Role: Finance analyst for Tesco account, Procter & Gamble
Education: BA, Moscow State University of international relations
Graduated in 2008
‘CIMA was the perfect choice for me because of its international status.’
Can you describe your role in the business?
I am currently a finance analyst for our Tesco account team, where my key role is to provide support to the sales team and bring a financial mindset to our commercial strategy.
I will soon be moving to a new role where I’ll be responsible for the financial analysis of our fabric care business in the UK. I will be defining the long term objectives of the fabric care business category nationally, across all retailers, and driving sound business decision making in order to deliver on our financial targets.
This means I’ve worked on Procter & Gamble’s account with the biggest retailer in the UK and I’m moving to work on our biggest business category in the country. These are great challenges, but also fantastic opportunities to learn and develop as not just a finance professional, but also a business manager. CIMA’s broad business focus has stood me in great stead for this wider role as a business manager.
Do people have any misconceptions about your role and accountancy in general?
The great thing about working at P&G is that you are embedded in every part of the business and recognised as such. There are no tags of ‘number crunchers’ or ‘balance sheet people’ here!
How did you manage to pass all ten of the CIMA professional level exams within a year while working full time?
Just like everything good in life, it required a lot of hard work and commitment, but there were a few things that made my journey easier. I tried to be positive about studying and actually enjoy it by applying it to real business scenarios that made it relevant for me.
The support from P&G was fantastic: I definitely felt that my efforts and achievements were appreciated by the people around me. Also, I like to push myself and set my ambitions high. My desire to succeed kept me motivated during the whole period.
How do you see CIMA contributing to your future career progression?
CIMA gives you recognition as a qualified professional and is definitely something that stands out on your CV. The CIMA qualification is hugely valuable for people like me who have non finance related degrees as it fills the gaps in your education/skills set and enhances your work experience.
CIMA’s focus on commercial skills means your options at a big company like P&G are limitless. I’m really excited about the years ahead where I can grow through more and more challenging finance roles, travel to new markets to broaden my experience and maybe even move into other commercial functions.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of studying the CIMA qualification?
Think about the CIMA qualification not as a tick box exercise that will give you either a pay rise or promotion, but as an investment in yourself and in your long term future. CIMA gives you an internationally recognised management accountancy qualification and the right knowledge and skills to take you forward in your career as a financially qualified business leader.