#Careers Archives - Astute Financial

As a leading provider of accountancy staff, we look at what does accountancy mean, it’s history and importance to businesses today. Plus we explore the huge variety of careers available in the accountancy profession, and why accountancy really is a great career choice! We’ve included some great, useful links at the end too!

First, ‘WHAT IS ACCOUNTANCY?’

Historically, ‘Financial Accounting’ referenced how information was communicated on the financial position and performance of a business to its owner(s). An instant snapshot of how a business is really performing.

Financial statements, i.e. balance sheets and the income statement of a business revealed the real financial health of a company.

The word ‘accounting’, however, referred to one of the three principles of accountancy namely the process of reading, understanding, and maintaining the financial records of a business.

The other two? – Bookkeeping and auditing.

Accountancy and accounting are now synonymous, both referring to the methods of identifying, measuring, processing, classifying, recording, and reporting the financial status of an individual, company, business or organisation.

This information is mainly reported in the form of five key financial statements, prepared in accordance with relevant accounting standards, (IFRS, FRS, and various national GAAPs – including US GAAP – i.e. ‘generally accepted accounting principals’) to provide useful information to the users of these financial statements.

The two most important and most used accounting standards are IFRS and US GAAP.

USEFUL LINK: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/advocacy/issues/gaap

Accounting is one of the key functions of every business. Every company, charity, and organisation around the world will have the use of an accounting department, internally or externally, to look after it’s transactions, i.e. sales ledger and purchase ledger.

The size of the accounting department of a business depends on the scale and type of business. In larger companies, the accounting department usually has many more staff compared to SMEs.

Smaller SME companies and businesses typically have one or two bookkeepers/ accounts all-rounders, who can manage the day to day transactions, and either have an external accountant to refer to, monthly or yearly, or employ a company accountant/ financial controller or finance director/ Chief Operating Officer (CFO).

Similarly, businesses with a larger number of transactions per day will need more employees in their accounting department than ones with a smaller number of transactions.

Where did Accountancy come from?

Accountancy is one of the oldest professions, with a very rich past woven through history.

The modern guidelines we use today were formed from accounting principles started thousands of years ago in ancient region of Asia, called Mesopotamia.

When the idea of counting, tallying money and writing were conceived, that’s when the concept of accountancy is thought to have been born.

The Romans brought order and more formal processes in accounting. Logging and filing transactions.

Double-entry bookkeeping as we know it today, was credited as being first created in 1494 by Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician.

Pacioli is commonly credited as the first person to describe the concept of debits and credits in journals and ledgers.

His work in the field of accounting earned him the title of “Father of accounting” and he laid the foundation of modern accounting systems and processes.

The industrial revolution in the mid to late 18th century, created the need for a more advanced system of accounting.

The old, ancient accounting systems, while intrinsically sound, did not provide a solution for the then emerging modern structures of corporations.

For example, corporations had complex structures of ownership that did not exist in ancient times. Investments in those businesses were hard to make due to the lack of credible, detailed information available to investors.

To tackle this problem and attract more investors, corporations adopted a system of reporting their financial activities by publishing financial statements.

At the beginning, these financial statements were limited to the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The rise of the system of financial statements also gave rise to agency problems.

Agency problems arose because the shareholders of a corporation did not believe the management. This led to the development of a mainstream auditing system.

While the concept of auditing was already developed in ancient Egypt, it became a mainstream practice during these times.

So, what is an Accountant? What is their job?

An accountant is a professional practitioner of accountancy. Accountants are trained, competent professionals who have worked through different professional certification exams, or through their careers, have become ‘Qualified By Experience’.

Accountants are members or associates of professional accounting bodies such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Association Accounting Technicians (AAT).

Useful links to all of the professional accountancy bodies are at the foot of this blog if you would like to find out more about their courses, the training and examinations these really good organisations can offer to aspiring accountants.

In ancient times, accountants were viewed as solicitors that offered accounting services to their clients. However, in the mid-19th century, the Institute of Accountants in Glasgow petitioned Queen Victoria no less, for a royal charter.

This permitted them to legally define themselves as ‘accountants’ in their own right, rather than as ‘solicitors’. Even before the petition, accountancy as a profession was already recognised in Scotland. The petition to Queen Victoria meant that accountants could for the first time, be seen as professionals in accountancy rather than mere solicitors in the rest of the world as well.

