Director of Finance

Age: 38

Years in business: 14

Education: BS, accounting

Hours per week: 60 on average during tax season

Size of company: 80 employees

Certification: CPA, State of Arizona

Annual salary: $100,000 plus bonus

What do you do?

I work for an environmental consulting company. We do environmental compliance and planning work for companies, helping companies shepherd projects through the regulation process, with a focus on environmental issues. I’m the head of the finance team. I oversee everything from payroll to budgeting and forecasting. I oversee a staff of four.

How did you get your job?

I started my career as a staff accountant at a Big Five firm. Amazingly, I got my current job through Craig’s List, a job-posting board. They were looking for an accountant who sounded fun. And I race cars and do ballet in addition to being an accountant. They called me in for an interview, so I researched the company and its industry and did all the things you’re supposed to do before an interview, like come up with questions for the interviewer. I guess it worked, because I got the job.

What are your career aspirations?

I want to work my way up to the vice president of finance level. I don’t think I want to become a CFO, because I’m too casual and low-key for that. I’d also like to get an MBA, because I’m one of the few people at this level in finance without an MBA, and it might be good for my career.

What kinds of people do well in this business?

You’ve got to be good analytically, of course. And you’ve got to have strong technical skills. You need to have an expert understanding of anything that has dollar signs attached to it, to understand your company’s costs. For instance, I’ve got to understand Oracle enterprise software – how it works, how we’re using it, what exactly we need. Beyond those things, you’ve got to have good people skills and communication skills, because you’re working with people in different areas of the company. And the higher you go in accounting, the more important the soft-skills side of the equation becomes.

What do you really like about your job?

I love the fact that I have ultimate responsibility for the finances of the company. I like that I get to use my creativity; there are always different issues to look at in terms of the direction of the company, and I have to figure out how best to analyze those issues from a financial perspective and how to present those analyses. I like the fact that there are ever-changing needs – the business is constantly changing, so there are different issues I have to deal with every month. I like that I’m high enough on the food chain that I can influence the direction of the company, that my voice makes a difference in how the company is run. Finally, I like the fact that my decisions can benefit the company, by making it more financially sound, and the employees, by doing things like maximizing their benefits. For instance, recently, I saved our employees money on health insurance premiums by renegotiating with our insurance carrier.

What do you dislike?

I don’t love the detail work, the number crunching. I don’t like the fact that many people in business think they understand accounting and finance issues when in fact they really don’t. Often it seems like people think they understand accounting and finance just because they know how to use Excel. I also don’t enjoy the long hours. Having ultimate responsibility is a double-edged sword.

What is the biggest misconception about this job?

The biggest misconception is that accountants are all brainiacs with no social skills who just want to sit in a cubicle working on spreadsheets. That’s absolutely not the case.

How can someone get a job like yours?

The first thing is to make sure you have enough tech skills to get a foot in the door in finance. Then, when you’re in the early stages of your career, realize that you have to have 110 percent accuracy in your work as a young staff accountant. Finally, I think it’s important to have outside interests – something to make you stand out from the crowd of nerds and white shirts. It worked for me; my current company looked at 500 resumes, but hired me because I had an interesting, well-rounded life.

Не нашли, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском: