I dropped out of college to work in a gym and am now in finance change
I dropped out of 6th form during my second year and took on more hours in the local gym working on the reception, in the bar and in membership sales. I then moved into a mortgage company and made my way up to become an underwriter based in London. After a career gap to travel and then raise a child I went back to college as an adult to study for Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualifications alongside a part-time job. It was during my final year of studying I was pointed towards a part-time role in the treasury team through the ‘Refer a Friend’ scheme. From there I’ve moved through purchase and sales ledger, assistant accountant, finance systems analyst and am now finance change lead.
I get to work on projects that span all areas of the business
Having been seconded as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to implement Workday Financials, I found I could work well on the new system and provide knowledge and support to finance on process and system enhancements. I now work in a small team that handles any change within finance which could require a new report to be generated by Workday through to big commercial projects such as the Telematics product we launched. I gather requirements and user stories, think about processes end to end, provide solutions and change to improve our colleague experience.
Exposure I have to areas of the business outside of finance
Some projects I work on involve lots of areas of the business. I enjoy being able to learn new things to enhance my own knowledge but I’m also always looking at continuous improvement to make sure we’re delivering something that can give more value and time back to colleagues.
Get involved if opportunity arises; you never know where that may lead
Had I not taken on a secondment I don’t think I would have found a role that I’m able to excel in and enjoy. This was a change to what I was used to as I’d never been part of a project team before. There were ups and downs but through my willingness to learn and put in effort I have found my niche and even now I don’t stop learning and understanding processes I may not have had exposure to in the past.
Being part of a small team to deliver Workday Financials remotely
Having never worked from home for even a day before being thrown into remote working was a huge challenge. Added to that being in a new role within such a big project to implement a different General Ledger (GL) system to the business was quite daunting. We successfully went live with Workday towards the end of 2021 and now, with the experience and training I’ve undergone, I’ve recently passed my Workday Financials Pro exam.