This petition also laid the foundation for many professional accounting bodies such as the London Association of Accountants, later renamed to Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (ACCA) in the United Kingdom and the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) in the United States.

Aided by the industrial revolution, this created a demand for technically sound professionals who were capable of handling modern accountancy problems.

Branches of Accountancy – Our Astute ‘Accountancy Tree’ gives some clues!

Most people think of accountancy as simple bookkeeping and debits and credits. While these are a part of accountancy as a profession, there are several branches you can follow, each leading to varied, exciting and commercial accounting and finance jobs that are very different from each other.

**Choosing Accountancy as a profession really can offer contrasting, fulfilling, and varied career choices.**

We’ve broken down the key ones for you below: –

1) Financial Accounting

Financial accounting is the most popular and widely implemented branch of accountancy. Financial accounting branch is related to the reporting of the financial status of a business, through the financial statements, and any process that helps with the preparation of these financial statements.

For example, any process involved from entering source documents into the accounting systems of the business up to the preparation of the key financial statements falls under the financial accounting branch.

Careers can develop from training within a firm of accountants – local, regional firms including Dains, to the so called ‘Big 4’ – PWC, EY, Deloittes, and KPMG.

Or, you can choose commerce and industry (C&I), and secure Graduate Trainee Accountancy positions or Trainee Transactional jobs, such as Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR) – also commonly referred to as Credit Control, and Accounts Assistant positions.

2) Management Accounting

While financial accounting has to do with the preparation of the information that is reported externally, management accounting is related to the preparation of information for internal use.

Daily or monthly operating reports, budgets, variance analysis, etc. all fall under management accounting.

The information produced through management accounting is used by the management of the business to make decisions for the future of the business. These can be used for short-term or long-term strategy making.

3) Cost Accounting

Cost accounting is similar to management accounting and often considered a type of management accounting.

Cost accounting is the area of accountancy that is commonly used in the manufacturing industry. Costings are used to derive the cost of a product for decision-making purposes.

This cost can be calculated using different costing techniques such as absorption costing, marginal cost, activity-based costing, target costing, etc. Once costs are determined, cost accounting is also concerned with monitoring those costs. Some companies typically have a dedicated Cost Accountant while others employ a Management Accountant whose job description will also embrace Costings.

4) Auditing

While auditing does not involve preparing any accounting information, it is related to reviewing the information produced through other branches of accounting.

Auditing can either be internal or external. Internal auditing is performed by the management of the business to review accounting information produced for internal use.

External accounting is related to reviewing the information produced for external use, which mainly includes reviewing the financial statements of a business.

Auditing can also be used to determine level of internal control of an organization.

Just as with Financial Accounting, careers can develop from training within a firm of accountants – local, regional firms including Dains, to the so called ‘Big 4’ – PWC, EY, Deloittes & KPMG.

Each will have their own trainee schemes and will look to recruit staff directly through LinkedIn or use the services of an accountancy recruitment agency or recruitment consultancy.

5) Forensic Accounting

Forensic accounting is closely related to auditing. Forensic accounting is related to the use of accountancy techniques, skills, and knowledge in circumstances that might have legal implications.

Forensic accounting is the process of carrying out forensic investigations to present in a legal proceeding. Forensic accounting is mainly used for fraud investigations within the business, professional negligence cases, or insurance claims.

6) Accounting Information System – or System Accountants

Accounting Information System (AIS) is related to the collection, development, deployment, implementation and monitoring of the accounting procedures and systems that are used in the accounting process.

With the computerisation of the accounting process, AIS has become a computerized methodology for conducting accounting processes with information technology resources.

7) Tax Accounting

Tax accounting is the branch of accountancy that deals with the application of tax planning to benefit the business and preparation of tax returns.

It also involves calculating the income tax and other taxes of the business. Tax accounting is used to legally decrease the taxes of the business. Tax accounting should not be used for tax evasion.

The rules of tax accounting are defined and dictated by the local tax body of the country the tax is being paid in.

8) Fiduciary Accounting

Fiduciary accounting is the branch of accountancy that is related to the management of funds in trusts. This branch is mainly concerned with the trustee communicating any financial information about the trust to the beneficiaries.

Fiduciary accounting is regulated by the law and court and, therefore, the information produced through this branch must be accurate and precise.

