From Philosophy student to chartered accountant in a FTSE250
I studied Philosophy and English Literature and then joined Ernst & Young as an auditor. Following finance roles in various companies, I joined FirstGroup in 2013, working initially in the Bus division where there was a lot of change within the finance function, with the consolidation of local teams into regional or divisional teams. It was a really interesting time to be working in the bus division, and I found I really enjoyed the public transport industry, primarily because it has such a direct impact on people’s day to day lives.
In 2017 the opportunity came up to move to our North American Greyhound division as Financial Controller. With a husband and a 2-year-old, it was a big decision to move to Dallas in the USA, but I absolutely loved the challenge of being somewhere different, in a business with a really dedicated workforce who were so proud of what they do, and meeting so many brilliant people. I also got to travel occasionally with my role, so was able to visit some of the US when I was there, specifically the maintenance depot in Chicago, training in Las Vegas and a pension committee in New Orleans.
When it was time for my daughter to start school, we made the decision to move back to the UK, and I was offered a role at Great Western Railway (GWR) as Financial Controller. GWR again has a really strong brand and very dedicated teams who I really enjoyed working with. During this period I had my second daughter, and did two short secondments within the Group Finance function within the Corporate Centre to support the annual report process.
Last year an opportunity came up to work for Group Finance, at the corporate centre, on a permanent basis, starting with implementing changes to corporate reform across the whole Group. This includes a set of Government reforms, often referred to as UK SOX, which will see the UK move closer to the US Sarbanes-Oxley regime of requiring additional scrutiny and reporting over the control environment. I can see that my knowledge of processes across the divisions and my existing network will be useful in delivering the project.
I'm working across the business to deliver a major finance project
My role is based at the corporate centre, and my first project here is implementing changes to corporate reform across the whole Group. This includes a set of Government reforms, often referred to as UK SOX, which will see the UK move closer to the US Sarbanes-Oxley regime of requiring additional scrutiny and reporting over the control environment. My knowledge of processes and teams across the divisions has been really useful in delivering the project. I love the variety in the role, as no two days are the same, and I'm enjoying learning new skills.
Variety and an end goal in sight!
My role is never the same from day to day, and I love working exclusively on one complex task with a small team. The role offers the opportunity to have a real depth of knowledge on the- subject which I am really enjoying.
Plant seeds and be visible
Try to figure out what you want and then make decision makers for those roles aware of your aspirations and why you think it would be good for both FirstGroup and you. I kept in touch with the network I established regularly – both to understand what was happening across the division but also to get an understanding of opportunities that might be available. I got my Greyhound role by repeatedly nudging the then Chief Financial Officer that it would be great for development and knowledge sharing if we could do more overseas secondments.
Building mutual trust in the Greyhound finance team
In Greyhound my finance team responded really well to being listened to and their opinions respected and considered. They were an amazing and hardworking team, but needed to know they were believed in and trusted by management. Allowing a more democratic and supportive team environment really helped to get the best from the team, for example them offering to stay to finish something off to support the team, rather than being told to as they might have had previously.
