Monica Odysseos has volunteered with ICAEW throughout her career as a professional accountant. She explains why Students and Members across the globe should get involved.
Monica Odysseos began volunteering with ICAEW soon after starting the ACA in 2018, having previously worked as a software engineer and financial analyst in the UK and Cyprus. “I decided I wanted to be a chartered accountant and, at the same time, I saw the networking opportunities that ICAEW offers and the benefits they bring,” she says. “So I decided to volunteer, too.”
Having attended events held by the Cyprus Chartered Accountants Student Society, Monica soon volunteered to manage events for the society, a role she held for two years. “We were responsible for getting students together, organising networking events to get to know each other better,” she says.
As well as its local student societies, ICAEW’s communities offer a wide variety of opportunities for students and members to volunteer and gain valuable skills, experiences and contacts. ICAEW Communities are typically grouped around an industry or professional specialism, and include groups for new Members, Career Breakers and Black Members. They are all free to join.
Having attended events held by the Cyprus Chartered Accountants Student Society, Monica soon volunteered to manage events for the society, a role she held for two years. “We were responsible for getting students together, organising networking events to get to know each other better,” she says.
As well as its local student societies, ICAEW’s communities offer a wide variety of opportunities for students and members to volunteer and gain valuable skills, experiences and contacts. ICAEW Communities are typically grouped around an industry or professional specialism, and include groups for new Members, Career Breakers and Black Members. They are all free to join.
Empowering members
In 2022, Monica joined ICAEW’s Data Analytics Community, which helps members develop advanced data analytics and visualisation skills. The group focuses on the role that analytics and artificial intelligence are playing in shaping the profession, and how chartered accountants can develop the skills they will need as a result.“We have quarterly meetings to discuss how to provide courses, articles, and events for members,” she says. “And we’re looking at how we can help ICAEW develop alongside technology.”
Monica’s career experience helps inform her volunteering with the Data Analytics Community, too. She spent four years as a data scientist with PwC and is now Head of AI and Data Lab at Grant Thornton Cyprus. At ICAEW, she uses her practical experience to provide insights on industry trends and offer technical input.
This includes writing articles for the ICAEW website. “I love writing and I volunteer to write lots of articles,” she says. “I like explaining ‘complicated’ things in a simple manner, so that people can feel empowered to use these technologies, not fear them.” Her articles have covered machine learning, deep learning, AI ethics and how AI will transform accountancy, among other topics.
Monica also hosts technical webinars for ICAEW, including a well-attended talk on Microsoft Power BI, explaining how accountants can use the tool and build their own dashboards. “Power BI gets your data in a tabular format, like an Excel spreadsheet, and uses the data to design a dynamic dashboard, which is like a website,” she says. “The tool is really user-friendly for all professionals.”
Global opportunities
Since December 2023, Monica has taken on the role of interim chair for the Data Analytics Community’s advisory group. While she has taken on a more senior volunteering role, there are flexible opportunities that can fit around people’s different commitments. “There are some members who are very involved and invest a lot of time, and there are others who perhaps provide opinions on the community group when we meet up every quarter, devoting less time,” she says. “I’ve devoted quite a lot of my time to this, not because I have been requested to, but because I really like doing it.”
There are many other communities that people can join, contribute, and offer their expertise on the issues they see in their daily work. I urge people to go and join these groups because you will get the most of out of ICAEW,
The opportunities are open to Students and Members across the globe too. “In our group, we have people from Greece, Hong Kong, the UK, among other countries. Listening to people from different industries about their experiences of working in different countries is really beneficial. It shows us how we are all working together,” Monica says. “And getting all these insights from members globally really helps the Institute drive itself forward.”
“She had no previous experience in this area. It’s just a case of people searching for what they are interested in and looking for opportunities,” Monica explains. “It’s really beneficial for students to broaden their horizons and learn what is going on all over the world, and particularly how Members are interacting and the issues they are facing.”
The range of roles that Monica carries out demonstrates that volunteering opportunities with ICAEW are not only diverse but are relevant and accessible for Students and Members across the globe.
Keep up to date with volunteering opportunities, and hear more volunteer stories, by visiting ICAEW's Volunteering Hub.
Broadening horizons
Recently, a fellow ICAEW Member approached Monica to ask how she could get involved with volunteering at ICAEW. “We looked at all the different communities ICAEW offers and established what interested her most,” Monica says. “I was able to show her the positions opening on a particular community, and she applied, interviewed and joined the community.”“She had no previous experience in this area. It’s just a case of people searching for what they are interested in and looking for opportunities,” Monica explains. “It’s really beneficial for students to broaden their horizons and learn what is going on all over the world, and particularly how Members are interacting and the issues they are facing.”
The range of roles that Monica carries out demonstrates that volunteering opportunities with ICAEW are not only diverse but are relevant and accessible for Students and Members across the globe.
Keep up to date with volunteering opportunities, and hear more volunteer stories, by visiting ICAEW's Volunteering Hub.