Becoming a Competent Financial Administrator - Assignment Example

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, REFLECTIVE REPORT College Executive Summary The main focus of this reflective report is to evaluate my career path development as at now that I am in my last year of under graduate studies. The report presents the short term and long-term goals that I have set to accomplish in my pursuance for a career as a competent financial administrator. The long term goals include pursuing a master program while the short term goals include completing my undergraduate studies, developing my research and critical thinking skills that are essential for my ultimate career. The main findings of this analysis are that I am strong in academic work, IT skills, global capacities and leadership. However, I lag behind in terms of problem-solving and critical thinking. In addition, the financial constrains threaten my success in career development strategies. Clearly, the UNI University is an ideal place to develop my research, language and thinking skills. The main recommendation is that I focus on adopting a flexible approach in education as I sacrifice time and dedicate more efforts to my areas of weakness. It is recommendable that I find a temporary job after my undergraduate studies, not only to improve my working skills but also to source funds for my Master program that I expect to join six months after my undergraduate studies. My ability to improve my employability by acquiring the right skills and experiences will guarantee my success in achieving my career goals. Contents Executive Summary 2 Finance and Accounting, Reflective Report 4 Introduction 4 Goal Statement 5 Personal Analysis 7 Experience 7 Degree 8 Generic Skills 10 Emotional Intelligence 13 Conclusion 14 Bibliography 15 Appendix 1. Curriculum Vitae. 17 Appendix 2. Personal Development Plan 20 Finance and Accounting, Reflective Report Introduction As a learner, career development is an important aspect that each one must pay keen attention to as they sail through their academic path. In the contemporary work environment, competition ensures that only the competent employees get the best jobs. As a the human resource managers conduct more strict career screening, I feel that I have a responsibility to satisfy the demands of the job market by consistent self-evaluation and focussing on continued improvement throughout my academic experience. My main goal is to win a position in financial administration as soon as I complete my Master education within the next three years’ time. Through my academic path, I have strived to develop personal and academic skills and experiences that will help me to fill this position effectively. My strategy has been to capitalize on my strengths and work on my weaknesses to achieve my specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-constrained goals. The purpose of this reflective report is to evaluate my skills and experiences in school and within the career development events and to evaluate the way these are directed towards my pre-set goals. It aims at measuring my strengths, weaknesses and the various challenges that underpin my career development plan. In a reflective manner, I will focus on the various experiences and academic skills that I have acquired through my academic journey and identify the gaps that I still have to close to attain my goals. This will provide me with a good platform to work out strategies that can help in attaining my goals to become a competitive financial administrator in a global organization. I feel that conducting a self-evaluation while still in my graduate studies will help to increase my focus towards my goals and remain flexible to suit the demand of the changing work environment. Goal Statement For any learner it is of paramount significance to set personal goals and to strategies to accomplish them. The theories of goals setting state that this step allows one to increase their focus towards specific goals and prevents one from diverting from the specific goals. In setting my goals, I have considered the SMART model as ideal, since it provides one with a strategy that they can use to set gaols that are reasonable and worth in the long term. The SMART model requires that a person set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-constrained goals. Goals are specific if they define the resources and the strategies of achieving them, and being measurable means that their output can be seen after a specific period of time. Goals are attainable if they have been accomplished before, hence providing the confidence that they are workable. On the other hand, goals must be realistic in the sense that they are within the capabilities of a person (Carmeli et al., 2013). Finally, the proponents of the SMART model emphasize that goals must be time-specific, to ensure that one has a time schedule for what the will to achieve. My ultimate goal is to become a globally competent financial administrator in a profit-making organization. This is a long term goals that I wish to accomplish within the next four years. Since I have seen many graduates from the UNI pursue work in global business organizations, I feel that my goals are reasonable as well as attainable. To achieve my long term goals, I have laid down short term goals that will be the stepping stone to this long term goal. One of my short-term goals is to complete my undergraduate education within the next one year. As I work hard, I intend to attain a first class grade ion my college education. The university will give me a good foundation to focus on the finance speciality and to prepare for my master program, which I intend to pursue as soon as I 6 months after completing my undergraduate studies. Also, in the short-term, I intend to acquire a part-time job after my undergraduate education. While I need to advance my studies, I feel that experience is a crucial part of professional development (Carmeli et al., 2013). Therefore, I intend to enrol on a part-time master program to ensure that I can work along as I study. This will help to support my financial needs, which I expect to be high especially for an advance level program. I intend to work within the town and close to my learning institution, preferably