UK_YCORP_Intro_HT

I didn’t plan to be an accountant. At school I wasn’t sure what career to go into. But I was always a numbers person – it felt natural to go into this type of work.

Early roles have given me a broad set of skills. Working in audit for PwC in Luxembourg and as a financial accountant at Société Générale in London has helped develop many of the skills I’m looking for. I found audit quite formal and backward-looking but it instilled good working practices in me. 

My move into the travel industry to join British Airways came about by luck. I wasn’t job hunting, but when I heard about this role I was really interested. I support BA’s Gatwick business unit. The role is great because I work with various departments, helping them control spending, set financial plans and meet demanding targets. It is like being part of a small airline and I like to have an overall view of the business.

Line-managing a small team – including two offshore – has been a learning curve. Two years ago we started to outsource transactional activity to India. We’ve faced challenges such as language barriers and staff turnover, but I forged a strong working relationship with the team leader. By focusing on a smooth process map and being open and trustworthy, we now have everything working smoothly.

The airline industry is extremely competitive, with a constant focus on the bottom line. The business sets us many challenges around how we can reduce our cost base. We analyse many trends and are often asked to analyse our future trends. The business collectively has been set ambitious cost targets, and my team relishes helping it meet these.

British Airways and Iberia are owned by parent company IAG. I joined BA nearly five years ago in a role in the operations division when IAG was set up. I was involved with the synergy project to drive and track synergy benefits across airports where both Iberia and BA operate. Working with colleagues at Iberia proved interesting – for instance, we were able to compare ground handling costs and help renegotiate existing terms with suppliers.

Having the ACCA Qualification is like a passport. It really opened the door to joining a big company. I also benefit from ACCA’s research reports, with recent reports on pathways to CFO and 100 drivers of change particularly useful. 

My ambitions include travelling and working across other continents. Away from work, I take full advantage of BA’s travel perks. I love travelling! I particularly enjoyed a recent visit to Rio de Janeiro.