Going places – Jason Bryan

Affiliate Jason Bryan talks to Student Accountant about his career at Air Jamaica

Unlike many accountants, Jason Bryan has spent his entire working life with the same employer, Air Jamaica. But this hasn’t meant his career has lacked variety or progression – on the contrary, Jason’s hard work and ACCA success has led to a series of challenging and different jobs as his career has developed.

Jason starts at the beginning: ‘When I was a teenager my mother was keen that I should learn a skill, so every day after school, she sent me to a local furniture shop to learn the trade of cabinet making. Although I never became a professional, I believe this early experience of the workplace helped me develop a mature approach and a willingness to work hard.

‘I first joined Air Jamaica in 1994 as a purchasing and stores assistant working in the technical resource department. In this job, I helped manage the supply of stationery and catering equipment, updated inventory records, reviewed stocks for damage, and undertook other similar tasks. In my second year in the post, an old school friend introduced me to the AAT programme, which was then a stepping-stone to ACCA. I was very excited when I learned about it – like a boy with a new toy – and took to the programme immediately, completing it in 1999. In that same year, I was transferred – at my own request – to the finance department, where I became an accounts assistant in the payables department.

‘Here I dealt with suppliers, administered invoices, and made payments. A year later – as I began to make real progress in my ACCA studies – I was offered a similar job in the receivables department, this time managing debtors.

‘In 2002, I was promoted to supervisor credit control – travel agents, a job with even more responsibility. For example, I had to report on all debtors’ balances to the financial controller, and pass on vital information from the Airline Reporting Corporation, from travel agencies, and from the market in general. I also had to oversee all transactions with travel agents that traded with the airline, and prepare travel agency balances for input into the company’s finance and Board reports.

‘Throughout this time – and still to this day – the then financial controller, Claudette McLeish, has encouraged me greatly in my career. While working as supervisor, she made sure I gained experience of the management role through various training programmes, which I followed while I also studied for my ACCA exams. ‘In 2004, I finally passed the final three ACCA papers. That was a great feeling, and I still recall the shouting and jubilation that took place in my house when I saw the result at 4.30am!

‘My new qualification meant that I could take up the vacant position of manager of revenue analysis, a division of the revenue accounting section of the finance department.

‘My new role has an even broader remit. Among many other responsibilities, I now develop and refine the revenue accounting controls, and manage the data entry process to ensure data is entered regularly and the process is properly tracked. I analyse all reconciled revenue accounting-related general ledger accounts, and coordinate reports on expected revenues and cash from airline clearing houses, and from various bank settlement plans.

‘I also liaise between departments, and will soon oversee staff training. In this latter role, I will be managing the training (and re-training) of staff in accounting principles, to ensure that my team is up to date with relevant accounting standards.

‘I definitely have ACCA to thank for my latest promotion. Not only did my studies give me the necessary technical knowledge, but also instilled in me a disciplined way of working, a sense of responsibility, and a strong ethical approach to accounting and to society as a whole.

‘Anyone considering a career in accountancy should think seriously about ACCA. The broad syllabus, flexible study routes, and partnership with Oxford Brookes University, means that it offers something for all accountants at every career stage.’

 

"I definitely have ACCA to thank for my latest promotion. Not only did my studies give me the necessary technical knowledge, but also instilled in me a disciplined way of working, a sense of responsibility, and a strong ethical approach to accounting and to society as a whole"