Accounting is a language that business speaks; it tells stories that make my job interesting and meaningful. At NZ Post, I enjoy the variety of areas I’m exposed to and the breadth of thinking I need to exercise and develop. On the one hand, I need to be quite detailed to notice the nuances and see the patterns. On the other, I need to think broadly to see the story behind the patterns, ask big questions, build relationships with stakeholders and bring insights.
I like to think that the board takes my opinion into account when directing the company
It’s always good to see how internal auditors bring important things to the board’s attention, which in turn takes action to address the problems. The scope of these problems is quite wide – from finance and health and safety to sustainability. I like to think that the board takes my opinion into account when directing the company.
It wasn’t love at first sight for me and finance, but rather a gradual turnaround. Ironically, I disliked accounting at university and after two semesters tore my workbook apart, promising to never deal with it again. However, I got a job in financial auditing, was sent to study for the ACCA qualification and put the knowledge into practice; it started to make a lot of sense and from there, I started to like finance.
My career started in Prague, in the Czech Republic, where I was an exchange student from St Petersburg, Russia. I was on a short-term contract in engineering advisory for a Russian construction project. A Big Four firm was providing financial advisory and I decided to apply for a similar role when I got back to St Petersburg. I was rejected but was offered a financial auditing position instead.
I started to look for opportunities where I could prioritise my work-life balance
It was exciting getting exposure to the wide variety of big businesses and learning about their ways of doing things. After several years I moved to Moscow to supervise a big audit – one of the most challenging and rewarding times in my career. All Big Four professionals know how demanding our jobs are and I started to look for opportunities where I could prioritise my work-life balance. I got an opportunity in New Zealand and relocated in 2018.
Accounting is a great career path, but accounting is just a tool and a career is just an area of life; there’s always more to life. Try to find ways to enjoy your job and reasons why it is important – how it brings good to the world. As life consists of small things, and big wouldn’t exist without small, so accounting is one small area that helps bring more order, clarity and transparency into the world.
If I weren’t an accountant, I’d be an investigative journalist, video blogger or filmmaker. I love to hear people’s stories and many of them are worth sharing. Stories are part of our history; they help us understand where our cultural values come from, the context we are living in and how we got there.
