Why a shortage of management accountants is creating opportunities for process staff

Posted by & filed under Career, Members in business.

Recruiting good management accountants is particularly challenging – the alternative is to upskill, but not all staff find it easy moving into analytical roles.

Recent research suggests accountancy is one of the areas suffering most from skills shortages, with 73% of businesses reporting difficulty hiring. And accountancy struggles more than any other area to fill senior positions, with 38% of firms finding it difficult.

While the ‘great resignation’ is real and millions of people have left their jobs, job seekers are looking for the right working conditions for them. Another survey by Otto found that the vast majority of office workers (74%) want some kind of flexible or fully remote role, but ‘flexible’ means different things to different businesses.

For those finance teams looking for more management accountants, the alternative option is to upskill and promote process staff into more analytical roles. This is a big step up, however, and not all process-orientated staff will be able to adjust.

Our member panel discuss the opportunities of upskilling, and their advice on how to move from a process to an analysis role.

It’s the people with a passion for analysis who do best

Björgvin Vigfússon, MAAT AATQB, finance manager, Westmorland Linen and Laundry

The market for management accountants has always been fairly competitive and recruiting can be a bit tricky. But if the role that is being recruited is well specified and the recruiters know what knowledge/experience is required of the candidate, it makes the process easier. My opinion is that companies should never stop upskilling their workforce because of the benefits to the team.

Working in analytical roles isn’t for everyone, just as working in tax isn’t for everyone. One the challenges of developing staff into those roles is that you need to find a person who enjoys this sort of job. Once you pass that hurdle, you know you have an enthusiastic person, and with good guidance and training, you can develop a valuable staff member who is happy to do a job that some accountants aren’t too keen on.

The ‘pub story’ version of my own journey is a “series of wrong turns and mistakes”. The true story is, having worked in previous teams where analytical skills had room for improvement, I decided to try and develop my own. With a fair amount of trial and error, many articles, webinars and podcasts later, and speaking to people who work in the field, I slowly but steadily managed to develop my own skillset.

I have the mindset of “I know a good amount, but I also know that I don’t know everything, and there are some things I don’t know that I don’t know”. I try to keep my CPD up to date, I follow industry websites like AATcomment and accountingweb, listen to podcasts and attend events in person and online. I try to encourage my teammates to do the same, without being too pushy.

My advice to accountants who want to move into analytical roles is simple: try to do one thing today that will help you develop the skills that will be useful in an analytical role(or any role you want to move into). If you can do two, perfect. Speak to your line manager and ask what sort of skillset they need and jobs they would like to fill. If that role and skillset is of interest to you, show enthusiasm for it. If you can prove you’re up for the challenge, you’ll hopefully find yourself doing the job soon.

We need to create time and space to learn

Andy Murray, MAAT AATQB, finance lead, Manna Pro

My company’s ethos is always to promote within. We always ensure that employees have the opportunity to apply for any new job openings, which are initially posted internally. I think this is really important and something I stand by strongly, if we were considering adding additional resources to the team my first thought would be to look at individuals’ personal development goals vs hiring a new starter. From experience I find employees stay in jobs where they feel engaged and empowered to grow within.

Balancing operational demands while creating time and space to learn is a constant challenge. During a period of organisational growth and expansion, the need for upskilling into specialised areas becomes increasingly magnified. Priority is often given to the day-to-day transactional duties, which are of course essential before any analytical works can be carried out.

Within the first three months into my role, I undertook a review of the operational service pressures and created an action plan to address these within an agreed timescale, this enabled improved efficiencies in the day-to-day accounting functions allowing professional development time to be reintroduced. Over the coming months, I will twin-track staff development and the preparation of a business case for both current and additional resources, therefore underpinning the long-term growth of the organisation.

Where time allows, I undertake CPD as part of my working day. However, the required amount of CPD often exceeds the time available to me therefore I combine this with personal tasks such as household chores whilst listening to a podcast or watching a webinar.

For those looking to move from process to analysis, I’d recommend the 3 E’s:

  • Be eager – Allow your open-for-learning attitude to shine through by taking a keen interest in every aspect of the finance function.
  • Be energetic – Demonstrate your commitment through a natural energy, a willingness to go the extra mile, allowing peers to see a return on their investment in your professional development.
  • Be excited – Developing yourself through career progression is a fantastic achievement, make sure you take the time to recognise and celebrate your successes and allow those who helped develop you to celebrate with you.

