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by Victoria Ashton 28 Mar 2006 Diploma in Financial Management Relevant to All papers

Energy services company E.ON UK encourages its managers to take the Diploma in Financial Management for the benefit of both the employee and the business. Victoria Ashton reports.

E.ON UK, the company that runs Powergen, is one of the UK's leading energy suppliers and the second largest electricity generator in the UK. E.ON employs over 12,500 staff, spread across a number of locations in the UK, with headquarters in Coventry in the West Midlands. E.ON UK is part of the multinational energy group E.ON, which operates throughout Europe and the US, and has headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany.

As well as supplying approximately nine million homes and businesses with electricity, E.ON also runs power stations, distributes electricity across central England through Central Networks, trades electricity and gas, and invests in sources of renewable energy including wind farms, hydropower, and biomass fuels.

E.ON UK actively supports its employees under 'The Employee Deal' which encompasses careers, rewards, learning and development, and well-being. As an example of this, a number of E.ON managers have taken and passed the Diploma in Financial Management.

'We need managers with financial skills,' says Graeme Thompson, director of controlling and accounting at E.ON UK. 'Qualified accountants can handle technical aspects of the business, such as derivatives, but we need finance-trained staff to make the business run smoothly and efficiently.

'In this context, the DipFM is a very practical qualification which helps our managers and supports their development.

'The company also gains because this enhanced financial knowledge enables managers to make sound financial decisions and, in turn, makes our business more successful.'

As part of The Employee Deal, E.ON staff use a performance management and development tool to determine the learning and development areas needed to progress their careers. 'We look at what our employees need to know to do their jobs, but also what new skills and training they need to develop as a person,' says Thompson.

'We have young, motivated managers from all walks of life, and E.ON wants to help them develop their careers successfully and do the best for the business,' he adds. 'For the DipFM, we pay for the exam and project fees and also organise for tutors to come on site once a week to provide group tuition. We find that the DipFM adds another string to our managers' bows. Financial skills are essential for anyone working in business.'

Chantal Thomas, community power manager - E.ON UK Renewables

'I lead a small team that works to develop wind clusters, generally made up of two or three wind turbines. In Community Power, each proposed cluster presents issues which may impact on project costs, such as grid connection, capital expenditure for turbines, and the landowner's rental requirements. If any of these are too high, or could increase significantly in the future, then the project might not be economically viable.

'Before becoming community power manager in 2003, I spent seven years working as a lawyer at E.ON UK. I carried out legal work for the renewables business, such as advising on leases, and also acted as the Company Secretary for the business unit. I learned a lot about renewables and when the opportunity arose to apply for a commercial role in the renewables section, I decided to develop my career by joining the business.

'I wanted to take the DipFM because I was conscious that, although my legal background gave me strong communication skills, I lacked confidence when dealing with finance and figures. The last time I had manipulated figures was during my maths A-level, 10 years earlier, and I had never used a spreadsheet before.

'A number of colleagues recommended the DipFM course as a way of learning more about finance. The course was challenging, but it was great to get back to study. E.ON hired a tutor for a group of us taking the course on Wednesday evenings, and I would also set aside time at the weekends for study. Around the time of the exams, I became more immersed in the subject and regularly worked at the weekends. For someone who hadn't done maths in a long while I really enjoyed the number crunching. Since doing the course I now understand a lot more about project appraisal and business planning.

'I would absolutely recommend the course to others. It's great for those who are not confident with numbers as it covers all aspects of finance. The course is very relevant too. For example, when thinking about performance management and the 'just-in-time' approach, you can see how these relate to your business and how it could become more efficient. Project appraisal was extremely useful because we manage budgets on a day-to-day basis and have to undertake a financial analysis of our projects. I also found the strategic business planning element very relevant to my job. The DipFM allows you to see how you fit into the business as a whole, and how you contribute to its overall effectiveness.'

Phil Gilbert, consumer strategy and planning manager - E.ON UK

'I joined E.ON UK in June 2000 as a graduate trainee after completing a marketing degree. Following the training scheme, I began working in corporate strategy, and it was there that my manager and I realised that my financial skills weren't as strong as either of us would have liked.

'Although I had some financial knowledge, gained from my marketing degree, my manager encouraged me to study for the DipFM in order to boost my understanding of this area. I started the course in January 2004 and completed it in the same year. I also moved internally to the renewables business unit, so it was a busy year for me.

'When studying, I had full support from my manager, who always tried to make sure I could leave work in time for my tuition. I was also allowed to use E.ON resources to complete my assignments and could also call upon the expertise of finance staff who often helped me to understand aspects of the course that were particularly difficult.

'The study took me back to my university days. A number of us did the course at the same time, and we formed a nice community and could help each other, especially if we didn't understand particular points, or we would ask the tutor to cover that subject again in another session.

'The course was tough, but I felt incredibly satisfied when I completed the qualification, especially passing first time. By doing the DipFM, I gained an excellent understanding of how all the individual financial elements of a company interrelate. My financial skills were strengthened and this gained me a promotion, in August 2005, and I'm now consumer strategy and planning manager for our mass market retail business, responsible for a team of people developing strategies to take the business forward.

'My new responsibilities include competitor analysis, budget forecasting, and strategy and planning. In addition, I work quite closely with our finance department and my new knowledge helps me, as I now know what they are talking about when they discuss financial intricacies.

'The best thing about the Diploma in Financial Management is the variety and broad range of subject areas that it covers - all the aspects of finance that someone like me needs to know. I now encourage my team members to take up the DipFM, just as my manager encouraged me.'

Kate Ainscough, marketing manager - E.ON UK Renewables

'As marketing manager for renewables, I'm responsible for all external-facing marketing and stakeholder management. This includes organising public exhibitions, conferences, brochures, and the website content for the renewables business unit.

'My background was originally in environmental management. When I took the Diploma in Financial Management I was working in the strategy department as an innovation adviser. My manager at the time thought that it would be good for my development to take a financial course, and he considered the DipFM to be highly relevant, given my background in environmental management, and also I felt that I had a weakness in the commercial financial side of the business.

'I needed to have an understanding of commercial issues so that I could talk the same language as other finance professionals within the company. Although I wasn't looking for a career in finance, I wanted to be able to speak to others about finance matters.

'I was able to take advantage of an internal opportunity and recently moved to become marketing manager in our renewables business. I didn't want to stay purely in the environmental area, and moving into marketing allowed me to develop my career while maintaining an interest in the environmental side of the business.

'When I'm talking about a new marketing idea, the knowledge I've gained from the Diploma in Financial Management helps me understand what our commercial people are talking about. For example, if they mention the NPV of a project I now know what they mean.

'The DipFM is a significant time commitment and you have to be focused to complete it. If you are interested enough, and see the qualification as essential to your career, then the DipFM gives you a good grounding in finance. Although I don't use what I learned every day, I always find myself using the textbooks as a useful reference guide.'

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