The $23 billion sale of AirTrunk last week could inspire more students to take up accountancy, according to a leading academic.

Founded by former University of Technology Sydney accounting student Robin Khuda’s AirTrunk, one of the largest data centre operators in Asia-Pacific, was sold in a record-breaking deal finalised between US private equity giant Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

The acquisition deal is the biggest so far this year, and the largest buyout of an Australian company since AfterPay was bought by Block two years ago.

Dr Amanda White OAM, Associate Professor of Accounting at UTS, said she believed Khuda’s initial study gave him the lifelong skills to make a success of his business career.

“I think there is a lot of misconception around what accounting is, and a lot of people think it is just doing tax returns and it’s mathematics,” she told Central News.

“And part of that is tax, and there is some mathematics involved. But really, accounting is the language of money and the language of business. So if you understand that language, then when you’re in a business environment or you’re a social enterprise, you’re a not for profit.”

Founded in 2015 by Khuda, AirTrunk is becoming a key player in the global data centre industry, with 11 hyperscale data centres spanning across major markets in the Asia-Pacific and Japan.

The company plays a pivotal role in the infrastructure that underpins the booming sectors of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, and provides logistics for big tech companies as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Oracle and Apple.

Khuda, who emigrated from Bangladesh to Australia at the age of 18 to study accounting at UTS, owned 10 per cent of the firm after previously selling the rest. He sold his stake for $500 million cash and $500 million in shares, and will stay on as chief executive.

After completing additional executive programs at Harvard Business School and the Wharton school in corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions, Khuda took on corporate roles in companies such as Singtel and Fujitsu before finding his way into the start-up scene.

Accountants don’t really do much recording of transactions like they might have done 50 years ago.

But the 44-year-old’s entrepreneurial breakthrough came when he dipped into his personal retirement savings to start AirTrunk after struggling to secure financing in Australia. AirTrunk quickly gained momentum, expanding its data centre footprint across Asia. In 2020, Macquarie and PSP Investments acquired an 88 per cent stake in the company in a deal that valued AirTrunk at the time at $3 billion.

Professor White said accounting qualifications are “highly mobile”.

“There’s lots of different pathways and opportunities once you have those accounting skills,” she added. “Accountants might become entrepreneurs, they might move into leading sales or product development, become a CFO, become a CEO.

“So, the world is tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, short on qualified accountants. So, it might not be as glamorous as suits and billions and investment banking, but there’s lots of fantastic opportunities.

“Even if you’re feeling a bit nervous, sometimes it’s a bit of fake it till you make it with that self-confidence. Accounting is highly mobile and transportable qualification. Even if you did accounting and marketing or you did accounting and economics or accounting and hr, it’s a lifelong skill that can help you in your business career.”

AirTrunk is a vital acquisition for Blackstone as it targets being the leading investor in digital infrastructure, underscoring the global demand for data centre groundwork, particularly in Asia. The private equity firm expects the need for digital infrastructure to grow exponentially as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital transformation continue to reshape the global economy.

The AirTrunk deal has also been hailed as a watershed moment for Australia’s start-up ecosystem, particularly for immigrant founders.  For Australia’s tech industry and immigrant founders, AirTrunk’s success is also being seen as a signal that the nation can produce globally significant companies that compete at the highest levels — and that diversity is an integral part of that success story.

White believes international students like Khuda, need to be involved in clubs engage in discussion, and put themselves out there to fulfill themselves as students.

“Accountants don’t really do much recording of transactions like they might have done 50 years ago,” she said.

“We try and expose students to different forms of analysis, but sometimes it’s also important to understand the fundamentals of how to do something so that when AI or automation does do something, you actually understand how it works.”

As Khuda continues to lead the company, the next chapter for AirTrunk promises to be even more ambitious. “We’ve only just begun,” Khuda said in a LinkedIn post after the deal was finalised.

Main image of Robin Khuda supplied by AirTrunk.