For three years you have been working towards being a fully qualified accountant and now you have reached the finish line, you’re not entirely sure of the next step.
As thousands of professionals qualify, we present the stories of three exceptional finance professionals on their move between Practice and Industry and what they have learned along the way.
One of our interviews is with Steve Showell, Head of Finance at British Airways. He reflects on making the move into Industry and how he embraces his difference today.
“I think I would advise you to say yes as much as you possibly can, take every opportunity that comes your way and build as much breadth to your career as you possibly can. It’s possible in finance, (especially within FP&A or audit roles), to become very specialist and get promoted quite quickly, but I think ultimately you’re weaker in the long term if you follow this route and if you don’t have a wide breadth of experience as a foundation.
“So, say “Yes” a lot, take the opportunities on offer, don’t be afraid of doing different roles to gain new experiences, step out of your comfort zone, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. It’s a bit like leaving secondary school and joining college, you’re going to jump down a level again. You are suddenly in a totally different job. When I first joined Vodafone as a Management Accountant I didn’t know what I was going into. My manager just assumed that I knew how to post journals, which I had never done in my life before! It was strange to be at the bottom again, to have to learn the basics and essentially start all over again, and you need to be ready for this.
“The trouble is with candidates coming out of Practice is that on paper they all look very similar and it’s hard to differentiate between them. I see this at British Airways as I run the finance graduate scheme here. I try and look for differentiators – have they done a secondment in Practice? have they travelled overseas? have they taken time to do extra-curricular activities? If I would challenge my former self or a newly qualified professional anything, it would be what makes you stand out? What is your USP, and what makes your CV different to everyone elses?
“Finance is a fantastic bedrock in your career and allows you to do many different roles in a Corporate environment and remember that there is very little career risk in stepping out of finance and getting experience in more commercial roles. Ultimately coming back into finance from having had a spell in Commercial will also set you apart as you can say you had marketing, business or commercial experience in the process. In short, don’t be afraid to be different and try different things, taking a non-traditional route might actually help you.”
For full access to all of our interviews, insight and research please get in touch and in the meantime – join the conversation – are you considering a move into Industry?
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