Business ideas often arise from an entrepreneur’s drive to pursue their passion. For entrepreneur Lisa Ti, she is deeply passionate about environmental sustainability. “I wanted to create effective, everyday products that are better for both our customers and the planet,” she shared. Lisa is the co-founder of Clean Conscience, a Singapore-headquartered company that develops and retails eco-friendly household products, including laundry pods. Through her company, she aims to tackle environmental issues like product life cycle management, while addressing the market’s need for quality products.  

Clean Conscience’s products are available in major supermarket chains across Singapore—an impressive feat for a startup that only began operations in 2019.  

But Lisa is not one to rest on her laurels. In 2022, she enrolled in SMU’s Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) programme to strengthen her understanding of business fundamentals.

Deepening her business acumen

Accountancy has evolved to go beyond managing numbers and data. Modern accounting entails predicting industry trends, evaluating risks, and providing actionable insights to improve business operations. For young entrepreneurs like Lisa, financial literacy is a game-changing skill to have.

SMU’s MPA is a graduate accounting programme with accreditations from 10 different regulatory, professional, and academic bodies. While the programme serves as an accelerated path to chartered accountancy, it also attracts non-accounting majors like Lisa, who holds a Bachelor of Science.

Core modules of the MPA include Data Modelling and Visualisation, as well as professional accounting subjects like Corporate Reporting and Financial Analysis. Students can also opt for electives centred on machine learning and blockchain.

“In particular, Management Accounting gave me practical insights into financial flows within an organisation, while Financial Accounting Standards helped me analyse various companies, including mine. The programme’s focus on law and finance was also incredibly relevant to my role as an entrepreneur,” shared Lisa, highlighting key modules that had reshaped her approach to business.

She recommends the MPA programme to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and professionals who are looking to deepen their financial expertise and learn how accounting shapes business strategy.

“Whether you’re running a company or moving into a leadership role, the MPA programme equips you with the tools and knowledge needed to make informed, data-driven decisions.”

Invaluable lessons from a robust curriculum

While MPA’s academic rigour equipped Lisa with the skills she needed, it was the programme’s focus on experiential learning that stood out to her. She found the emphasis on teamwork and group projects to be particularly empowering, as these activities encourage critical thinking and closely mirror the collaborative nature of business in the real world.

“One of my favourite moments was working on a group project in the Financial Management module. My team explained mergers and acquisitions using a love story script, which made the process fun and memorable,” reminisced Lisa. “The project also taught me invaluable lessons in teamwork, leadership, and morale management—crucial skills for any entrepreneur.”

In addition to sharpening both technical and interpersonal skills, the project brought Lisa and her teammates closer as friends. Moreover, the opportunity to build connections extends beyond the classroom, with SMU’s partnerships with business communities offering students valuable access to industry talks and workshops.

The cohort diversity further enriches the learning process. “My cohort had professionals from various industries such as accounting, finance, consulting, and family businesses. While not everyone was an entrepreneur, we all shared the common goal of using MPA to enhance our business acumen and leadership capabilities,” explained Lisa.