Factor training as a percentage of payroll costs

Clare Elliott, FMAAT, CFO, ILUX

There’s a famous quote: “What if we train them and they leave? What if we don’t and they stay?” and another by Richard Branson “Train people well enough so that they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” And I really like these – they embody what we should be doing in business.

While training is time-consuming and costly, the business will reap the rewards as people become more efficient and effective at what they do, and how they do it.

Companies also benefit from upskilling as they don’t have to continually recruit, which is a significant factor at the moment due to unemployment being low and the pool of available people in the marketplace being reduced. It’s always more costly and time-consuming to bring someone new into the business than to upskill a current employee, as much of the learning initially is about the business and the clients. However, that depends on availability within the business.

If the business is growing rapidly and new roles are required, there will be no choice but to recruit. Then it’s important to ensure you are recruiting at the right level, with the new recruit adequately skilled enough to hit the ground running, especially where time is of the essence.

It’s important to ensure enough is being spent on training. A great, and very simple, way of setting your training budget is to calculate it as a percentage of your total payroll costs. Obviously also comparing to previous years, and increasing as per specific requirements of the business at the time, or individuals that require external training courses. While we all want to keep budgets low, a training budget shouldn’t be underestimated for the returns it can give to an organisation.

Getting broad and commercial skills can be a challenge

Farha Jamadar, FMAAT, finance manager, Todd Doors

The market is inundated with many candidates who would be able to do analytical roles. However, as we are an SME, we need all-rounders; people with experience in many things. That experience is not always available, so prioritising what is needed becomes important. Those broad skills we require will enable them to upskill and develop their role.

When moving someone into an analytical role, there may not be understanding or emphasis on the bigger picture. They must develop communication skills and be able to deliver information with commercial acumen.

It’s about ensuring these skills are developed for everyone within finance, as these are the skills that enable you to develop and give the organisation added value. It’s about understanding how your piece of work affects strategic decisions.

I ensure I understand the commercial needs and external factors around the organisation. I make sure I am able to utilise this at work, which allows the quality of my work to be of a much higher calibre.

My advice for others would be to think about the company you work for: what are they doing, and how does the work you do affect that? Align your goals to that and practice communication – it is the most important skill to have in finance. We are here to tell a story and give senior management the information to ensure the company is successful.

How to build a successful accountancy business

Posted by & filed under Career.

Here we find out how Marelize Bott, managing director of Add-worth Accountancy has grown a successful business.

Since starting her own accountancy business just over a year ago, Marelize Bott, managing director of Add-worth Accountancy, says learning about marketing and actively marketing her business has allowed her to grow significantly.

Networking is key

The biggest lesson I have learnt in business is to be active every day in marketing my firm. But guess what? Many accountants are not very good at this. 

When I started my business early in 2020, I did not know many people with whom I could network. I also thought that if I connect with people on LinkedIn and post content, the clients will start flooding in… Oh my, how wrong I was.   

Making marketing a focus

I have since employed the services of a marketing mentor who focuses on helping accountants grow their businesses. This has been so liberating and I have learned so much. So, I would like to share with you a few tips to help you grow your business, or if you are thinking of starting a business, how to position yourself now so that you are able to grow over time. 

1. Market to a niche

This helps you to focus your expertise on a specific industry. It also makes it easier to find clients on LinkedIn or Facebook. Make sure you understand their pains – what frustrates them, what makes them lie awake at night – by researching your niche. 

2. Clear headlines

Make sure your headlines in LinkedIn and Facebook clearly state who you help, how you help them and the outcome they will get working with you. Remember, it is always about them and not about you or how fantastic you are. 

3. Connect with people daily.

My focus is LinkedIn and I send connections to at least 100 people a day. 

4. Engage with your ideal client

I use the “5 x 5 x 5” principle – liking five posts and commenting on five posts in five minutes.

5. Increase social proof

By gaining reviews from clients. 

6. Post power content every day.

This could include different types of posts, for example: 

  • Teach and educate how you help people. 
  • Talk about their problem, agitate their problem, and give them the solution. 
  • Pictures and posts from behind the scenes, maybe a picture of your home office or working from a coffee shop for the day. 
  • Sales posts that are not a sales post. You never want to be “salesy”. 
  • Telling them something about you. 

Posting a variety of content will show potential clients your expertise and you will gain trust with them. There are many other ways to market your business, but the main thing to remember is to be visible all the time. 

