Our CEO once said that the best way to succeed and get to the top in industry is to get a financial qualification. A career in accountancy offers you security, a challenge and diversity in the work you do. You can work in any industry in many countries and in a variety of roles.
At Centrica I work within the Commodity Trading area, which procures over 50% of the UK's Gas and Power needs. In accounting terms my job is basically sweeping up after the traders.
Studying ACCA has made finance graduates very appealing to the business and offered us some great roles in key parts of the organisation. It shows a person's commitment to their career, which I think many employers regard highly.
I can't think of a more transferable qualification, in any industry really. Centrica is a prime example - we deal with pricing, power stations, pipelines, call centres, commodities, engineers and global subsidiaries. ACCA provides me with the background skills not only to work in areas of finance relating to these departments, but which are also a distinct advantage in other areas such as group strategy, marketing and investor relations.
I would like to dip my toe into as many different areas as possible without limiting progression. I'm yet to find an area that I could spend my whole career focused on, but I think that's the advantage of accounting. It's so wide and varied that there is definitely going to be something out there with my name on it.
