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Financial systems manager: Roderic

This Case Study belongs to Chartered management accountant.

Roderic graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2002 with a four-year MA in Economic Science. He now works as financial systems manager for BT Group plc.

Although I was initially undecided between investment banking and accountancy, I made the decision to go with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification during graduation because I wanted to work in industry. CIMA is a good business qualification and gives a clear understanding of how organisations work.

The qualification enables you to see the bigger picture and is very forward looking. You still look at month end or year end results, which are historical, but it’s more about making recommendations on the best way forward for the company, whether the situation is good or bad. It’s a very adaptable and flexible qualification and gives lots of options.

I joined the BT Finance Graduate Trainee Programme with a commitment to become a management accountant within three years - a good motivator to do the studying needed. As part of the training programme, I was rotated round different departments so gained a variety of experience from the beginning. BT is a CIMA-accredited employer so you have the reassurance of the quality of the training you’re getting. It was formal and structured with lots of quality checks along the way. BT invest a lot in their staff - if you added up all the costs it would be a six-digit figure per trainee for the three years while you’re gaining the qualification. I got five days' revision time per exam. We were also encouraged to share study with other trainees and help each other. It’s hard work studying most evenings after a full day in the office or to give up your Saturday, so I’d say it’s important to look at what support a potential employer will give you as well as the starting salary.

CIMA was a good choice for me. It has met all my expectations, even though I am not in an area I expected to end up in. I work in finance transformation, which is all about finding ways on how we (in finance) can become more efficient and effective in our work. I’m currently working on a project that will bring one of our largest European subsidiaries into our common global finance platform. The project is important because it will deliver better tools to our colleagues locally and provide headquarters with better financial controls. Before this, I managed the outsourcing of some activities to India with a shared processing centre for invoices. It involved lots of international travel and working in a multicultural environment. The projects are challenging but exciting and you can definitely see the effects of what you’ve done.

The ‘modern’ finance role is about adding value so employers want people who can see the bigger picture and are enthusiastic about driving change. There’s no question that shareholders want to see returns so you’ve got to pull your weight in finance. You’ve got to be a team player, good at networking and finding information. You need excellent communication skills and you can’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You will also need to show commercial acumen and a willingness to challenge old accepted ways of thinking. The world outside is changing fast so you need to help your organisation run faster.

CIMA gives me the flexibility to go where I want. I could move into a non-financial role at any time. CIMA members can be found on company boards across the country. Equally, I could move into strategy because my qualification has given me an overview of strategic management issues. I could stay in finance and become a group finance director. Alternatively I could move into consultancy and advise other finance directors on how to improve the effectiveness of their function and reduce costs.

There is a good salary progression in finance depending on how far you want to go. You get peaks in the workload but on average the work-life balance is good. If you keep delivering results, it’s a relatively safe profession, even in the credit crunch. In the bad times a management accountant is assessing how to downsize, reduce costs and, most importantly, hold as much cash as possible; in the good times you’re looking at how best to expand. It’s been a good choice for me.

Case Study sourced by Simon Thompson of University of Derby, 31 March 2009.