This post is in our series What’s it like to be…, giving a glimpse into the realities of certain jobs. Ever wondered what someone who works in marketing actually does all day? What are the lesser-known qualities you need to work in finance? What unexpected surprises does being a teacher hold? This series is here to help answer these questions!
This week we’re having a chat with Bianca, a finance manager.
What job do you do?
I'm Retail Finance Manager for Superdrug
How did you end up in that role?
After sixth form, I went to Nottingham University to study Maths, then joined Deloitte on an audit grad scheme. I spent four years at Deloitte, gaining my ACA while I was there, then moved to the Arcadia Group (the umbrella company for high street brands such as Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge). Since then I’ve done a number of different finance roles in retail and hospitality, and also managed to squeeze in a year travelling across Africa and South East Asia, before joining Superdrug in 2019.
Superdrug is a company I’d always kept my eye on - great brand, successful business model and it’s based in my hometown of Croydon! So when I saw the vacancy advertised on LinkedIn, I jumped at the chance of applying.
What's your general working day like?
Very varied! A ‘typical’ day might consist of a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss strategy or forecasts, a development catch up with one of my team and a few hours of financial modelling. Now that we are remote working I seem to spend lots of time on Microsoft Teams video conferencing!
Is there anything you do in your job that you never expected you'd be doing?
Walking through one of our Distribution Centres in a high-vis vest and steel toe-capped boots!
Is there anything you thought you'd be doing but you don't?
This is a hard one – nothing springs to mind. I think the role has largely met my expectations.
Are there any qualities that you didn't realise you'd need for this job?
Being a problem solver and a numbers lover, when I first started out, I thought that would be my primary focus throughout my career.
However, as you progress, your role pivots towards stakeholder engagement and people development, as it is more about teaching your team how to do things than doing everything yourself because your remit expands and it is no longer possible.
You also become the primary point of contact for the part of the business that you manage so you spend a lot of time in meetings updating everyone else on what is going on and working out what we are going to do next.
Any words of wisdom for someone thinking of working in finance?
I’d strongly advise studying towards a professional accounting qualification of some sort. And a love for problem-solving and Excel spreadsheets also helps!