9) Nonprofit Accounting

Nonprofit accounting mainly applies to charities and nonprofit organisations. In this branch of accountancy, incomes and expenses are recorded according to the nonprofit accounting standards. (SORPS)

This is the alternative of financial accounting for nonprofit organizations. In this branch of accounting, expenses are recorded in the statement of functional expenses.

Furthermore, both the income and expenses are recorded in the statement of activities.

10) Social Accounting

Social accounting is the branch of accountancy that is related to reporting the effect of the business’ activities on the society and environment.

For companies, social accounting is used in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and companies may be required by law to do so.

However, other types of organisations such as not-for-profits, charities or government departments, may also choose to adapt social accounting voluntarily.

So, in summary, ‘Accountancy’ or ‘accounting’ is the process of identifying, measuring, processing, classifying, recording, and reporting the financial information of a business.

Accountancy has many branches such as financial accounting, management accounts, financial analysis, cost accounting, auditing, tax accounting, and many, many more.

Modern popular careers in accountancy and finance that are increasingly key in today’s collaborative business world, are Finance Business Partners – blending the worlds of management accounting, financial analysis and stakeholder engagement.

If you are looking for a career in accountancy, or are wanting to develop your CPD / training – here are some useful links: –

USEFUL LINKS: –

CIMA – https://www.cimaglobal.com/

ACCA – https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en.html

ICAEW (ACA) – https://www.icaew.com/

AAT – https://www.aat.org.uk/

FRC (Financial Reporting Council) – https://www.frc.org.uk/accountants/accounting-and-reporting-policy/uk-accounting-standards/statements-of-recommended-practice-(sorps)

If you are looking for training providers for the professional accountancy examinations you can contact these two great organisations: –

KAPLAN – https://kaplan.co.uk/

BPP – https://www.bpp.com/

You can view our latest permanent and temporary vacancies on the following link;

https://www.astuterecruitment.com/all-jobs/

If you would like any further help, guidance or support, please contact our MD, Mary Maguire by email to; [email protected]

Or of course you can contact our team on 01332 346 100 – we are always happy to help.

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

57,600. A special number. Why?

Not my salary 🤣

Not how many fans will be at the next game at Wembley ⚽🤞

Nope.

Give or take, 57,600 is the number of hours I’ve spent at work in my career spanning 30 years.

That’s more than I’ve roughly spent with my family, friends and partners in all that time.

(happily married last 17 years👫).

I bet I’m not alone.

You can calculate your own career clock with some simple sums for fun.

But my serious point is, how much of my career clock is left? How much longer do I have to achieve my professional goals?

That’s not such a large number for me. (I love my job, but I don’t plan on working at 70 🧓). I am mindful that I only have a finite time left to achieve remaining professional goals.

If you do your sums, you can calculate how much of your very own career clock you have left.

The answer may surprise, appall or enthrall.

The difference between your ‘time served’ and ideal working career left tells you, in a nutshell, how long you have left to achieve your ambitions.

A time line.

Most people don’t think about this, wrapped up in layers of today’s problems. But if you are thinking of changing job/ applying for that promotion/ studying for your CIMA/ACCA/ACA/ AAT or other professional exam, you absolutely should know what the time is on your personal career clock.

Everything you work for, the job you do now to the people you work for, the exams and qualifications you select to acquire, should be helping you to achieve your ultimate career goal.

Knowing your ‘why am I doing this’ will make sure you are doing the right job for the right reasons, at the right time for you.

It could be to secure a job with better work /life balance now, while the kids are small but with a business that can give you promotions and growth in the future?

It could be you are an aspiring FD and need a role offering more man management / controls / commercial or other experience to fill that skill gap on your cv.

“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” – William Shakespeare.

As the Bard says, ’tis better to spend time waiting for the opportunity to take an action than miss the chance. But you need to recognise what those chances are, at the right time for you, seize them, and make those decisions to keep your life and career on track and on time.

The quote references Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, a character who suspects his wife’s infidelity, but it could be applied to any situation when you need to take a chance to change things and not miss the opportunity.

So, what’s the time left on your career clock?

It might just be the most important question for you and your professional aspirations!

If you would like confidential career advice you can contact Mary Maguire or our call our experienced team at Astute Recruitment Ltd on 01332 346 100.

An article by Mary Maguire, Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

Recruiting the right team will get the right results.

Every time.

On a warm June evening, Gareth Southgate led his England team out onto the Wembley turf. To the thousands of England and German fans there in the balmy air plus the millions watching on their TV screens, it promised to be an exciting evening and did not disappoint.