in a busy financial accounting firm to improve on my financial management skills. In the contemporary work environment, work experience determines the position that one obtains within their job market. To prepare for a financial administration position, I require obtaining financial management experience to help in acquiring this position more easily. Aside my financial management career, I feel that I need to develop my language skills, as part of my endeavour to improve my communication strategies. By the end of the year, I want to learn Chinese language, which the university offers in the linguistics department. Therefore, I intend to enrol in evening classes after my day lessons. My plan to learn Chinese language is motivated by the experience I had working during my internship program. I realized that business organization require leaders who are fluent in more than one language to target customer with different cultural backgrounds. In addition, I have plans to improve my research skills, which have become essential in the modern business environment. To understand the market conditions, one has to conduct market survey which requires efficient research skills. This is a long term goals that I will begin now and do not intend to stop even after my masters study. UNI University has the best resource for library and the institution encourages students through research work. By the end of my graduate education, I intend to have published three research papers in the area of finance. Personal Analysis While pursuing personal gaols, it is crucial to perform personal analysis to check if the efforts one puts are direct towards their long term and short term goals. Therefore, I seek to conduct my personal analysis based on the career EDGE model by focussing on my experience, degree, generic skills and emotional intelligence. Experience Through my academic life, I have acquired a wide range of experiences that are pivotal in my career development. Between December 2013 and January 2014, I worked as an administration assistant at Wudniture Company. During this period, I learnt a lot about the financial aspect of an organization. My main roles were managing bills and expenses within the shop. Being a busy shop, I had to acquire speed financial processing and I mastered the necessity of accuracy in business management. During this period, I received credit from my employer as an efficient financial administrator in the organization. This experience gave me the challenge to apply my theoretical knowledge of financial accounting. I believe that this is an experience that I will increase my efficiency and employability in my target field. In June 2013, I worked as accounting assistant at Paschalis Developers limited where I undertook various duties. My duties included customer support, administration, filing bank reconciliation, purchase and sale invoices. The most important lesson of this position was handling many customers. The organization emphasized on the need for customer approach models of customer service as a strategy to attract customers and to win their loyalty. This experience gave me the courage to speak to clients and to market the organization. As I study today, I have the confidence to handle a diverse global society in any working environment. Degree In UNI, I have acquired a lot of education related knowledge that will assist me in preparing form my career. The diversity of the degree coverage has provided me with a wide range of subjects that will help me in developing knowledge in business. One of the interesting subjects is business management. Through the three years, I have covered subjects related to the role of a financial administrator, which is key for my future career. I have the role that a business manager has in planning, controlling and monitoring the business resources, to ensure that they effectively utilized to the maximum benefit of the organization. Another area of my learning that has been important for me is accounting. In the last two years, I have learnt how to compute financial statements and to conduct business evaluation depending on the final statements. For a finance manager, this is an important topic that will be applied in the entire career. The topics on have particularly been presented well and I have performed well after understanding the modern methods of marketing, a time when organizations have moved from print advertisement to internet marketing. However, I have identified weakness in my research skills as I performed poorly during the school research report. For this reason, I will actively participate in more in continuing professional events to learn more on the internet use in research. In UNI University, I have improved my technological skills that are important in the work environment. By paying keen attention to the marketing class, I have gained the knowledge of online marketing through use of social media. I anchored this knowledge by attending a one hour workshop in which I learnt how to conduct online business. Also, I have become an expert in the use of data analysis software such as Minitab, Sage and SPSS, that are important in the modern business environment. Although this is not the end of my learning, I still plan to focus on these strategies and to ensure that I acquire new technologies that are emerging. This will ensure that I improve my proficiency in data analysis, which is vital for my final career. UNI presents a number of opportunities that can help me in overcoming my weaknesses. One opportunity is the rich library and professional resource that the university provides for learners (Regis, 2008). Highly qualified lecturers are available for consultation with research work and they are always willing to support students who show interest in research. Therefore, the institution provides me with an opportunity to develop my research skills by taking advantage of these resources. Another open opportunity in this institution is the rich language department that is open for every learner. Therefore, it is easy for any student to learn any language they intend to as long as they have some time to spare for the lessons. Another strategy is to dedicate more time language development. Although I have become a proficient English speaker, I