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Choosing accountancy as a career opened up many doors for Angela Lee Loy.

Starting out as an audit trainee at PriceWaterhouse in 1973, she has always felt that accountancy was the career for her. "From childhood, I knew I wanted to do something with numbers and computers."

Her career path has been steady but focussed. She worked as Audit Senior in 1977 and progressed to Audit Manager in 1986. Later she co-founded Aegis Business Solutions, a dynamic outsourcing and advisory service company, where she is currently a shareholder and managing director. She has also been appointed chairperson of the National Aids Co-ordination Committee Board.

But her most memorable moment was being made a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers at just 33. "I wasn't afraid of responsibility but my relatively young age compelled me to demonstrate determination, to ensure that I was up to the task. However, my family and colleagues helped me to gain the courage I needed to take the step and I've never looked back since."

Recent aspersions cast upon the accountancy profession have done little to dampen her fervour for her chosen career.

"Accountants are indispensable in the world of business and required at every stage of the game. With international accounting standards evolving at an ever increasing pace, today's accountant has a duty and a responsibility to keep up to date to make sure he or she provides a good service to clients. I think that in spite of recent world events including the Enron and Worldcom scandals, the accountancy profession continues to have a very bright future."