Should your next move be into a Corporate or an SME?

By Chris Daems

Chris Daems is the director of Principal Financial Solutions, a small financial planning practice based in the city of London.  During his career, Chris worked for a number of large financial institutions before setting up his own business.  Chris’s experience is working with both medium sized businesses and high net worth individual clients.

Let’s assume you’re looking for your next opportunity to develop your career and feel that you can’t fully utilise your skills in your current role. Let’s also assume you have two opportunities on the table, one with a large corporate organisation and another with a medium sized niche practice. A natural assumption is that the opportunities, potential career progression and scope of work within the corporate environment would be greater due to the size of the organisation. Whilst on many occasions these assumptions are correct, is it worth considering looking at the smaller business?

Personally, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I now run a small financial planning business but have worked for large corporate organisations for the majority of my career.

How does the corporate environment compare with working within a SME practice environment? 

Well, I don’t believe I would have launched my business without having the training, development and supportive environment of a large business. I also think that if you are at the early stages of your career, a larger corporate environment tends to provide more support in helping develop your skills than a smaller niche professional practice can.

However, and I’m sure it depends on the culture of the business you work in, I reached a stage in my career when I wanted to broaden my portfolio of skills, build my own long term professional relationships and start to develop my own systems and practices.  In my experience, taking this element of control can be particularly tough in a corporate environment and it tends to be easier to develop as a professional (once a certain level of competence has been achieved) in a smaller niche practice.

Within my business we encourage our staff to share ideas, take on new projects, develop new business opportunities and suggest changes to our systems to make the way we work more efficient. This culture was developed based on my frustration of working within a large corporate where sometimes that creativity was stifled.  Therefore the question I believe you need to ask yourself is, does the opportunity you are considering offer the opportunities, flexibility and scope to build as a professional?    

 

Are you looking for a new opportunity in accounting or know someone who is? Have you worked with an SME or a Corporate and want to share your thoughts and experience? Got a question for Chris? 

Feel free to leave your questions and comments below.

 

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Newly ACA qualified Chartered Accountant?

By Harriot Bishop

Harriot joined Marks Sattin after graduating from Southampton with a BA in Geography. She joined the Professional Services division as part of the Newly Qualified Accounting Team. Harriot specialises in sourcing accountants with 0-1years PQE from the leading accountancy practices for opportunities across Financial Services, Commerce & Industry and Professional Services. She has become an expert in providing career advice and guidance to this market sector whilst becoming respected internally for an extensive pool of high calibre   candidates.  

Astronaut? Princess? Ballerina? Probably once upon a time. There aren’t many, but unfortunately those are a few of the things that an ACA qualified candidate is a little under-qualified for.

With results released only a month ago, and the new years resolutions made along the lines of “2012 will be the year I get a new job”, January sees an influx of CVs and phone-calls to recruitment firms. The only issue being that after three years of blood, sweat and tears, the newly qualified accountants are often clueless as to what they actually want to be now they’ve “grown up”.

Planning your accountancy job move in 2012

By Nik Pratap

Nik Pratap leads the professional services recruitment team and the National Lead Director for Hays Senior Finance. Nik has over twelve years’ experience of working in the qualified finance recruitment sector in Yorkshire and the North West.

Recent research from Hays found that two-thirds of the working population is likely to move on if they were offered a better job. If your resolution is to move jobs this year, then understanding the needs of employers will help you tailor your job search and stand out from the crowd.

How not to hit a ‘Glass Ceiling’

By Billy Bradley

Billy joined Marks Sattin in September 2011 via the Graduate Scheme. He focuses specifically on placing Part Qualified accountants within Commerce & Industry, in areas such as Media, Publishing, Advertising, PR and FMCG. He is currently working with clients such as Expedia, Estee Lauder and M & C Saatchi, along with a number of SME clients.

A ‘Glass Ceiling’ can be described as an unofficial barrier to workplace advancement. The glass ceiling metaphor has often been used to describe invisible barriers through which candidates can see senior positions but cannot reach them. Employees studying towards their CIMA or ACCA can get to the point where they believe they have achieved all that they can within a current position despite knowing that they have much more potential. At this point they can clearly see the next level of progression or promotion, yet despite their best efforts, an invisible barrier seems to be stopping them from proceeding. 

Tips for Accountancy Graduates

By David Carter

Dave joined Marks Sattin via the graduate scheme in September 2011, after achieving a 2:1 in Geography and Economics at Loughborough University. He works specifically within Commerce & Industry, focusing particularly on the Retail, Fashion, FMCG, and Consumer Product Industries. 

Since joining the company he has already worked with Random House Publishing, Guoman and Thistle Hotels, amongst numerous other smaller clients.

With an invaluable range of opportunities on offer, a career in accountancy is an attractive career prospect to high numbers of graduates. But in order to pursue that career what do you need to do? And what are the options available?

Getting your foot in the accountancy door as a graduate means you get to start out in an exciting environment perfect for graduates! But the option to work internationally, gain professional qualifications and last but not least earn a good salary is only achievable with hard work and determination.

There are two distinct routes to take when entering into accountancy – Practice or Industry.

