Accounts Assistant Review

During my time at the financial Ombudsman, I have had the privilege to experience a wide variety of tasks and events in our Finance and performance department. My day to day tasks consists of downloading and allocating items from our bank statement, preparing and posting journals, supporting accounts payable/receivable and reconciling our cash book against the bank statement.

I have learnt how to use our accounting software and utilise the different settings and preferences to benefit me for my role. Also I have been able to develop my Microsoft Excel knowledge/skills and can now use advanced formulas and use the appropriate shortcuts to make my job easier. Finally, I have been able to use the training received from BPP to progress towards gaining my accounting qualifications.

I have found this programme very beneficial to my career and for my work ethic, because it has made me more independent and driven towards achieving a very prestigious qualification. Also I have gained the best possible experience in a working environment and met lots of great people who have helped me develop my career in accountancy

The induction we received as apprentices was astonishing and I personally felt very welcomed into the company. The training I have received could have been better as I only was able to have online webinars rather than classroom based lectures as requested, however there are many learning resources available online and that has helped me progress in my studies. Overall the majority of this programme has been structured and has made me feel confident in my progression.

My manager has been very supportive and understanding of my inexperience towards this role. We have weekly meetings to discuss my progress and what I need to do next. My mentor has taught me most of the main task I do in my role and has also been very supportive. Our HR department have organised several different events to gather all the apprentices and collect feedback which has been very reassuring. Most importantly any problems that I have faced have been resolved by either my manger, HR or my mentor and this has built up a very good working relationship.

Even though I mention about my disappointment not to have classroom based lectures guaranteed, my online tutors were very supportive towards me and helped me pass my exam. I also stated earlier that there were many resources online which provided me with unlimited support and knowledge in the subject I was learning. Even though this has been a very hard process and has taken so many hours out of my day, at the same time it is very rewarding and I have enjoyed the whole experience of working towards this qualification so far.

My first exam was not suitable to my role at all, so I really struggled to relate to this, whilst the exam I am currently studying for is very helpful and coincides with my role perfectly. I have been able to use examples from my work and compare them with questions from my text book. Not only have I got better at my tasks, I now understand the reasons why I am doing them and how my actions effect others within the finance sector.

Absolutely. I have been involved in lots of events during my short time at the Financial Ombudsman Service. These events consist of award ceremonies, team engagement lunch's/dinners and social events. All of these experiences have made my time here even better and I am so grateful for the invitations I receive.

Yes

Working at the Financial Ombudsman service has provided me with the best possible experience and has offered amazing opportunities to develop my career at a much quicker and successful rate. I would recommend is to anyone, not just a friend because the work that you do is recognised and rewarding, you are seen as a person, not a number.

I would advise them to focus all their energy in the application process and not to be disheartened by other company vacancies who may turn them down because the Financial Ombudsman Service acts with integrity and objectivity towards their applicants. If an individual doesn't have level 9's in every subject, they will not be immediately written off, so my final piece of advice is to not give up and strive towards the position available.