But lets turn the clock back a couple of days, even a few short hours before the game. Football experts, home-spun armchair critics and fans were giving their opinions.

Play X on the left, leave y on the bench. The formation has to be 3 4 3 or 4 4 2 or other.

Gareth gave a brilliant lesson to all in management.

He was on the ground, and he knew his players inside out.

He had trained with them.

Laughed with them. Cried with them on many a day and game before that summer evening facing their German opponents.

He knew what each player was capable of and when to deploy their strengths.

A certain fresh pair of legs in the second half gave just the right blend of creative endeavor, skillful artistry, and sheer energy at just the right moment to make the maximum impact. 2 goals in just a few mesmerising minutes.

That is the lesson for managers in business. To recruit and use the right talent at the right time. To listen to your own instincts and be guided by the facts in front of you. To play to your team’s strengths. Not to allow frustration to sap away energy when things seem to drag. Not to sacrifice the quality and professionalism of the team for a quick easy foul.

Instead, stick to your game plan, ensure that each member of your team knows their role inside out, what to do and when.

Most important of all, as a manager you are the creator of your team’s destiny. To get that togetherness and will to win, not just for each player but for them to want to win for each other.

That’s the true goal of every manager and the way for teams, whether in business or on the pitch, to win.

The remit of a Financial Director (FD) is to direct the financial obligations, and financial reporting of a business AND help drive the company forward with the senior management team.

But that’s the easy bit. What genuine qualities lift an ordinary FD into an extraordinary Director of Finance?

This isn’t about which accountancy qualification you secured. The best, most brilliant FDs we have had the pleasure of recruiting and recruiting for, have had the full range of qualifications from CIMA, ACCA, ACA, CA, CIPFA, and QBE. The ability to pass exams, demonstrates academic rigour, but the modern FD needs much more than just letters after their name.

They need emotional and business intelligence as much as academic prowess. As the world emerges from the maelstrom of Covid into a new normal, MDs are looking for candidates who can own and understand the numbers, but who can also be intuitive to understand the power of having and keeping a resilient finance team intact.

To start with, let’s distinguish the difference between a Financial Director and a Financial Controller. The lines of duty can blur in an SME setting, but a crucial difference is an FD directs, while an FC controls the day-to-day operations of the finance function.

To effectively ‘direct’, you need to be able to command, lead, inspire. If you can’t influence people to perform their duties properly, this is a big problem.

Then we have the engagement /people bit.

You may have a great ‘number 2’ as a financial controller or finance manager, to manage staff day to day but it’s crucial you can also command the respect of the team underneath.

Don’t silo yourself but keep open lines of communication, at all levels.

A modern breakdown of the key attributes to being an exceptional FD: –

D Decisive

I Inspirational

R Reflective

E Emotionally intelligent

C Collaborative

T Tenacious

S Supportive

Let’s look at these in more depth.

Decisive: –

Decision Makers have to be able to make decisions. You’re in the wrong job as an FD, if you struggle to reach a decision, stand by it and take responsibility for the course of action you have taken. Hindsight is a great thing. There will be mistakes made. But the extraordinary FD will own their decisions and be able to deftly calculate a fresh course of direction weighing up the risks and benefits. There’s no hiding place for a great FD. You need to be seen to be a leader in your company, amongst your peers, and by your team. That’s how respect is earned.

Inspirational: –

To inspire is to be innovative. To think “outside of the box” through your knowledge and experiences, and to be creative in your thinking. The key here is application. How you apply your experience to specific, spontaneous work and business situations. As a mindset, the exceptional FD will have the dexterity to apply their interactions to a wide spectrum of situations, encouraging, and motivating their people and peers to achieve the best possible business outcomes.

Resourceful: –

This has become an absolutely crucial attribute. More than ever, the ability to adapt to many different functions or activities, the FD may have to step into other roles e.g. Interim Managing Director/ IT Director/ HR Director. They must be commercially aware and must understand the other areas of the business such as HR, Strategic direction, and IT amongst others.

Emotional intelligence: –

The Oxford University definition: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

“emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success”.

People have been hugely affected by changes to their working routines. An FD needs to be more mindful than ever of the psychological and mental well-being of their team and lead their staff through the return to a new normal. An outstanding FD will be able to direct how their team(s) can be professionally steered during the transition from Lockdown to new normal.

They will also have honed great recruitment skills to select the talent they need, interview and challenge potential hires, and most importantly have a succession plan.

