Each year Chartered Accountants ANZ selects two young business leaders to attend the One Young World (OYW) Summit, the annual global forum with a mission to connect the world's most impactful young leaders to create a better world and accelerate social impact.

Delegates will hear from world leaders on a range of issues and have the opportunity to represent their regions, share ideas, and bring home and implement key lessons.

This year, Christian Bien has been selected as one of the 2019 CA delegates, alongside Lontya Kalililo. He shares why he is super excited about his summit experience, and how he believes it will help him achieve his career goals.

Determined to become a difference maker

Christian grew up in Perth, born to Vietnamese parents who had travelled to Australia seeking refuge from the Vietnam War, with the dream of building a comfortable life.

Christian credits his family history as his main source of ambition, wanting to make the most of the opportunity he's been given.

"Their story reminds me of the gratitude we have towards Australia, as we've had every opportunity to succeed. My parents raised me to always be willing to give back and I'm always happy to lend a hand to others because I know people did for my family in the past," Christian says.

Christian began pursuing his passion for helping others at university, and is a former CA student representative. Currently, he is the Founder and President of the Curtin Consulting Group (CCG) which engages high achieving students as consultants for not-for-profit organisations to help them amplify their impact.

"We found that many small and medium-sized non-profits had a resourcing gap and were dealing with common issues that additional business acumen could solve. With the support of industry, our consultant teams provide the business expertise that is needed to execute social impact projects," Christian explains.

Global insights driving global impact

The mission of the OYW summit is to connect a generation of leaders, and Christian is excited to attend the event in October for this reason.

"Being selected to represent Chartered Accountants at the One Young World Conference is a real honour and privilege, and an amazing opportunity to create lasting social impact," he says.

As a former CA student rep, Christian understands the value of networking, and has developed strong soft skills he intends to put into action at the summit.

"Thanks to my time as a CA student rep I can network confidently, and the summit is all about growing your network. I'm excited to be at the hive of activity with other young leaders from around the world. I'm looking forward to sharing ideas about how to create a positive future for our communities," Christian says.

For Christian the summit represents a valuable opportunity to strengthen his understanding of enacting social change and then applying those key lessons back home.

"Delegates share their passions, stories, and experiences collectively - all of which I can learn from and then take back to my community. It's a fantastic opportunity to drive social impact within Western Australia, but also within the global community, too," explains Christian.

"Being selected to represent Chartered Accountants at the One Young World Conference is a real honour and privilege. It shows that no matter your circumstance, we all have opportunities to create lasting social impact."

The future is bright

Christian currently works as a junior associate for FTI Consulting in Perth and plans to continue his career in professional services. Next year, he will begin the CA Program which he views as an opportunity to develop his technical skills and further his mission to create meaningful social change.

"The global recognition that the CA Program has means I can follow my passions around the world. Every organisation runs on numbers, so whether it's a small non-profit or large corporate, with the CA designation I'll have the skills and knowledge I need to lead strong social change," Christian says.

"Being a CA will allow me to be a difference maker for myself and in the community. After all, if an organisation isn't growing then neither is its social impact."