Recruiter 2007 Awards for Excellence Highly Commended - Accountancy/Financial Recruitment Firm Pass Mag 2005 Winner
Recruiter 2005 Awards for Excellence Winner - Best Accountancy/Financial Recruitment Firm Recruiter 2006 Awards for Excellence Winner - Best Accountancy/Financial Recruitment Firm

Search Jobs

Search our database of
newly qualified jobs here.

Vacancy Alerts

To receive vacancies that match your specific requirements subscribe to our Vacancy Alert service.

The Inside View

Read our Inside Views for information and advice from qualified accountants:

Sinead Friel is CIMA qualified and works as a Project Accountant.

Orlagh Guarnori is ACCA qualified and works as a Financial Analyst within Reinsurance.

Guy Leroux is Vice President in Operational Risk Management.

Philip Mortimer is ACA qualified and works in Financial Control

Neil Wright is ACA qualified and works in Risk.

The Inside View

Orlagh Guarnori

Orlagh Guarnori

Orlagh graduated from Griffith College in Dublin with a 2:1 in Accounting & Finance and subsequently trained with a small public accountancy firm within her home city. She then gained her ACCA qualification in 1999, whilst working within the Reinsurance sector, before relocating to London where she is now a Financial Analyst for a large European Reinsurance firm.

NQ.com:
What advice would you give to people who have just passed their final accountancy exams?

Orlagh:

  1. Try to identify the subjects you found most appealing to study, as this might help you to choose an accountancy stream that best suits you, for example audit is not something everyone enjoys or has a natural ability for.
  2. If there is an area that interests you, try to talk people currently working in that field; it may be that what you think the job is all about and what it actually entails are completely different things.
  3. Attend the accountancy update evenings; these offer an ideal opportunity to talk to other accountants and find out what their jobs entail - this might help you to decide what you would like to do.

NQ.com:
Why did you make the career decisions you did once you became newly qualified?

Orlagh:
I was working for a reinsurance company at the time, reporting directly to the Finance Director and the MD. The Finance Director was based in the parent company, in a different country. The absence of a resident FD resulted in me working a great deal on my own initiative and becoming more exposed to the bigger picture rather than just the number crunching. I was very lucky that both the MD and FD were approachable and willing to provide one off projects for me to work on, as well as the day-to-day accounting role; this gave me a greater exposure to issues and a better understanding of project management. I was then promoted to Unit Controller for reinsurance.

NQ.com:
What does your current role entail?

Orlagh:
My current title is Financial Analyst. The role is a varied one but the main element is analysis of data, before it is used as the basis with which to value the business.

NQ.com:
What do you enjoy most about your current role?

Orlagh:
It's a more varied and challenging role with differing responsibilities and exposure to new elements of business reporting and analysis.

NQ.com:
What skills and strengths do you think you needed to make the move from practice into your current role?

Orlagh:
Practice, from my experience, is more structured with the training and career progression more defined. Outside of practice, roles are more blurred and the ability to be flexible is a great advantage.