Collaborative: –

Collaboration at work means involving two or more people working together for a particular purpose for the benefit of the company. This means having the ethical, professional, and moral compass to know what needs to happen and how to work together, to bring the best results. Being emotionally aware of not just yourself but others at work is key. An exceptional FD will understand how to approach people at all levels and how to temper their language, tone and timbre to make the best possible collaboration work. Remote working and online meetings mean your efforts need to transfer even more clearly and effectively than in person.

Remember: Collaboration can be upwards, as well as cascading to more junior staff.

The FD needs to balance ambition with reality and needs to be the “wise counsel to the board without allowing entrepreneurial flair to become suppressed.”

Tenacious: –

Tenacity is the determination to consistently continue what you are doing. To see things through. From ensuring financial information produced stands up to scrutiny from external auditors, bank and other external, legal parties.

All stakeholders expect honesty and a “nothing to hide” attitude to be consistently delivered. The highest standards (ethics) must be maintained, the FD should be seen as the “Champion” of the organisation’s culture and ensure that good corporate governance is maintained at all times.

The exceptional FD will have this in hand.

Supportive: –

“Your support network is the solid ground from which you can propel yourself upwards” . Anna Barnes.

This is about your own support network as much as being a supportive FD.

The most successful business people will have great emotional and personal backup networks. From family, and friends to external services and people to make their personal lives run as smoothly, healthily, and efficiently as possible.

You can’t be an effective, exceptional FD if your personal life and own wellbeing are in disarray.

If you would like confidential career or employment advice around this or any other topic, please contact Mary Maguire and she will be delighted to help you or navigate you to one of our team.

Article by Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

Top 5 Skype Interview Tips for candidates from Astute Recruitment Ltd

With more and more workplaces cancelling meetings and face to face interviews, companies are increasingly turning to Skype and other media to play an increasing part in the recruitment process.

Here at Astute, we thought this would be more crucial than ever. An online interview can either be audio or visual but most employers prefer Skype, where a potential candidate can be interviewed ‘remotely’. As with any interview in person, there are do’s and don’ts that every candidate should know.

Below are 5 Skype interview tips to help you nail that job: –

1.Dress the part: You might not meet your potential employer physically in person, face to face, but you will still need to dress professionally. Your interviewer can still see you and of course, you can see them! Make sure you have a chosen outfit ready for you to wear the night before.

2. Don’t be late! Be ready an hour earlier so that you can prepare in advance. As with any interview you need to ensure you have allowed plenty of time to become calm. Make sure all radios, TVs and mobile phones are set to silent at least 15 minutes before your interview begins so there is no distracting background noise.

3. Ensure your network is working! Make sure your computer and network are functioning well. Test your microphone and camera beforehand to prevent glitches. The last thing you want is to just log in to Skype and find that you can see your interviewer but cannot hear them or vice versa!

4. Setup your environment and surroundings to look professional. Create a clean, tidy background that represents your organisational skills. Sounds obvious, but make sure that the view of your area behind you which your ‘interviewer/ interviewers’ can see looks ordered, clean and clear.

5. Focus on the camera. Tricky one this – as the natural tendency is to look someone in the eye, whether on screen or face to face. On camera, on an online interview, this means you having to look straight into the camera as a way of keeping eye contact with your interviewer and NOT looking the person you are talking to directly in the eye on the screen. Our advice? Practice, practice, and practice again. You can ask a friend to be on the other end of the camera as a practice Skype interview exercise, allowing you to practice this in real-time. Even better, get your friend to ask you proper interview questions.

What keeps financial controllers awake at night and 4 brilliant tips for aspiring FCs

Here at Astute Recruitment, we recognise that the aspiring FC’s of tomorrow want to learn what key challenges they will face taking the next step in their career. So, we’ve taken the time to signpost the 5 main challenges Financial Controllers Face and key tips on how you can gain experience to step up to an FC role.

According to research conducted by EY, the number one cause of sleepless nights is recruiting the right finance staff for your team and succession planning.

TIP: If you are an aspiring Financial Controller, any exposure to the recruitment process will be invaluable, whether liaising with recruitment consultancies, crafting clear and accurate job descriptions or mastering interview techniques for potential staff. Put yourself forward and offer to help in any way you can.

