FP&A Accounts Associate Review

I am a financial planning analyst. I provide and create reports to the different departments within the company. It is a mixture of monthly cycles and adhoc requests. We look for any abnormal figures in the accounts and bring them to the attention of the department heads, who will provide an explanation or provide a correction.

I have had an extensive opportunity to develop existing skills that I have learnt in previous studies but until now, not really had a chance to use, as they weren't part of my job. I had the opportunity to swap roles within the company, which means I am now able to use these skills and develop more. The apprenticeship has been extremely beneficial as I can go into a lesson and learn the theory of an accounting concept, but then go into work the next day and actually use it.

It helps that I really enjoy accounting and have an interest in it. The apprenticeship is very demanding of time & dedication, and some days are really hard after a long days work but I have an amazing support network both at home and work. I have the list of exams on my wall next to my desk, this helps to remind me how far I have come and helps to keep me motivated.

For me this is very well organised. Each unit is split into smaller sections and the learning provider have a website I can login to for question practice along with pre-recorded lessons. Each unit is split into steps and each step has a due date, to help you stay on track. All of this is to support online live tutor lessons for 1 day a week. The tutors are available to answer your questions throughout the week.

I have weekly catch up calls with my manager. We have a dedicated internal apprenticeship team who keep in touch and ask for feedback periodically. I have 1 day a week off work to attend the live tutor lessons along with 1.5 hours a day to log onto the website and do question practice. I feel very well supported and know that my manager is there if I want to ask any technical questions. He is also dedicated to providing me with work that allows me to put my learning into practice.

We have periodic performance calls with the training provider every 6 months. The tutors can see if we are keeping up with the steps on the website (completing them by the due dates), if they notice anyone getting behind, they will get in touch and try to understand why and what can be done to help. We also receive 'check in' emails every 2 weeks from the performance team, just asking how we are doing and if we need to raise anything with them.

Because the units are split into smaller more manageable tasks it means I am able to concentrate on 1 small section at a time. I've found this helps me absorb the information easier, so when I'm doing my normal job I have noticed I'm starting to remember what I've learnt and actually apply it better. It's helped me improve the quality of my work and the time it takes to complete tasks as I'm not needing to check things with my manager so much.

Ever since covid I have been primarily a work from home employee. Most employees in the company now work from home, however, we do still have offices that we can meet up in. Our employer has been really good in that they have brought in a work your way program, so employees can choose how they work. This has changed the dynamic of the office life a lot, so the majority of activities are now provided remotely. A few examples of events we have are: Online gaming competitions Lunch & learn webinars Quizzes Online exercise classes

Yes

I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to work for them. They really look after their employees and care about their welfare & work life balance. They are big on bringing in new recruits at the bottom and training them up into the management positions. You really feel that you can achieve alot and go far in this company.

Don't be afraid to start from the bottom, once they see what your capable of they will pave the way and work with you to get where you want to and achieve what you want. They aren't afraid to let you change jobs within the company every few years if you fancy a change or want to widen your experience.