Humans of Deloitte: David Curtis
Consultant, Finance & Performance
Could you tell us a bit about yourself, and your time at Deloitte so far? How did you end up in your current role?
My name is David Curtis and I’m a consultant in the Finance and Performance team. I studied Global Business with Spanish in DCU before starting with Deloitte, which gave me a strong base of business knowledge and cultural insight across the years spent in Dublin and Madrid.
From there I joined the graduate programme in 2019 with a wonderful group of people who’ve really added to my experience here and made it very enjoyable. I wanted to work with Deloitte due to the culture and the professional opportunities it could offer me, and it has been brilliant to see the impacts of those which have helped me get to consultant.
The teams who I have worked with have been very welcoming, both in F&P and across the firm, and that has undoubtedly added to my experience carrying out work on various projects and initiatives.
Is there a part of your role you particularly enjoy, or parts of your role you’ve found unexpectedly challenging?
I really enjoy the people-centric nature of my role. Every day I have the opportunity to interact with a client team and see how my work contributes to common goals. While teamwork can sometimes be challenging, I find that there is a much greater sense of achievement knowing that you’ve been part of a group who’ve pulled together to get a deliverable over the line.
What’s your favourite project you’ve worked on?
My current role has been my most enjoyable engagement so far. I’m working with a large multinational company in an operational finance role. The role has given me the opportunity to see how a company of that stature functions and observe their best-in class-processes, while also building strong relationships with the client team. Over my time on the engagement I have developed my industry knowledge and the skills specific to the area I am working, using systems such as SAP. To link back to my answer above, what makes this project particularly enjoyable is the great group of people I work with every day.
What are the main skills you’ve been able to develop at Deloitte so far, and what do you want to focus on next?
As part of the Consulting team, I’m very fortunate that Deloitte prioritises our development through both structured learning and on-the-job training. Over the two years I’ve been here I have developed my fundamental skills with programmes such as Powerpoint and Excel and gained a certification in SAP, all while continuing my study to become a management accountant through CIMA.
However, I believe my strongest development has been in the area of soft skills. Knowing how to build relationships, how to adapt your role in a team and how to get your point across effectively are all vital skills in the world of consulting, and my experiences so far have really helped me develop in those areas. Being comfortable presenting has also been of significant importance, especially in this virtual world!
I would hope to focus on building my knowledge in our Global Business Services offering next and developing the technical skills which will support project work in that area.
"My current role has been my most enjoyable engagement so far. I’m working with a large multinational company in an operational finance role - this has given me the opportunity to see how a company of that stature functions and observe their best-in-class processes, while also building strong relationships with the client team."
What would we typically find you doing outside of work?
Outside of work you’d mainly either find me running or watching whatever sport is on. I’m a big Leinster rugby fan so I’m really looking forward to getting back to matches in person. I also have a big interest in musicals so a trip to the West End to see another one soon is definitely on the cards!
What does being a ‘human being’ at work mean to you?
To me, being a human being at work means two important things. Firstly, it is about acknowledging the person behind the tasks on each project. It is so easy to get caught up in the deliverables and deadlines, but we can’t lose sight of the human effort and circumstances behind each piece of work. What I love about the Deloitte culture is that we have a team who put in the effort to get to know you, so that if something comes up in your life which could impact your ability to deliver on a project you have a strong support system in place.
Being a human being at work also means that I can be myself. Whether that’s sharing my interests outside of work with my colleagues or having a meeting that doesn’t start straight into the client detail, I know that I’m not expected to be a robot performing my daily tasks and my personality will be valued.
Are you involved in any of our volunteering or social impact initiatives? If so, could you tell us a bit more about that?
Over the last year I participated in a few different initiatives, one of which was the Time to Talk programme which partners with Business in the Community Ireland. Over a period of two months you are partnered with someone from Business in the Community’s EPIC (Employment for People from Immigrant Communities) programme for twice-weekly calls to help improve their confidence speaking English, which is a key skill for finding employment in Ireland. What I love about volunteering programmes like that is that there is such potential to learn from your partner about their culture, their life experience, and their view of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the programme and I’ll be signing up to do it again!
The Corporate Responsibility team in Deloitte are fantastic and they offer brilliant opportunities to get involved in a wide variety of volunteering or social impact initiatives. Volunteering was something I really enjoyed in college, so being part of an organisation that finds ways to give back was very important to me.
The past 18 months have felt tough at times. Despite that, what’s one of your favourite memories from the past year?
The past 18 months have been tough without a doubt, but I’ve been lucky to have some great memories mixed in there! From a professional point of view, I had a really positive experience helping to organise an internal event for the Consulting part of the firm earlier this year. I was working between two client teams and continuing my study for my CIMA exams when I was asked to help with the event, which gave me a brilliant opportunity to gain a better understanding of what was happening across all of Consulting. I got to work with a team of people I hadn’t met before, who provided a nice change of pace from my normal client work. Seeing how the event came together was very interesting, albeit stressful at times! We provided the platform for the rest of Consulting to see the incredible impact of the work being carried out across many different clients, which was very rewarding.
What’s a little-known fact about you?
I was part of a Guinness World Record! I ran the 2020 Virtual London Marathon in October, which broke the record for most users to run a remote marathon in 24 hours. Just under 38,000 people ended up completing the race, so being part of the record was a tick off my bucket list (and I have the certificate to prove it!)
Applications are now open for our 2022 Graduate Programme
Connect with talented, supportive colleagues to tackle meaningful and far-reaching projects 💡