feel the need to develop my language skills in at least one extra language. In UNI, we have had to speak English in the last five years, which has helped me to become a fluent speaker even in public meetings. However, I intend to learn the Chinese language, to suit more comfortably in the international market. During my internship in Cyprus, I have had to interact with Chinese people, which made it a challenge to interact with them efficiently. Therefore, I feel that to suit the diverse cultural work place, I need to acquire more than the English language. This will give me an upper hand over other job competitors who have one language. Fortunately, the UNI language department offer s evening classes for foreign languages, which is an opportunity for me to learn this language (Scot & Spouse, 2013). This implies that I will have to spare some of my research time to create some time for this extra lesson. I intend to have the basics of this language by the end of my undergraduate studies and I can learn more through online research. After school, I plan to search for an employment opportunity is a busy business firm where I can apply my knowledge in financial accounting. This will also be a source of income to help me in funding my master education, which I plan to start six months after my undergraduate studies. This will help to overcome my financial challenges that threaten to undermine my career development strategy. This strategy will also help me to focus more on the changing work environment (Kroth & Christensen, 2009). Within this position, I plan to learn more about the organizational structure and the career demand for financial administration. This way, I will learn the areas that I need to focus on, and the ones that I need to improve as I pursue my master program. As such, this opportunity will help me to align my development goals and to remain with track, as the work environment continues to change. Researchers have warned on the need for learners to remain focussed on the changing work environment to avoid acquiring obsolete skills that reduces one competence in the business environment. Therefore, being attached to a busy working environment will help me to remain relevant in my career development plan. Generic Skills To begin with, my strength lies in my personal traits as a hardworking person. Since my primary education, I have learned the value of hard work in pursuing personal goals. I have learnt to dedicate my time to essential activities and to ensure that I do the best in each. For instance, in my high school education, I was part of the volleyball team and had to sacrifice a lot time during school competitions. It was only through sacrifice and hard work that I managed to perform well in my final exam. In term of academic skills, I am good in mathematical a subject, which gives me an upper hand in finance program as they require a lot of mathematical computations. Since my primary education, I have managed to obtain excellent grades in mathematics. As I pursue my college education, I have found it quite easy to compute financial accountings, always performing well in this field. All along, I have strived to develop my leadership skills, as I recognize the value of leadership for business managers. In my high school education, I was the president of my class and the leader of the volley ball team (Kumar et al., 2013). These leadership positions have given me an experience to deal with large crowds of people, which is crucial for job position where one has to work with a diverse population. In the UNI, I have developed global citizenship skills through my experiences in this multi-cultural learning environment. Having studied in Europe, I have had to meet people from different cultures and learn how to associate with them. I have learnt the value of understanding cultural attitudes and personal tastes in handling people in such an environment. This gives me the privilege to work in the international market where cultural diversities underpin business performance (Kegans et al., 2012). In addition, being a member of the Hellenic & Cypriot society for the last three years has exposed me to numerous social events, trips and sharing that have helped me to develop intercommunication skills and to gather the confidence of speaking to large crowds of people. This is an important element of a financial administrator, who has from time to time has to address large multitudes of potential customer or employees. My involvement in the global week event was a great contribution to my understanding of the global perspective of the society. The global week is a time when one has an opportunity to interact with different cultures and learn their civilizations, habits and mentalities. During the two hours period, I learnt that the social relationship that a person establishes in their organization depends on their ability to understand the diverse characteristics of both the employees and the customers. However, I have some personal weaknesses that may not be good for my career. First, my problem solving skills in complex situation are average. For a financial administrator, one needs to be excellent in handling business challenges that are bound to occur from time to time. The ability of one to solve problems determines their ability to salvage business from collapsing during sensitive periods (Mayer, 2007). In addition, I have not been able to achieve team work and collaborative working skills, which UNI emphasizes as crucial for every learner intending to pursue a position in management. team work in business organizations determines the performance of the employees and the manages are tasked with the role of ensuring forming cohesive teams that provide optimal work output, which is essential for optimal organizational profits. This is an area that I need to improve if I have to fill in my position more satisfactorily in future. My failure in the group work was a bad experience in which I associated with my poor social skills. During the group sessions, it was difficult to unite the people and team them up during our meeting. When I was assigned a role to preside over the meeting during one of the sessions, I felt very nervous and could not deliver to the expectations. As compared to other