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When the Bahamas began to develop into an offshore tax haven, the obvious demand for accountants inspired John S Bain to enter the profession.

John sought an accountancy qualification which was well respected internationally and flexible. He found many too restrictions with other qualifying bodies.

"ACCA's flexible approach to studying allows you to keep working if you wish and gives you the opportunity to sit the examinations in a number of countries. In my opinion, ACCA is the most progressive accountancy body in the world."

He embarked on a correspondence course with Chart Foulks Lynch (now called Foulks Lynch). Ernst & Young offered to sponsor the second part of the course provided he completed the first part on his own. Despite being an attractive arrangement, there were still challenges.

"Studying on your own using correspondence material is always very challenging," he says. "In those days the course was separated into modules. If you didn't pass the entire module you had to do all the subjects again. It was immensely difficult, but I finally gained the ACCA qualification. Achieving this armed me with a wealth of self-confidence and convinced me of my ability to pass almost any qualification." Since qualifying with ACCA he has also sat exams with other accountancy bodies and has earned a prestigious MBA.

John now works as the Senior Vice-President, Administration and Operations with the National Bank of Canada (International) in Nassau, Bahamas, which manages the Bank's Treasury finances and Offshore Private Banking division.

"The Financial Controller, Trust Manager, Information Technology manager, HR Manager and the Manager of Operations all report to me. As my career progresses, I find myself doing less traditional accounting and more strategic planning, risk management and Information Technology management within the bank."