven ride-share programs like Uber. Roles of financial advising and investing are becoming obsolete with algorithmically programmed robo-investors.

Graduates will not only be required to have the skills and knowledge to work with an ever-changing technology-driven future, but also adapt effectively to a new and potential on-going virtual environment as the world grapples with our current global pandemic.

To prepare future-ready graduates and equip them with the skills and knowledge required for a constantly volatile, uncertain and complex future, School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) professors, Nancy Vanden Bosch and Blake Phillips, have redefined what and how the SAF delivers Waterloo’s accounting and finance curriculum.