groups, my group performed poorly and the professor suggested that we have to improve during our next group work. I link this to my poor social behaviour. Since this is my last year, it is the only opportunity that I have to improve my group skills. In this last year of my studies I expect myself to be confident in team work, share ideas and thoughts. The group coursework for L&E module and the work for my research project can give me the opportunity to achieve my goal. During this time, I intend to show the highest level of confidence and ensure that my team performs the best. Also, I intend to work along with my teachers to ensure that I have the right skills to address this weakness promptly. Lastly, I intend to focus more on the areas that I have scored low in my undergraduate education. First, my low score in problem solving skills is a serious issue that I need to address within the next two months. I intend to consult with my lecturers on the best way to improve my critical thinking skills. I have confidence that with their guidance I will manage to develop my critical thinking skills that is essential in the work environment. Within this final year, I hope to improve my critical thinking skill by paying keen attention to my final project and the L& E module. Secondly, I plan to engage more in business debates, especially business challenges that the UNI has designed to improve students’ critical thinking skills. I feel that this is a challenge that I need to overcome within the shortest time possible. In this year I want to have a self-evaluation score of 9 out of 10. Such a score will provide me with the confidence to be a strong business leader and to prepare for emerging problems in the sensitive financial sectors of the organization. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is an important aspect of every as it helps to improve personal social relations. In my first year, I was emotionally weak and could not be able to control my anger when dealing with my fellow students. I remember a time in my first year when I almost fought with one of my friends after we had a fall about a foot ball match. After arguing for a long time, we disagreed to a point when I became emotionally overwhelmed. I attribute this to the psychological impact that I had after my closest grandmother died. Since this time, I developed an emotional problem that I have struggled with for a number of years. I understand this is a wrong behaviour that can make one an anti-social person. Therefore, I have had to embark on a strategy to develop emotional intelligence. In UNI, I engaged in continuing professional development events that helped me to improve in various aspects of my profession. It is through attending a workshop on emotional intelligence that I learnt the value of controlling emotions in work place. At times the managers need to control their temper especially while handling employees’ mistakes as this may affect the way they get along in future tasks. During the global week, I had two hours encounter with professionals who vividly covered the topic on cultural diversity and international business strategies. In the modern business environment when organizations are differentiating to international markets, it is crucial to learn the different cultural attitudes and habits that influence business performance in these markets. Thus this workshop helped to support my preparation to work in a global organization in future. Thus, the continuous professional development workshops have helped to prepare well for job search, professional conduct and to work in a global enterprise. Conclusion In conclusion, I feel that up to now I am within the right course in my strategy to become a competent financial administrator. The position of a finance administrator is a challenging yet rewarding employment position. As the job environment becomes more competitive, learners need to be more focussed on the changes and to develop flexible career strategies that can be increase their employability. As I eye this position, I focus on my strengths to take advantage of the available opportunities to overcome my weakness and threats that suppress my career development. My strengths lie in leadership capabilities, mathematics, proficiency in IT and research skills, and international strategies. UNI University has provided me with an opportunity to strengthen my social skills and to enrich my academic knowledge. However, I have noted my weaknesses in critical thinking abilities and in the use of problem-solving approaches, which are essential for management positions. I plan to develop new strategies to overcome my weaknesses as part of flexibility in learning. My after undergraduate degree plans is to enrol for a master program and to search for part-time job position as a strategy to acquire work skills and to overcome financial constrains that are likely to stand between my goals. By remaining flexible and focussing on the relevant skills and experiences, I will increase my employability in the financial administration career. Bibliography Carmeli, A, Gelbard, R, & Reiter-Palmon, R 2013, Leadership, Creative Problem-Solving Capacity, and Creative Performance: The Importance of Knowledge Sharing, Human Resource Management, 52, 1, pp. 95-121, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 April 2014. Duin, A. H., Baer, L. L., & Meyerring-Starke, D. 2001. Partnering in the Learning Marketspace. San Francisco, Kegans, L, McCamey, R, & Hammond, H 2012, Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Work Experience, Hospital Topics, 90, 3, pp. 74-81, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 April 2014. Kroth, M. S., & Christensen, M. 2009. Career development Basics. Alexandria, Va, ASTD Press. Kumar, K, Jain, K, & Tiwary, R 2013, Leadership Activities and Their Impact On Creating Knowledge in Organizations, International Journal Of Leadership Studies, 8, 1, pp. 19-31, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 April 2014. Mayer, F. 2007. Effective interpersonal communications in a multi-cultural work environment. München, GRIN Verlag GmbH Regis, R. 2008, Strategic human resource management and development. New Delhi, Excel Books. Scott, I., & Spouse, J. 2013, Practice based learning in nursing, health