In 1994 Brazil was living with runaway inflation, typically around 30%, along with economic decline and political instability. For the international business community and investors, working with Brazil and its local systems of regulation was looking perilous.

Twenty years on, Amaro Gomes (MA Accounting & Finance 1998), can point to how Brazil is now seen as having one of the best regulatory environments for the financial sector in the world, a foundation for Brazil’s transformation into an economic superpower.

“LUMS was key to my career progress, providing me with the knowledge that was the basis for developing regulatory proposals incorporating the best international practices,” says Amaro, who worked with the Central Bank of Brazil during the critical years of enhancing regulation in the Brazilian financial system.  

At the time, going to a UK business school was an unusual move.

“The Central Bank had, and still has, the largest postgraduate programme of any governmental organisation in the country, with around 2% of staff at any time studying for a Master’s or PhD. The basic requirement is that this can only be done at a top-ranked institution. It was common for Brazilians to go to the US for their higher degree study in the field of accounting, for historical reasons, and so I was one of the first from the Bank to go to the UK. 

“We needed to implement best international practices, particularly around capital requirements and risk management, and that meant also adopting the best accounting system that would work internationally and build confidence and security. We had two options, the American GAAP (generally accepted accounting practices) and the new International Accounting Standards, which were still under development. With the IAS there was the potential to be involved early on and influence its direction - and the body involved, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), the predecessor of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), was based the UK.

“I had to make a choice between LUMS and the London Business School. These were the days before the Internet, and so I was relying on prospectuses. The look of campus life at Lancaster combined with the countryside, the Lake District being nearby, swayed my decision.”

For Amaro, the decision to study in the UK was made more complicated by needing to uproot his young family, three daughters aged between four and eight, and a wife who was a medical doctor.

“What could have been a major disruption to our lives became a pleasure. We loved all of our time in Lancaster - because I was living and studying on campus it meant we could spend more of it together. People at LUMS couldn’t have been more helpful or friendly. We spent almost every weekend exploring the Lake District, it’s so vast and there’s so much to do. In my office I still have a picture of us on campus, feeding the ducks with the girls. We’ll never forget our time in the UK, it was transformative for us as a family.”

A genuinely international mix of students in the School meant important opportunities for sharing experiences.

“I really tried to spend time with people from different nationalities and learn from them. We held the Christmas party at our apartment - because we were a family we had a large rooftop flat with lots of space - and we had people from around 15 different countries there, from Angola, Italy, Malaysia, Ireland, Germany, Romania, Mozambique, Greece. It was amazing.”

Amaro returned to Brazil equipped with a new and valuable cache of knowledge and perspective on financial systems and standards.

“The MA was closely aligned to the Bank’s planned programme of changes, teaching me to seek and consider evidence, understand the best regulations and how they would fit within the international context. I was immediately promoted and tasked with coordinating important regulatory projects, and within five years was promoted to head of department. With just one year of study I had managed to skip many more years in terms of my career,” he said.

Amaro is recognised internationally for being an active proponent of international regulatory cooperation, and played a leading role in the adoption of IFRS Standards in Brazil. From 1999 to 2003, he was Brazil’s representative to the intergovernmental United Nations working group on international standards of accounting and reporting.

This wasn’t the end of the story for the family and their relationship with the UK. Amaro had the chance to return again to the UK, mainly for work, and in 2009 joined the IASB as a board member.

“My family immediately embraced the idea of coming back to the UK. My wife changed careers to train as a psychotherapist, as she’s not able to practice as a doctor in the UK, and the girls leapt at the chance of re-living those days in Lancaster. We now have British citizenship, and one of my daughters has married a British man."

Looking back at the role LUMS played in this career, Amaro points to the importance of staying ahead of the game.

“The world changes fast, so it’s important for students to look to what’s going to be coming next in their field, and focus on what that means. Then find the very best institution to help you learn the specifics of that, what really matters to your career. Because there’s nothing more frustrating than studying somewhere and feeling they’re not getting to the heart of what’s important or going to be most important.”