Earlier this month, Rutherford Cross hosted Holly McComb, Chief Financial Officer at TVSquared, Sarah Morris, Head of Investment Governance at Aegon, and Alan Robertson, Investment Director at Maven Capital Partners, at the latest in our ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ series.
At Rutherford Cross we speak to part and newly-qualified accountants on a daily basis and are aware of how difficult it can be to decide in which direction to take your career. The ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ series seeks to provide independent advice from professionals who have ‘been there, done that’ so that newly-qualified accountants are aware of the options open to them.
Holly McComb walked the audience through her impressive career journey which has seen her train with Ernst & Young in both London and Sydney, before taking on roles at Bank of Scotland, Futurity plc, and IndigoVision Group plc. In 2016, Holly joined TVSquared, a fast-growing private equity-backed business, as their Chief Financial Officer.
After graduating with an Honours degree in Accounting and Finance, Sarah Morris embarked on a career journey which has spanned across BDO, State Street, Clydesdale, Standard Life Investments, Standard Life Wealth and most recently Aegon. Sarah began as the Head of Internal Audit in the Investments team where she remained until her recent promotion to Head of Investment Governance.
Alan Robertson graduated from the University of Glasgow and began his career at RBS. Alan spent seven years there, predominantly working in the Aberdeen Structured Finance team financing mid-market private equity transactions. After a short stint with Quayle Munro, Alan joined Maven Capital Partners as an Investment Director, responsible for new private equity transactions in Scotland.
Each of our speakers shared a wealth of career advice and experience on the night. We have summarised some of the key points below:
- The most desirable qualities in a newly-qualified accountant are to be easy-going, smart, flexible, and ambitious
- Stay in touch with the people you train with – they will soon become your support system
- Build a good relationship with your manager – it’s often the people above you who will open doors
- Be confident – speak up and stand up for what you believe in
- The best way to understand the scope of a business is to meet as many stakeholders as possible
- Say yes – it may seem like a risk, but throw yourself at opportunities as you never know where it might take you
- Keep track of your achievements – it’s good to look back and see your progress
- While it can seem like some people get more done than others, we all have the same number of hours in a week so use them wisely
- Don’t rush – use this opportunity as a newly-qualified accountant to prove that you are great at what you do
- There are no shortcuts to the top – focus on gaining the breadth of experience that will enable you to make informed decisions in the future
For more information about this event and other Rutherford Cross ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ events, contact [email protected].
