SHE offers a fresh face of inspiration. Meredith Hazel C. Cua, 27, has a strong passion for academic excellence since she was young.
She graduated with distinction (8th of the batch) in her high school class at the Immaculate Conception Academy. The drive to stand out continued when she took up her BS Business Administration and Accountancy at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She was a university scholar (2008-2012) and ranked second out of 84 students of in the dean’s list of the BS BAA Batch 2013.
Furthermore, she did a tour de force performance when she graduated magna cum laude (GWA—1.378).
In an email interview with the BusinessMirror, Cua shares her tips how to develop the love for numbers and nurturing the discipline that can help her fellow millennials achieve success in their career.
How would you describe your current work in BDO?
I am currently an equity analyst in BDO Unibank Inc.’s Trust and Investment’s Group.
My main responsibility is basically financial modelling—arriving at fair values for stocks and identifying both upside and downside risks in investing in them. This helps the fund managers decide whether they should buy or sell (if they have it) the stock or not.
This makes the job exciting since it’s an indirect way of helping out the thousands of people who invest in our UITF [Unit Investment Trust Fund] as well as our direct clients who entrust their funds to us. By giving recommendations, we help deliver some of the returns that our clients enjoy.
Is it right to say you are on the right track as far as your career is concerned?
My first job was in COL Financial Group Inc. The company provided me with a good grasp of how to make financial models and arrive at sound valuations.
After staying in COL Financial for 2.5 years, I moved to the Trust Department of BDO Unibank Inc., working still in the same field. I have been with the bank for six months now.
I would say that BDO’s resources coupled with COL’s training have made me grow and become an even better analyst. So yes, I would say I am on the right career track.
How is the feeling of working with numbers? Does it require you a certain degree of rhythm to work harmoniously with numbers and data?
The process of financial modelling is basically taking a company’s story and translating it into numbers—for example, how does Cebu Pacific’s plan expand its fleet to be able to connect the Philippine islands translate to more revenues and consequently, net income? Or how will Metro Pacific’s plan to build more tollways affect its profitability especially now that Metro Manila’s in dire need of roads?
Rather than sifting through lots of data (which is also required in this field of work), what’s more challenging is becoming comfortable with the uncertainty of financial projections. No one can guess with 100-percent certainty what’s going to happen in the future! But with enough discipline and caution, we can be more accurate and more comfortable with our numbers.
Do you still possess the same zeal and enthusiasm you had as a student in your work?
My former and current employer both gave me a chance to balance my personal and work lives. In both companies, I rarely do overtime. I believe this balance has helped me avoid work burnout and fatigue. I’m still enjoying my work life.
Are you still planning to pursue the CFA certification program?
I’m already enrolled to take the Level-3 exam in June. Hopefully I pass!
As far as you are concerned, what does it take to be good in dealing with math and numbers?
It’s really just discipline and caution. It is quite important to keep your spreadsheets and calculations clean and orderly, distinguishing between actual and forecasted data, doing multiple checks and balances to ensure that all of your assumptions and resulting figures make sense and are internally consistent. It’s a discipline anyone can learn.