Hint – people do not want to buy from an accountant, so don’t have a headline on social media that just says you are a bookkeeper or accountant. Lastly, do not conform to the norm – dare to be different. 

Further reading:

Why everyone should complete a simple tax return

Posted by & filed under Members, Tax reform, Time for change.

Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, argues for a new way of looking at tax.

The British tax code has become bloated and unfair. Years of tinkering by successive governments has meant that instead of simply being a method of raising the necessary funds for government activity, the tax code has become a complex web of incentives and deterrents designed to engineer different economic and social outcomes.

We presently have a tax code twelve times longer than the King James Bible. It has trebled in length since 1997. It is almost

50-times the length of Hong Kong’s, considered to be the most efficient in the world. At the same time the country is suffering under the heaviest taxation burden since the post-War Attlee Labour Government, and yet both the political class and the voters seem captured by a mindset that higher taxes are the only way to balance the books.

Unfortunately, both for the country and the other contributors to this report, there is no single policy that we can introduce to remove these obstacles to a fair and effective tax system. It requires a change of mindset.

The first step is to return to first principles and ask what we want from tax. It is important to decide this in advance and determine what the parameters are in order to create a tax system that provides this outcome with the fewest economic distortions.

These economic distortions can range from the irritating to the significant. Tax breaks for certain types of activity will inevitably lead to business and capital focusing on that area at the expense of other activity with potentially better long-term benefit for the UK economy. On the other hand, sin taxes, such as taxes on tobacco, often far exceed the actual cost of the externality they are seeking to alleviate. This leads to a misallocation of resources and economic inefficiency.

To reduce this impact, there are a range of taxes we should consider for repeal. Many levies are simply unfit for purpose and should be replaced with single bespoke taxes to cover that area of economic activity. For example, if we decide that there should be taxes on environmental externalities, we should wrap up taxes such as Air Passenger Duty, the Aggregates Levy and renewables obligations into either an improved emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax. In the same vein, business rates, Council Tax, the Community Infrastructure Levy and similar property taxes ought to be abolished and replaced with a single tax on land value, rather than have a range of taxes that distort the property market.

While tax simplification will result in a better functioning economy, it can also be the basis of a fairer and more effective system. The oft-heard complaint from many about unfairness is that the tax code allows, or even encourages, people and businesses to avoid ‘paying their fair share’. Leaving aside the fact that a ‘fair share’ is no more and no less than the minimum amount of tax a person or company is legally required to pay by law, if we care about a system that makes sure those with the broadest shoulders pay the most we must simplify the tax code to reduce loopholes.

But while this might reduce the complexity element, it will not change the fundamental British mentality towards tax. For many Britons, paying tax is something that happens without requiring any real engagement from them. When they receive a payslip at the end of the month they see the amount they have paid to HMRC, but they never really ‘own’ that money. It never enters their bank account, so it can be mentally written off as the cost of doing business.

PAYE tax, where tax is withheld by the employer, rather than an employee having to fill in a tax return and pay a lump sum to the Exchequer at the end of the tax year, therefore hides from many people the real cost of taxation. A change in this, such as abolishing PAYE and other withholding taxes and requiring all Britons to pay their taxes directly to the Government, would force people to actually see the money going out of their account at the end of the tax year. The average wage earner would have to pay out £12,000 at the end of the tax year in income tax and national insurance – more than their energy, petrol and commuting bills put together, along with enough for a football season ticket! Forcing people to actually confront the cost of the tax code will change the mindset around tax rates.

This isn’t to say that I want people to have to undertake forensic-style accounting efforts to pay their annual tax. My ultimate goal is, as far as possible, every person in Britain filling out a simple one-page tax return once a year, and attaching a depressingly large cheque to it.

Reforming the British tax system in a more effective and fairer direction is not an easy task. But by forcing people to confront the actual cost of the tax burden, along with a radical simplification of the tax code, is a good place to start.

About Mark

Mark was Campaigns Director at human rights group Liberty before joining the Liberal Democrats as Head of Media and then moving to Progressive Vision where he served as Communications Director., Mark then became Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in 2009. Mark is also a Board Member at Big Brother Watch and writes a regular column in The Times.

What roles can I apply for after completing an AAT Professional Diploma?

Posted by & filed under Career.

There’s a wide range of career opportunities available to students who finish an AAT professional diploma in accounting (Level 4). We take a look at what’s out there.

“For students who have achieved the AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting (Level 4), if they complete one year’s relevant work experience, they can apply to become a full member of AAT and use ‘MAAT’ after their name,” says Sam Hannigan, programme manager at Premier Training. 

