Learning and development is a crucial part of our people strategy. To ensure we are achieving our full potential as a business, we must keep investing in the training and support of our employees. A recent example of this philosophy in action, is from Emma Worsey and Sam Brindley from our Finance Team who recently completed their final Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) exams and qualified as accountants in the process.
To find out more about what this course entails, how much work goes in and the benefits moving forward, we spoke to both Sam and Emma:
Sam Brindley
Job Role: Management Accountant
How long did the course take, what did it involve and what were the main learnings to take from the process?
It’s taken me about five years complete the course. This included having half a year off when I moved house and another half year off when the syllabus changed over as I was caught between modules, which means there’s been around four years study time in total.
If you think of finance and accounting as a spectrum between Internal Reporting / Management Accounting (analysis, costing, business strategy and implementation) and External Reporting / Financial Reporting (Stats, Tax, Audit and Assurance etc.) Then this CIMA qualification focuses heavily on the internal facing wing of that spectrum.
How will this qualification help with your professional development and day to day role moving forward?
Whilst there tends to be a difference between the theory and practice of completing qualification, having it attributed to your name certainly helps with confidence in yourself and in how others interact with you. The knowledge and skills gained from the course also help provided an excellent platform further in-role development.
How has Briggs supported you throughout this process?
Briggs have been extremely supportive throughout the entire process and paid for the whole course and also allowed some additional time off to help me prepare correctly for the exams.
Emma Worsey
Job Role: Financial Business Partner
Qualification detail how long did the course take, what did it involve and what were the main learnings to take from the process?
It took me just under three years to complete the course, starting in 2019 and sitting my final exam in November 2021. I completed most of the course from home using OnDemand study methods so I could tailor my study schedule around working full time. Aside from the course content itself one of the main things that I took away was the importance of time management – juggling studying alongside working full time, socialising, exercising (sometimes) and not forgetting sleep! I also learnt to be persistent and keep focused even during times of low motivation – especially those Friday nights where I was at home with my head buried in books drinking tea and not tequila!
How will this qualification help with your professional development and day to day role moving forward?
The qualification has already helped my professional development by enabling me to improve how I approach things in my role, allowing me to progress from a Business Analyst to a Financial Business Partner by applying my learning. I am able to understand not only the theory but also how this can differ in a real life situation and when being applied to businesses of a different nature. I am in a much better position to be able to tailor my work to suit the needs and requirements of the end user.
How has Briggs supported you throughout this process?
As well as sponsoring me to complete the course, Briggs also allowed me to take annual leave around my exams despite time pressures in my role itself such as budgets where we have a tight turnaround and deadlines to meet.
Jennifer Gould, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, commented: “Emma and Sam have both put in an exceptional amount of hard work to complete these CIMA qualifications. The course itself spans several years and so the level of commitment shown by them both is a credit to their professionalism, skill and dedication.
“As a business it’s crucial that we continue to invest in the development and learning of our people and we’ll do everything we can to support our team members with their ongoing career progression. Having completed their final exams and qualifying as accountants, Emma and Sam will be able to provide our business with additional expertise and knowledge in their roles.
“Congratulations once again and I look forward to working closely with them both as part of our team!”