Oral Dowell - extrovert 2_Layout 1 4/22/15 5:19 Pm Page 2
Finding the
extrOvert Within
Oral Dowell, CPA, CGMA, the founder and CEO of Dowell’s Advisory Services Inc. in Barbados.
To meet the growing demands of the role, finance professionals must learn to be comfortable communicating critical information — with a microphone in hand.
PHOTO BY TOm DiPace/aP ImaGeS PHOTO BY JOHn JameS/aP ImaGeS
BY neil AmAtO ral Dowell, CPA, CGMA, is an introvert. It’s not his nature to speak up in small groups. He covets quiet time alone. When moving into his new house about 15 years ago, he had the building plans flipped, putting the garage away from the road so that people wouldn’t know if he was home in case they wanted to drop by unannounced. It dawned on him early in his career, though, that these traits weren’t going to get him very far. So the quiet man from the Caribbean island of Barbados embarked on a personal
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journey to transform himself into a more outgoing person. His metamorphosis is likely to resonate with many finance professionals. Accounting often comes up in lists of top careers for introverts, but those lists tend to belie what today’s finance professional is being asked to do: effectively and confidently communicate critical information across the chain of command. “Accounting and finance professionals have gradually assumed increased visibility, expanded roles, and greater influence within their firms over the past several years, making soft skills an essential competency today,” Max u
June 2015