With an AAT Professional Diploma, you can apply for the following roles: 

Finance officer 

Finance officers manage many of the financial issues taking place within a company, including creating budgets, overseeing spending, preparing financial statements, assisting with audits, fiddly VAT stuff and working closely with the C-suite. “Many AAT Professional Diploma students want to become a finance officer – it’s a great job because it’s so general and wide-ranging,” says Adam Ruston-Shaw, head of delivery at training provider, Babington. 

Commercial analyst 

This job involves scrutinising areas of the business to identify where it can make savings and reduce spending. You’ll need to be confident making gut instinct decisions, comfortable with meeting stakeholders, plus have strong analysis skills. It’s also a great springboard into business partnering. 

Senior bookkeeper 

A pivotal part of any finance team, senior bookkeepers manage accounting records, such as recording transactions, processing payments and producing financial reports.  

VAT accountant 

VAT accountants advise businesses on anything to do with VAT, particularly its impact on any transactions. 

Cost accountant 

A cost accountant determines the costs of providing a service or making a product. It involves deep-diving into lots of data, plus analysing expenses in the supply chain such as labour, shipping and admin costs. 

Fixed asset accountant 

This role involves overseeing the fixed assets of a firm (e.g. property and equipment), and ensuring these are all accounted for accurately. 

Payroll manager 

Payroll managers run the payroll team within an organisation and are ergo responsible for making sure all staff are paid their correct wages on time. 

Indirect tax manager 

A role that’s become even more important post-Brexit, indirect tax managers advise how indirect taxes (VAT, excise duties and import tariffs) impacts upon a business and/or clients.  

Payments and billing manager 

Payments and billing managers supervise the raising of invoices in an organisation to ensure these are all calculated correctly. 

Senior fund accountant 

Working alongside investment managers, senior fund accountants produce accounts and investor reports for investment funds. This role usually comes with a high starting salary, as you might expect. 

Tax supervisor/tax manager 

Tax supervisors or managers oversee tax plans for the business that they work for. It’s a job that provides access to senior stakeholders, and as such, is one of the most coveted positions in accountancy. 

Freelance bookkeeper  

“There’s nothing to stop AAT Professional Diploma students from setting up their own bookkeeping service – I’ve had some students do this before,” says Adam, who also notes aspiring freelancers may benefit from taking a software course too.   

Further reading:

How do I know what career path to take?

Posted by & filed under Career.

Being confused about what career path to take is nothing unusual. But for those faced with this quandary, it can be frustrating. Here, one careers expert tells us how to make this decision easier.

Ask yourself the following questions 

“It’s not the end of the world if you don’t know what to do,” says Kate Campbell, associate director at financial recruitment company, Michael Page. She suggests thinking about: 

  • What motivates you the most – earning money or job satisfaction? 
  • Would you prefer working for a corporate firm or a start-up? 
  • Do you want to “give something back”? If so, working for a charity or non-profit might suit you. 
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses? For example, if you’re a data-driven person, then a career in analysis might be for you. 

Consider working for a practice  

“Working in practice is a great way to develop a broad package of experience and strong technical skills,” Kate says. “And because you’ll be working for a variety of different clients, and you’ll be exposed to so many different tasks, you can work out what you enjoy the most. It’s here where you could discover you really enjoy double-entry bookkeeping or audit, for example. Or maybe the experience of meeting clients will lead you towards a more people-facing role.” 

Think about growth areas in accountancy 

“The pandemic has made businesses realise they can’t function without their accountants, which means the finance market is buoyant at the moment and businesses are investing in accountancy,” Kate explains. “There’s likely to be many roles available in cash flow forecasting, data analysis, credit control and payroll in coming years – all jobs that accountants can do.” 

It’s OK if it doesn’t work out 

Don’t panic if your first career or job choice doesn’t work out, urges Kate. “Remember – there’s no such thing as a job-for-life anymore and it’s not unusual for people to have many jobs during a lifetime (one 2015 study estimated the average person will have 12 jobs before the age of 50). Also, recruitment companies such as Michael Page are always happy to advise AAT students, whether it’s helping making your CV look good, or letting you know what roles are available.” 

Don’t be tempted by glamorous jobs 

You need to want to do the job itself, explains Kate. “We advertise for industry accountancy roles at the likes of Manchester United, but even if you’re the world’s biggest Man U fan, you’d need to want to do the role itself,” she says. “Don’t be afraid of applying for an accountant’s job at a toilet roll firm, just because you don’t like toilet rolls – you could get some great experience.”  