In Accountancy, temping doesn’t have to be a last resort

By Darren Moore, Consultant at Marks Sattin 

Darren Moore leads the contract/temporary division of Marks Sattin for the North West. After graduating with a degree in Finance and Accounting, Darren joined an interim management provider recruiting for candidates within the contract and interim market. He has extensive experience in recruiting interim managers across a variety of disciplines, including finance, and his specialist knowledge and experience ensures that he truly understands client needs and candidates’ strengths. 

The stereotype of a temporary worker is one that is low skilled, underpaid, overworked and lacks career progression. One of the things I hear too often is ‘I’ll only temp if I’m desperate’, but what more people are beginning to realise is that this form of employment can provide people with a great career and, in a lot of cases, an even greater income. Within accountancy, more candidates are opting for non-permanent employment from ledger clerks to directors of finance.

Interview tips to help get your foot on the ladder

Top interview tips on how to get your foot on the ladder in the world of accountancy and finance

By Gemma Cozens 

Gemma Cozens is Membership Progression Manager at AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). She is responsible for supporting members in their journey through studying  the AAT accounting qualification into the accountancy profession.

The world of accountancy and finance is now appealing to more people than ever. Why? It can be a lucrative field to work in and once skilled up; finance and accounting professionals are sought after in every industry and across both public and private sectors. 

In this competitive marketplace, you need to be more prepared than ever before to get your foot up the ladder.

Acing an Accountancy Interview

By Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones is the head of Alexander Lloyd’s Interim Accountancy division, which is part of the South East’s leading recruitment consultancy for the Accountancy market. With an unrivalled network of contacts and industry knowledge, they continually and successfully place the region’s top candidates in a range of companies. 

Being a job seeker is challenging in today’s highly competitive marketplace. One of the most consistent areas of concern for those seeking new roles is performing successfully at the all-important interview. It is not surprising considering the time and effort that has gone into getting this far and the pressure on you to shine is considerable.

The very first thing to do is thoroughly quiz your consultant on the interviewer and the company. How many people and who will be conducting the interview and what are their roles within the company.  How do these relate to the role that you are interviewing for?  Any good consultant will have all these details to hand and be able to fully brief you.  The other important question to ask them is what format the interview will take, will you be asked to take tests?  Many accountancy and finance roles will require you to pass numerical and verbal reasoning and possibly personality assessments.  Whilst there is little practical preparation you can do for these, you must be prepared for them so that there are no nasty surprises on your arrival.

Working in Finance for a Charity POST 3#

By Rob Hayter,
Director, TPP Not for Profit and Chairman, National Childbirth Trust

Rob specialises in recruiting at a senior level in the not-for-profit, charity, voluntary and public sectors. Rob has recruited to senior local government posts including two large-scale, multi-vacancy campaigns. He is currently leading the growth and development of the executive division at TPP Not for Profit, a specialist, national third sector recruitment consultancy. Rob Hayter was appointed as a trustee of the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) in June 2008, chair from June 2010. 

Working in Finance for a Charity  By Rob Hayter -  Continued....

 What to expect as a finance professional

As part of the finance department within the charity or not for profit sector, you will find yourself at the heart of the organisation. Whether you’re working in a team processing invoices, managing gift aid and preparing donor reports, completing the monthly management accounts or financial year end to SORP, your role will be pivotal in the overall success of the organisation.

Working in Finance for a Charity - Post 2#

Working in Finance for a Charity  By Rob Hayter -  Continued....

Salary overview for Accounting Roles

Contrary to popular opinion, salaries in the charity sector are actually rather competitive in comparison to other sectors and charitable organisations have begun to recognise the need to be more comparative with the commercial sector in order to attract the best accountants and finance professionals. However, it is often superior benefits, such as excellent holiday entitlement, pension schemes, flexible working hours and a good working environment, that really motivate candidates to move into the charity sector.

An Accounts Assistant can expect to earn a base salary of £18,000 - £23,000 while a Finance Manager could expect to be on a pay scale of 34,000 - £39,000. These salaries can vary though, depending on the size of the organisation, their income and the qualifications required.

Here is an overview of estimated pay scales in the charity sector:

Average salary of roles placed with TPP in 2010

	Average	Lowest	Highest
Assistant/Clerk	21k	13k	25k
Officer	26k	14k	34k
Accountant	34k	27k	45k
Controller	35k	21k	45k
Manager	37k	25k	52k
Director/Head of	46k	35k	65k

More detailed information on salaries in the sector is included in the CFDG’s annual salary survey.

If you would like to know what to expect in terms of your role and career prospects in the Charity sector, watch this space for Working in Finance for a Charity POST 3#

 

Note to editors

TPP Not for Profit has over 14 years of experience of providing a wide range of specialist recruitment services to organisations in the third and not for profit sectors. TPP has eight distinct divisions: Fundraising & Development; HR, Learning & Development; Senior Appointments; Marketing & Communications; Office & Specialist Support; Finance, & Accountancy; Medical & Social Care and Education & Training - covering a wide range of roles at all levels - both temporary and permanent.

For further information please contact Natalie Ponting (Marketing Manager) on 020 7198 6180 or natalie.ponting@tpp.co.uk. W: www.tpp.co.uk