Finance Placement Review

My role is to mainly ensure suppliers are paid on time. While this should occur automatically, I would be there to pick up any that didn't and investigate. This could be due to us not receiving parts, PO errors or entry at many levels. I also upload journals at month end and complete reconciliations of accounts to ensure our back up is correct and matches the system.

Absolutely, I thought initially I was good at Excel, but I was rubbish. Likewise i was introduced to financial systems such as Oracle and BOLT. Furthering my soft skills by conversing with suppliers and upper management about issues that have arised, all the way to learning about different areas of finance that I would not have ever considered before.

Yes if not too much. Supplier accounts can reach the millions and can have serious effects upon the shop floor when suppliers put us on stop. Likewise when the audit occurs being responsible for humungous values of intercompany invoices was daunting, all my work was important and impacted others around me. If I made mistakes it could be brought up to higher management and leave me scrambling to fix the issue and get answers for the higher ups

As much as I asked for. I was part of 2 wide teams and if I ever had an issue I knew I could go to them. One of my weaknesses was not wanting to bother my colleagues but looking back I should have leaned on them more. While no one reached out to me too often, i was expected to have issues and flag them up when they occured, be more proactive about them rather than try to fix them

Very pleasant. Everyone is very friendly and there to help, from each department, the receptionists, the cooks in the canteen and the cleaners. I worked opposite the manager for the entire plant as well as the team leaders, they were all extremely open and people would approach their desks to ask questions. They were very accessible and happy to answer any questions, promoting a happy and trustworthy atmosphere

Very much so, there were times where I was struggling and stressed, but I knew what I needed to do and ultimately have learnt a tremendous amount through this placement. Even if I don't feel like I'd want to come back as a graduate, it is nothing against the company and the people I worked with, more my desire to try something new.

Yes

When applying for your role, be very clear about what your role will entail. Whilst mine was very busy, others have found themselves bored by a lack of work as well as others who have been worked even harder than myself. It isn't very consistent workload wise and so be comfortable with what you're going into. Likewise, you'll get how much you put into it, if you end up in a slower role, there's plenty of opportunities to learn and improve. Take them.