Further reading:

How to support clients in the wake of P11D closure

Posted by & filed under Members.

Back in January, HMRC announced its decision to retire its online end-of-year expenses and benefits (P11D) service, which had previously allowed SMEs to create, edit and send P11D forms either electronically or by post.

P11D forms disclose expenses or employee benefits given to employees in addition to salaries, such as private medical insurance, childcare vouchers, cycle-to-work schemes or gym membership. These forms must be submitted on 6 July each year, following the tax year referred to in the forms.

A P11D(b) form may sometimes need to be submitted alongside a P11D form for every employee. This summarises the information provided on P11D forms. P11D(b) forms also outline which employee benefits are liable for Class 1A national insurance contributions (NICs).

Up until recently, SMEs could make use of HMRC’s online end-of-year expenses and benefits service which allowed up to 150 submissions per company through its interactive PDF service. But the service has now been discontinued from the tax year 2021/22 onwards.

Employers – and/or their accountants – have now just two alternative ways in which to submit these forms:

  • Via eligible payroll software with relevant functionality.
  • Via HMRC’s PAYE Online Service (eligible for up to 500 employees).

Alternatively, companies may take the opportunity to opt for the ‘payrolling’ option to avoid P11D forms altogether and are required to register with HMRC Payrolling Benefits in Kind (PBIK) online service in order to do so. This option ensures expenses and benefits are taxed via payroll on a monthly basis but would require employers and/or the finance function to know the cash equivalent value of each benefit.

So with the closure of the HMRC online end-of-year expenses and benefits (P11D) service, how are accountants and their clients choosing to tackle P11D?

Use cloud software to drive strategic conversations around P11D and benefits-in-kind

Andy Smith, Founder, Abbeygate Accountancy


In the 10 years of working directly with clients, I have not come across a single client who has actually completed HMRC’s online end-of-year expenses and benefits (P11D) service themselves – they usually leave it to their accountant.

The online portal itself is clunky and slow and if you have a large number of employees then it can take some considerable time to complete.

Alternatively, there’s an option to register with HMRC under the ‘payrolling benefits in kind’ service. The employer is still required to submit a P11d each year, marking the benefits as ‘payrolled’ but the benefits are reported through the monthly payroll.

Or the employer can use payroll software which has the P11d feature, so that it can be filed directly with HMRC after year-end.

Next steps: We use cloud software at Abbeygate Accountancy so we can see clients’ real-time information to form the basis of the P11d return before any filing deadlines. This approach has led to many strategic conversations with clients around expenses and benefits.

A more traditional accountant may only receive the information well after the deadline and then advise that a P11d should have been completed, meaning that penalties and interest for late filing and payment may be added.

Verdict: Make use of cloud software to help drive strategic conversations around P11D and benefits-in-kind.

Invest in software with expenses and benefits functionality

Andy Sullivan, Founder and Managing Director, CompleteHQ


We have a few clients who need to complete P11d forms to report expenses and benefits, but they tend to instruct us to complete them for them. We use third-party software with expenses and benefits functionality for this rather than HMRC’s online end-of-year expenses and benefits service. We’ve always found that the time spent using HMRC service actually outweighed the cost of paying for a better piece of software.

HMRC’s decision to retire the service therefore won’t affect us or any of our clients.

Decommissioning of HMRC’s P11D online service may push businesses to payroll their taxable benefits

Steve Tanner, Managing Director, Leap Accounts & Outsourcing


The decommissioning of HMRC’s online expenses and benefits P11D service is definitely going to cause issues for some small and medium businesses. Although HMRC has a ready-built replacement in place (filing through HMRC’s PAYE Online Service), those who are leaving their submission close to the deadline may come unstuck when they realise their previous method for filing has disappeared and that they don’t have the necessary access yet to file using the online service.

Next steps: In light of all this, businesses may want to consider payrolling their taxable benefits. The changes may also prompt software providers to enhance their software to improve taxable benefit reporting, thus streamlining the process.

Verdict: The decommissioning of HMRC’s P11D online service may push businesses to begin payrolling their taxable benefits.

Take the opportunity to review benefits offering and tax efficiency

Daniel Tomassen, senior manager, private client department, HW Fisher


The P11D interactive online service was suitable for SMEs with less than 150 employees. It has been used by some employers for many years and therefore the process was streamlined and efficient.

The overall impact however is likely to be limited as there are other alternatives for employers such as free software and HMRC’s PAYE online service.

The main impact for employers who have been using this service is the lack of time HMRC gave notifying them that the service was to be decommissioned. They were only notified in January 2022 and the P11D forms deadline is 6th July.

Next steps: These changes may nevertheless present an opportunity for employers who have previously been using the service:

  • Review core benefits offering to ensure they can retain key staff.
  • Review the tax efficiency of the benefits provided by speaking to their accountants.
  • Analysing the current process to ensure it is cost-effective.

For example, employers may now take the opportunity to payroll certain benefits which would reduce the number of P11D forms which are required to be submitted annually.

Verdict: Take the opportunity to review core benefits offering and review tax efficiency of benefits.

Apprentice makes an impression with Pobl housing association

Posted by & filed under Apprenticeships, Employers.

Jack Bennett left a career in hospitality to train as an accountant. Working as an apprentice in the not-for-profit sector has offered Jack Bennett huge opportunities and made a visible difference to his employer, Pobl.

In his ten-year career in hospitality, Jack Bennet has learnt a lot about customer service, operational complexity, effective communication and working under pressure. When he chose to make a career change and retrain as an accountant, he found all those skills eminently transferable and useful in his new role.

After studying for his AAT qualifications, Jack now works as Finance Assistant at Pobl Housing Association, a large provider of social housing, care homes and rented housing stock in Wales.

Housing associations are turning to apprenticeships

Since 2018, there has been an increasing drive within Housing Associations to achieve value for money, in order to satisfy the regulator and provide good financial stewardship. Housing associations now have to publish their performance in annual statutory accounts to satisfy the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) Economic Standards.

At Pobl, Jack supports the organisation’s Finance Officer, applying his gained knowledge from the AAT qualifications to provide vital support to the accounts payable department and his line manager.

“The AAT qualifications have been excellent and really helpful in my new role. What I would say to people who want a career change, just go for it. The AAT qualification can get you started on a new and exciting path.”

Jack Bennett, Finance Assistant

Pobl turns to apprenticehip for talent

“The apprentice scheme has allowed us to attract some excellent talent into the organisation and within Finance we have really great career progression opportunities,” says Leanne Penny , director of Finance at Pobl Group. “Jack is currently in the recruitment process for a trainee accountant role to evidence this. Our training programme runs across a number of depts in Pobl. We are constantly looking at additional opportunities or areas to introduce apprentices.”

She says apprenticeships help to attract young people who want to succeed and progress and having a number of apprentices in a single team helps with staff cover. She has found that having apprentices has already added value to the business and that offering apprenticeships can be as valuable long-term as recreating graduates.

Pobl’s social housing mission

Pobl is the result of a merger between two large housing associations- Seren Group and Grŵp Gwalia. It is Wales’ largest housing association and last year announced it had exceeded its target of creating 3,000 new homes in the five years to 2021. The housing trust now aims to create another 10,000 new homes by 2031 and has the objective of becoming a carbon neutral business by 2050.

Headquartered in Newport, Pobl has more than 17,500 homes under management across South Wales and over 2,000 employees administering student living accommodation, social housing and care homes. It also builds new estates and communities from scratch.

The mission to make a difference

“It is such a diverse organisation,” says Jack. “Its purpose is social good. It provides an important function in society and I am proud to be part of it. I feel as though I am doing my good deed for the day, every day.”

Jack is on a two-year apprenticeship contract, which provides study support for one day a week to attend college. Jack is working in the transactions department but is on a sixth-month rotation to experience different aspects of the business.

“It is an amazing opportunity and a fantastic insight,” he says. “I was looking to change my career but the most difficult thing is getting your foot in the door. This apprenticeship programme gives me that opportunity and experience while giving me study leave and being paid on the job.”

Recognition in Finance Wales Awards

Jack has been named runner up in the Accounts Technician of the Year, the category sponsored by AAT, at the Finance Awards Wales 2022. The awards are designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented finance professionals working in Wales. The awards showcase the best in Finance talent from the experienced finance directors and CFOs who are at the forefront of finance leadership, to the next generation of apprentices and finance managers.

Jack’s manager, Leanne Penny says he has made a great impression.

“Since joining Pobl I can honestly say that he is one of the best apprentices that we have ever had, has shown an incredible attitude to work and career progression and isn’t afraid of taking on any challenges. He is confident, able and we are very lucky to have him in the team!”

