Reflections on My Career in Banking: Lessons and Challenges

The manipulation of numbers is key in numerous subjects and this is what attracted me to the art of accounting and finance. My Dad helped this passion of mine flourish as we would always play critical thinking games such as Countdown and Sudoku in our free time; this constant exposure to numbers helped me develop my passion for maths and accounting. Financing is such a critical aspect required for the growth of a business and it is a key concept I believe you need to understand if you want to survive in this ever-growing business minded world. To proliferate my knowledge in this field I always keep up with the news and I regularly read magazines and books related to Accounting and Finance.

I read ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ and this basically relays the idea that money comes and goes, but if you know how money works then you can gain power over it and can begin building wealth. I found it very useful as it covers a plethora of basic economic and financial concepts. I also keep up with magazines such as ‘The economist’ and ‘Deloitte’. Doing this background reading made my passion grow but also helped me understand the current economic and financial struggles the economy face. Although one can accept austerity cuts, the financial and social consequences will have undesirable effects on the current and next generation.

In addition to this I have attended several Accounting and Finance lectures. During a visit to the Bank of England, I learned about the role of the Bank and also the operation of monetary policy. Understanding these policies such as fiscal and monetary policy is key in understanding how the economy works and helped me understand the choices made by the government. For instance, the alteration of interest rates has various intended outcomes but by the random nature of economic agents the exact outcome cannot be forecast. I believe that both economics and accounting go hand-in-hand as they cover some similar topics such as marginal costing, break-even and profit maximisation.

Since these two subjects have some overlap I learnt to transfer my skills acquired from one subject to another and therefore helping me to apply my knowledge to different areas. Accounting has helped me understand how specific transactions and accounts are handled and this is one of my favourite parts of accounting. I believe studying Maths at A level has really helped my problem-solving skills and this has also broadened my knowledge of numbers; a good understanding of numbers is key in almost every job in the world today and studying a challenging subject like maths will put me a step closer to the amazing world of Accounting and Finance.

Outside of my maths lessons I took part in the ‘Maths Masterclass’ not only did this assist my learning but it gave me various other skills. I got a feel of the university teaching style as all lessons were held in big groups in a lecture hall, which I found was quite different to the usual classroom environment. Working with other people to solve some very complicated problems, has not only helped me grasp ideas from other perspectives but also to listen and learn to work in big groups which is essential when working in a financial environment. Doing my work placement with Barclays really gave me an influential insight into the world of work. Working alongside the best in the country helped me develop my communication skills and customer interactions also aided this.

I really enjoyed the experience as I got an idea of how the bank works and also how the accounts are handled. I also take part in multiple extra-curricular activities. I have practised and competed in Shaolin-Kung Fu for seven years which has not only kept me physically fit but also mentally, this has developed my character and made me determined in everything that I do. In addition to this I have completed my grade four in piano. Learning music was quite difficult, however, through hard work and constant practise I learnt and enjoyed every piece which gave me a lot of self-satisfaction. I anticipate my endeavour and fascination with the world of numbers will lead me to a prosperous and rewarding career as a chartered accountant. Ultimately, I am confident I will carve out a career with one of the Big Four.