Professional opportunities in Financial Advisory

"Deloitte has a ‘can do’ attitude, which means that everyone is given the space to develop themselves to what they want to be."

What attracted you to Deloitte?

The focus on personal development. The team culture. That it’s a big name to work for in accountancy. And that you have premium clients to work with.

Tell us about your most memorable moment so far

I did not come from IT or computer background, but have developed a software that is currently used by hundreds of people in Advisory Corporate Finance. I had to learn SQL and Python from scratch, but I was lucky to receive strong support and guidance from my partners, as they see the value in it. A key part of my role is to innovate new propositions that are believed to have big potential in the market and to promote them.

What’s the best part of your job?

You need to be creative and innovative to solve the client’s problems, as not two project are identical. Partners are very supportive of us learning new technology and developing new solutions. Deloitte has a ‘can do’ attitude, which means that everyone is given the space to develop themselves to what they want to be.

Do you work flexibly?

I am a father of two young kids, so need to leave the office on time; my partners and my team are very supportive and help make it work around my timetable.

"Deloitte is changing the mentality to agile working and the diversity debate."

Is ‘flexible working’ a myth or reality?

Deloitte is changing the mentality to agile working and the diversity debate. In terms of actual goals and openness to different ways of working, the firm is leading the way. I’ve benefitted from this personally; in 2015 I was able to take a mixture of Time Out (annual unpaid leave option) and standard annual leave, to go travelling in Australia and New Zealand for two months.

What’s the best part of your job?

Hands town, the sub-team I work in – Travel Hospitality and Leisure (THL) – is the best part my job. We are very open and supportive of each other, which makes the working environment great. Additionally, I find THL more relatable, and more interesting, than other sectors, as travelling is one of the things I enjoy doing outside work.

Tell us about your career journey so far

I joined Deloitte as part of the graduate programme in Corporate Tax in 2008, and transferred to M&A (in THL) in 2014. I work in business development, which mainly involves assisting with the preparation and delivery of proposals and keeping up to date with the travel industry. Typical tasks include drafting marketing materials, helping with deal negotiations, and liaising with the client and deal advisors to project manage a transaction to completion. On a project, I’ll also manage a team of juniors.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go on a 10-month secondment, to assist with the FA integration of North West Europe. This gave me a good insight into how firm strategy is set and actioned. I worked with very senior partners (both UK and internationally) and learnt people skills I would have never been exposed to otherwise, as well as greatly improving my personal network.

"There are so many opportunities here to be involved with, it’s really up to you to speak up and get stuck in."

What does being a quantity surveyor at Deloitte involve?

My day-to-day role involves providing traditional cost consultancy services including project financial control and reporting on a variety of commercial real estate development projects in the UK and internationally. I also deliver assurance and due diligence services across a range of industry sectors including financial services, real estate, corporate and public sectors. In addition to service delivery, I’m encouraged to contribute to business development initiatives with new and existing clients and I’m also, with the help of senior colleagues, developing a proposition which if approved would expand our service offering. There are so many opportunities here to be involved with, it’s really up to you to speak up and get stuck in.

What’s great about working here?

I consider myself to be continuously growing and developing – both professionally and personally. The diversity of projects and clients is massive, which makes the job engaging and means I develop a breadth of experience. Since joining, no two weeks have been the same. One day I might be carrying out traditional quantity surveying services in Paris and the next I might be working on a client audit or internal business development here in the UK. I’ve been supported at every turn in pursuing my career aspirations through select training and exposure to specific projects and clients. Our team has a number of great mentors who will match your efforts and the value you place on your own development.

And is it all work and no play?

Absolutely not! Of course it’s challenging, and it can be busy at times when we need to work extra hours to meet a client deadline. But that is then balanced with shorter days another week. We have plenty of planned socials across Financial Advisory and the Capital Projects Advisory team. Flexible working is strongly encouraged, whether that’s different hours or working from home sometimes. It all underpins getting the right work-life balance.

“Everyone has the opportunity to get involved in exciting projects outside of their day to day role if they want to.”

Tell us a bit about your business area and role

I am the Chief of Staff for the Post-Merger Integration (PMI) team which helps companies through the transition that follows an acquisition, divestiture or internal restructure. As a team we’ve worked on some of the most significant transactions in the Mergers and Acquisitions space – for example the Lloyds and Halifax Bank of Scotland merger, Sainsbury’s and Argos, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. That’s one of the reasons I joined Deloitte; I get to work with some of the world’s most high profile clients.

Is there much innovation going on?

Absolutely. The pace of technological change is having a real impact. Innovation is a major part of what we do. We’re adopting new technology across the various aspects of our service all the time. For example, finding better ways to mine data so we can provide greater analytical insight, automating repetitive activities, and enabling better collaboration across different geographies, to name just a few. From a job role perspective, this means everyone has the opportunity to get involved in exciting projects outside of their day to day role if they want to.

Why should someone join your team?

Deloitte’s PMI practice is the largest in Europe, having delivered some of the most iconic and complex transactions. Our team is a high calibre group of individuals, who are supportive of each other. And innovation; our team seeks to continually grow and innovate new products and services for our clients.

This is a dynamic, exciting, diverse and lively area. It comes back to the combination of our people and the clients we work with that makes our business stand out and continue its growth trajectory. The mix of businesses that sit within PMI itself is great as it spans across the M&A lifecycle.

What’s more, the PMI team has been actively developing and promoting team members through the grades; in 2017 we had six Director and two Partner promotions.

"My department fully supports my work-life balance; holidays and other commitments are respected and encouraged.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

What I love most about Restructuring Services is that every job is different and usually requires you to work closely with other teams across Financial Advisory. As well as making the work more interesting for us, and more successful for clients, this collaboration sets us apart when pitching. For example, working closely with our Real Estate and Location Planning teams to expand our company voluntary arrangement (CVA) offering has made us the market leader in this area.

What’s your favourite project?

I recently worked on the CVA of Office Outlet, one of the UK’s largest stationery retailers. This involved working closely with the company’s management and property advisors to design and implement the CVA.

It was a particularly exciting project, given the challenges in the wider retail market, and the company’s financial position. We had to ensure that the CVA would result in sufficient working capital improvements for management to implement their wider turnaround plan for the business.

Our work helped the company to keep the majority of its stores open, with minimal job losses, and with all employees and suppliers paid on time and in full.

And most memorable moment?

Arriving at a company to review their medium-term forecasts, ahead of their sponsor investing further money, only to discover that they didn’t have enough cash to cover payroll for the coming week.

We worked closely with them over the next couple of days, helping them build an intraday cash flow and implement various strategies to improve their short-term cash flow position. Thanks to this they were able to pay payroll on time.

What’s the biggest misconception about Restructuring Services?

That you can’t have a good work-life balance and be successful in the department. I think restructuring is perceived as being tough to balance with a family etc. as jobs are usually unplanned and are in high pressure situations, however this is not the case at all. My department fully supports my work-life balance; holidays and other commitments are respected and encouraged.

I’m supported in other ways too. For example, through the coach programme, I have someone in the business I can discuss my progression with, as well as my wider career and personal development goals.