Lee Jones, Premier Training’s marketing manager, nominated Jack for the award. He says Jack’s  progress and impact has been truly impressive.

“After gaining his first two AAT qualifications in little more than a year, Jack is already providing valuable support to a Finance Officer within a not-for-profit organisation that positively impacts thousands of people across South Wales.

“Jack’s dedication and progress is a perfect example of how to implement a career change, transforming your own life and impacting many others.”

Funding in Wales for career changers

Wales has also launched a new funding stream called ReACT+, as part of their Young Person Guarantee, it gives 18–24-year-olds who are not in employment or training access to a package of support for training and employers a wage subsidy for recruiting then employing. 

This is ideal for people like Jack who can now have their journey funded and may inspire career changers or those not in employment or training to consider this new scheme funded by Welsh Government. There are increased subsidies for those with disabilities.  

Jack is undertaking an apprenticeship funded by the Welsh Government.

Modern roles: Finance Transformation Manager

Posted by & filed under Career profiles.

We take a look at some of the emerging roles you could undertake in the modern accounting industry, so you can find the perfect fit for your career 

Could Finance Transformation Manager be your next career move?

What a finance transformation manager does 

“The purpose of the finance transformation manager is to keep up the pace with evolving technologies and industry trends by aligning the finance vision with company strategy, and implementing sustainable change into the finance department, thereby transforming the business,” says Kathryn Heeler, consultant at Sellick Partnership. “They will work closely with finance systems and internal control teams.” 

Kathryn explains that companies may employ finance managers to specialise in transformation projects – driving change and taking ownership of implementing large-scale finance transformation. 

Typical responsibilities of a finance transformation manager 

  • Identifying improvements to increase accuracy and efficiency in the month-end process. 
  • Collaborating with the wider finance team and continuously monitoring internal processes – identifying industry trends and value creation opportunities to maximise the potential of the department and build a “finance team of the future”. 
  • Automating and innovating across the finance spectrum. 
  •  Defining the strategy and being accountable for implementation of the finance change and transformation strategy. 
  •  Working closely with the finance systems and internal control teams to ensure the design and effectiveness of systems, processes and controls provides a robust environment. 

Earning potential 

Kathryn says salaries can range from £70,000 to £90,000 in the south and between £50,000 and £60,000 in northern cities. 

Skills required for the role 

A finance transformation manager should have hands-on knowledge of finance processes and a great idea of what “excellent” looks like, Kathryn says. “They should have strong financial modelling skills, as well as business and data analysis skills. They will also need experience in successfully implementing high-profile strategic projects, managing multiple projects/deadlines and multitasking with ease.” The ability to work autonomously is also important, as are strong communication skills (both written and verbal) and an ability to communicate/influence/negotiate easily and effectively across stakeholders from team members to executive management.” 

Kathryn adds that a finance transformation manager needs to concisely and logically communicate insights and suggestions, whether verbally (including in meetings), in writing or through executive-level, professional presentations.” 

Where you can find a finance transformation manager role 

Mainly in large companies, either in the public sector or businesses who provide services into the public sector.   

Is this role the right fit for you? 

  • Salary range of £50,000-£90,000 
  • Align the finance vision with company strategy 
  • Work in a large organisation in the public sector 
  • Strong financial modelling, business and data analysis skills required 

Further reading:

Five-minute refresher quiz No 2

Posted by & filed under CPD refresher quiz, Members.

We have a new five-minute refresher quiz for you below with which to test your wits.

This time we’re looking at the preparation of accounts and accounting systems and controls.

Scorecard – previous quiz

In our previous refresher quiz, we asked about fixed costs and decision and control. The scorecard was mixed!

Three-quarters got the question about fixed costs wrong, with the most popular answer being that wages are fixed.

  • If you want to do better next time, you can brush up on your understanding of fixed, variable and semi-variable costs in this article.

The cost index questions were a mixed bag, with three quarters getting the first part wrong, and the same getting the last part correct.

  • More information on cost indexes can be found in this article.

Now let’s see how you do with this week’s quiz…

Meet the “Rockstar” winner from the Finance Awards Wales

Posted by & filed under Inspiring stories.

Her boss calls her a rockstar and, at 29, Poppy Vincent has carved out an award-winning career.

In just two and a half years Poppy Vincent has gone from finance assistant to finance manager of UNRVLD, an ambitious and growing digital marketing agency. 