2. Keeping abreast of new accounting treatments, changes to IFRS and revenue recognition.

For the aspiring FC, if you can demonstrate how you have maintained great current knowledge of all the latest developments in financial and management accounting, you will be positioning yourself ahead of a lot of other job applicants or in your chase of a promotion. Offer to alleviate workloads from your Financial Controller and gain excellent experience to add value to your CV at the same time.

3. Implementing changes/ Change management

Many of our client’s state “change management” as key criteria for potential job applicants to Financial Controller opportunities. Finance Directors, CFO’s and senior Financial Controllers have ever increasing remits, not just across Finance but also embracing Operations, HR, IT, Procurement and Production.

If you can spot areas you can offer to help them- suggest projects to improve financial processes, or to clarify and create ever quicker, concise management information, you will achieve 2 things:
You will be able to demonstrate to an existing or future employer how you have made a tangible difference benefitting the business.
You will have proven experience of taking initiative and of you specifically suggesting solutions that have worked.
In essence, you will have positioned yourself as a more credible applicant, proven to go the extra mile and someone who can deliver defined improvements to a business’ operation!

A common failing cited by clients of unsuccessful applicants for FC and other positions is that the candidate was great – personable, knowledgeable and suitably experienced BUT– When asked to provide examples of how they have made a difference – candidates have described how they have been part of a team who have done a/b/c but failed to demonstrate how they have personally taken ownership and made a difference themselves. You need to sell yourself and promote your achievements clearly, concisely and be able to demonstrate the benefits to finance and for the business as a whole of what you did. Practice telling your story so your words can flow in the heat of an interview situation.

4. Less margin for error yet no increased leeway for reporting deadlines to be achieved.

Finance Directors are increasingly spending more time on investor relations, more time on corporate governance and yet are still expected to devote the same energy and time ‘on the business’. As a result, more FD’s are increasingly willing to push more work onto their Financial Controllers.
In an article for E&Y, a senior Financial Controller for a well-known manufacturer said that “the difference between the CFO and the FC is that the FC is more like the financial operating officer. They make sure that there are no surprises in the balance sheet and that the audits are clean. The CFO/ FD keeps on top of the numbers, but they have a big external focus in the positioning of the company with investors”

How can this help an aspiring Financial Controller? Offer your help to assist your FC with their traditional duties while they may be given extra workloads cascaded down from their own boss. Always remember – if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Exclusive Mental Resilience In The Workplace Business Breakfast Hosted By Astute Recruitment With John Dabrowski

Astute Recruitment are delighted to announce our next exclusive quarterly business breakfast event will take place on February 15th 2018. We have managed to secure a fantastic international guest speaker, published author and business coach – John Dabrowski!

· Have you ever felt that pressure of work is getting too much?

· Do you wish you could relax more and feel less stressed?

· Are there times when you get stuck in a negative mindset?

· Could you and your team benefit from techniques to maintain a positive mindset?

· Would you and your team like to be inspired and energised at work?

If the answer to any of the above is yes…then this event is for you! You will hear from John about the key strategies to improve your own mindset and that of your team in this powerful workshop.

John has spent over 30 years in the business world, putting him in a unique position to deal with contemporary business challenges. His vast mix of experience, accomplished ability to make personal growth simple, delivered with his infectious enthusiasm and energy, has inspired audiences, and made him a most highly regarded and sought after expert in all aspects of mental resilience.

Photo of John Dabrowski
Mental Resilience Expert
International Speaker
Published Author

http://www.jdmindcoach.com/

Programme: –

7:30          Registration, complimentary tea/ coffee and           Complimentary breakfast
7:45          Introduction
7:50          John Dabrowski
8:45          Opportunity for Q & A / Networking
9:00          Close

Free car parking is available and if you have any special dietary requirements please contact Mary Maguire – [email protected]

Please let us know if the breakfast event could be of interest and one of our team can forward you a complimentary and exclusive invitation to attend with details to confirm your place. This event is strictly by invitation only and there are only a few places so ensure you don’t miss out and contact Mary Maguire, Managing Director on 01332 346 100 or by email [email protected] for more information.

Do let us know if you would be interested in hearing about other events… and if you would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter where we will announce other events and topical career and business articles, videos and more!

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Mike

16:04 13 Mar 23

Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.

C R.

10:45 27 Jan 23

Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊

Christine

10:32 20 Dec 22

Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!

Helen Pinegar

16:19 18 Dec 22

Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!

Lisa Leigh

11:56 30 Nov 22

I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.