Izzy

What did you do before joining the training scheme?

I joined Imperial College in August 2022, after graduating with a degree in Economics and Politics. I preferred the Economics side of my studies, so chose to do an industrial placement in commercial finance during my third year. This gave me experience in sales reporting, forecasting, real estate, and use of the company-specific finance systems, and confirmed my interest in pursuing a career in finance, although I wanted to work in a different type of organisation.

What attracted you to the scheme?

After my placement year, I knew I wanted to become a chartered accountant and Imperial provides the support and training needed to achieve this. There are opportunities to gain experience across several areas of finance, through completion of 3-4 placements throughout the scheme. Beyond this there are opportunities for professional development, which is key for career progression. I was interested in the Higher Education sector as I was looking for a company who makes a positive contribution to society. Imperial College had recently made the news for supporting the government during the pandemic, and is recognised as one of the world’s top universities for teaching and research. Now that I’ve been here two years, I see Imperial pop up almost every day in the news as more groundbreaking research is published.

What has been the highlight of your time on the scheme?

So far I have completed placements in Management Reporting, Financial Accounting, and am currently working directly with Imperial’s CFO. All placements have given me great experience but my latest placement is a real highlight as I’ve worked on many fantastic projects and feel I am really making an impact. For example I spent a few months researching alternate funding models for higher education, which was used to inform an article written by the Provost and published by The Times Higher Education. Every week brings something new at the moment and I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity.

What has been the biggest challenge?

Now that I’ve been here a couple of years I think the biggest challenge is working for such a large organisation as there is a lot to learn, from using the finance systems and learning the terminology and acronyms used, to understanding the complexities of how we are funded. It takes time but it does get easier! Luckily the range of placements on offer in the graduate scheme means I have been exposed to many elements of finance already and this will continue when I move to my next placement.