Travis Trott shares his perspectives

1. When you were at Deloitte and what was your role?

My time at Deloitte was split into two parts. (1) An Intern as part of my university degree which I was employed from May 2012 – August 2013, and (2) As a Full Time Employee from June 2014 – February 2017. During my time at Deloitte, I took up the role of Audit Associate across the Audit Insurance, Funds, Locals, and Enterprise Risk Services departments. My main task was to perform audits on many of the captive insurer clients that Deloitte had, along with being an audit team member on some of the larger, SEC clients. The role consisted of sending confirmations to third parties for cash/investment account balances, liaising with client staff to rectify issues and understand internal processes, while also keeping the Deloitte Audit team up-to-date with the status of the audit.

2. Tell us about the company you work for now and your position.

I am currently employed by Athene Life Re Ltd as a Senior Accountant in the Financial Reporting department. Within this position I am mainly tasked with the internal and external reporting of the Bermuda Statutory Financial Statements for Athene. While working at Deloitte as an auditor allowed me to get a base understanding of the insurance industry, being employed within the insurance industry has allowed me to understand insurance in more detail as I am able to see the full picture of company transactions at both a high, and granular level.

3. What do you think is unique about working at Deloitte compared to other places you have worked at?

There are two main points that stick out to me as ‘unique’ while working at Deloitte:

1)  Working with colleagues that are close to your age – This helped me drastically in becoming accustomed to the professional environment after university as there were many ‘fresh out of university’ students there with me. This also helped with studying for my CPA designation as there were many of us that were studying at the same time so we encouraged each other each step of the way.

2) Developing broad knowledge of the insurance industry – As mentioned previously, being exposed to the audits of many different captive insurance clients, along with larger SEC clients gave me the base knowledge of how insurance companies. This level of exposure is not available while working at an insurance company as you only become familiar with your sole employer.

4. What skills or knowledge did you take from Deloitte that you use today?

The biggest skill which I developed at Deloitte, and continue to develop in my career is time management. I truly believe that without good time management skills, it is near impossible to become reach your career potential. Early in my career I felt that there was not enough hours in a day to complete all needed tasks, however by focusing on time management skills, I quickly realized how I can divide the day into chunks and become more efficient within my role. Yes, there may be busy periods within the year where you may see yourself staying a few late evenings, but with time management you can focus on the task at hand, rather than focusing on how stressed you are because of the amount of work that seems to be piling up.

5. What is the biggest lesson that you have learnt in your career so far?

I think the biggest lesson I have learned so far is to never be afraid to ask questions. I used to think that I needed to ‘show off’ and not ask any questions to try and prove that I was smart, however this was only hurting my own development. If you fast forward 3 years into your career and you still haven’t asked that ‘silly’ question, it would be even more embarrassing that you do not have that base knowledge as a Senior when you should have known when you were an Associate. I’ve also learned that asking questions prepares yourself to be able to teach the new intake of employees when the time comes which then leads into developing your teaching and managerial skills.

6. As an alumnus of Deloitte, how have you stayed connected to the firm?

I follow Deloitte on social media platforms (Instagram and LinkedIn) to stay connected, along with keeping up friendships with ex-colleagues. I have found that it is very important to keep these relationships, especially in Bermuda, as you will run into each other time and time again whether it be in a work, or a social environment.