She is now in charge of the day-to-day running of the finance department, managing cash flow, writing high-quality management accounts and assisting with internal projects. Her manager, the chief financial officer of UNRVLD, has described her as “an absolute rockstar”. Her exceptional progress has been supported by home and college study which has earned her AAT qualifications and the prospect of being ACCA qualified very soon.

Poppy has won Accounts Technician of the Year in the Finance Awards Wales. The awards are designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented finance professionals working in Wales. The awards showcased the best in Finance talent from the experienced finance directors and CFOs who are at the forefront of finance leadership, to the next generation of apprentices and finance managers.

Career progression

Poppy was nominated by her manager two years ago where she was highly commended. As this year’s winner, she has progressed from AAT to ACCA and from college to university. She now manages the accounts for three companies as UNRVLD is currently assimilating two recent company acquisitions. She’s progressed from Finance Assistance to Finance Manager while studying in her own time. 

“Sometimes it can be challenging to study when you work full time, and I am renovating my first house as well so I don’t have time for holidays!” she said.

“You have to be very organised, and you have internal and external deadlines that you have to meet. Over the past two years and nine months we’ve acquired two other companies and opened an office in Lithuania. So there is a lot going on and it is great place to work. The role is challenging but it is very rewarding.”

Poppy’s route into finance

When Poppy left school after A levels she knew she didn’t want to go to university so she did an NVQ Level 2 qualification in business administration and worked in a number of junior admin roles. After gaining her NVQ Level 3 she decided she was ready for a proper role as an administrator.

“A role opened up in finance where they needed help in matching. I really enjoyed. I had never thought about going down this route because I thought you had to be amazing at maths, but actually if you are organised and you like spreadsheets, you will enjoy it.

“I liked the role so much that I thought how can I progress from here and build a career ladder? So I did some temping while I went back to college to study for my AAT qualifications. The temping gave me a lot of experience in different industries.

After this, Poppy was ready for her next big move, and was eager to get more involved in month-end processes.

UNRVLD opportunities

“The role came up with UNRVLD and I didn’t think I would get it but they rang me up when I was driving home from the interview and offered me the job. Now I have just had a promotion. I’ve gone from senior finance assistant to finance manager and I it has worked out really well. Plus the company is growing which is really exciting.”

“If anyone is thinking of accountancy I would really recommend it. Start with AAT because that that does help you in your in your role and helps you understand the processes. Also, you can’t beat on the job training.”

She says the most surprising aspect of her role is that it is definitely not all about numbers. There is a lot of communication involved too.

From runner up to winner

UNRVLD has office in London, Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff, Belfast and Lithuania.  Ali Saigar, chief financial manager at UNRVLD and Poppy’s manager, described Poppy as “an absolute rockstar.”

“I nominated Poppy for an award two years ago and she came away with a honourable mention which, whilst it is a great result, does not do justice to the contribution she makes to UNRVLD and to me,” he said.

“I am the CFO of UNRVLD and I won the FD of the year < £25 million award three years ago. UNRVLD has come on leaps and bounds since then. At the time we were a £5 million turnover business with 50 staff in two locations. We’re now aiming to be a £25 million turnover business with 250 staff across eight offices in the UK and Europe.

“I co-led a management buyout with my colleague and business partner Dan Berry who is our CEO, and together we have executed an organic and in-organic growth cycle to get to this point. Poppy joined the business six months prior to the MBO and has been an absolute rockstar throughout this time.

“Poppy’s responsibilities are vast and varied, from managing cash flow to churning out high quality management accounts on a timely basis, to assisting on ad-hoc internal projects. She’s a fast learner and is very organised and conscientious with her roles and responsibilities.

Fast learner

Saigar says he has complete confidence in Poppy’s abilities to manage the day to day operations of the department:

“This enabled me to in-turn focus on fund raising and executing the MBO and managing three acquisition transactions in that time.

“As we grow, the challenges become more varied and complex. Poppy has demonstrated her versatility by adapting well to new members in the team and always demonstrating a great can-do attitude in everything she does.

Having begun her finance studies with AAT Levels 2 to 4, Poppy has gone on to study ACCA at the University of South Wales Newport City Campus.

“Without Poppy in my team I would not have been able to perform my role, and she is therefore a huge asset to me, the department and the company overall. Poppy is also managing to balance and progress her accountancy qualification at University on a part-time basis which also speaks volumes about her ability to get the job done but also her drive to invest in her personal and career development.”