and social care mentorship, facilitation and supervision. Chichester, West Sussex, Wiley-Blackwell. Vveinhardt, J, & Gulbovaitė, E 2013, Comparative Analysis of the Researches on Personal and Organizational Value Congruence, Management Of Organizations: Systematic Research, 67, pp. 127-142, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 12 April 2014. Appendix 1. Curriculum Vitae. BARBARA ANDONIOU Home address: Contact Details: 5 Kyriakou Kolokasi Str. Mobile Tel. No.:0035799222601 Oroklini , 7040 , Larnaca Email: bar.bando@hotmail.com Cyprus PERSONAL PROFILE I am a focused, motivated and reliable student currently undertaking an Accounting and Finance degree at Nottingham Trent University. Working voluntarily in the accounting department of a constructive company, I have acquired skills required in a professional environment; such as cooperation and organizational skills. My studies enabled me to develop my responsibility levels, independence, self-concentration and leadership skills. At the moment, I aim to earn a place in the Masters programme in Finance in United Kingdom; this opportunity will help me further move on my career path. EDUCATION 2010 - 2014: Nottingham Trent University BA Accounting and Finance Year 2: Year 1: Financial Reporting Financial Reporting Corporate Finance Management Accounting Management Accounting DRA Taxation LAW Audit Economics DRA 2007-2010: Regional High School Livadhia, Cyprus Cyprus Apolytirion: 18.5 PEAP course/UK: 6.5 and IELTS/English Second Language: 6 WORK EXPERIENCE Dec 2013-Jan 2014: Administration Assistant at Wudniture Co. Main Duties: -Managing of bills, expenses/costs -General Assistance in the shop Jun 2013-Sep 2013: Accounting Assistant at Paschalis Developers Ltd Main duties:-Customer support, Administration -Filing, Bank Reconciliation, purchase and sale invoices KEY SKILLS Accounting and Finance Awareness: By studying Managerial Accounting, Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance and many more, I have gained a comprehensive knowledge in the Accountancy field. My interest in this area has been demonstrated in my research project ‘‘Investigating the effects of crisis in housing market in Larnaca, Cyprus’’. Organisational Skills: During my undergraduate studies in NTU and my seasonal work experience I have obtained the necessary skills in order to meet my future career requirements. Communication Skills: In the past three years I have been an active member in the Hellenic & Cypriot Society; where I was involved in plenty events, trips, parties, social gatherings. Other Skills: Languages: Greek, English, basics of German IT Skills: Microsoft package, SPSS, Minitab, SAGE Professional Qualifications: ‘LCCI Accounting Qualifications –Elementary and Intermediate level KEY ACHIEVEMENTS President of my class at Regional High School Livadhia, Cyprus Leader of a local high school volleyball team Participation in a school adoption of a child from Africa INTERESTS: -Voluntary Work, Donations, Charities -Travelling -Reading -Volleyball -Arts & Fashion, Photography, Dancing REFEREES: Available upon request Appendix 2. Personal Development Plan Name/ID: N0339029 Date: October 2013 What Do I Want/Need to Learn? (Personal Objectives) What Will I Do to Achieve This? What Resources or Support Will I Need? What Will My Success Criteria Be? Target Dates for Review and Completion Increase the aptitude of independent/critical thinking and the rational inquiry Engagement in activities or events/lectures can help me to develop my skills and as a result to achieve the increase of my critical thinking. Also, this involves independent reading and analysis of the findings into different perspectives. Firstly, I have to achieve this graduate attribute before appling for jobs because it is a very important topic. I can achieve that following my tutors’ advices and doing research around that. The achievement of this target will make me able to research a topic independently and have a clear mind when dealing with such issues. I would like to achieve this target in 2 months’ time the maximum. Also, I need to be prepared and practise on that since our research project includes that. Develop an enterprising and creative mind set being able to thrive in rapidly changing work and social environments Firstly, I should achieve the target above, the two targets are linked. Both of them require independently research. To achieve that I have to change the way I think. I have to think and analyse topics in a more critical and independent way. For that, people who already achieved that can provide me with the appropriate advices and support. During that, I can set a goal and measure that by giving myself a mark until I have the desire result, through real life examples. In a time scale of 1 month I bet that I can achieve that after a lot of practise. Obtain good team and collaborative working skills. Attending lectures or workshops based on this attribute could be really helpful for me to achieve my target. Having the advice of my tutors or someone else being in my position I can learn and be more confident in group works and setting programmes The achievement of this target will boost my confidence when working in teams so as to express my opinion easily. Until the deadline of our group assessment of L&E module I would like to be able to achieve my goal. Having the capacity to judge self-efficacy appropriately and to give or receive feedback effectively. The fact that I’m not confident enough to believe in myself made me struggle to say my opinion easily. I have to change that in order to believe in myself and make myself perform under any situation. Whoever had been in my position could motivate me to change. Also, people that tell me their honest opinion/feedback/advice can make me realise that I have to move on, be more confident and look myself able to act in different situations. Before any attempt to change that, I could look for any exercise/example or anything that happened in the past. After my attempt to achieve my goal I can compare the level of change in both situations. This would make me more motivated every time to try even harder. I would like to achieve this target in a small time period to make myself confident to act in different situations, and ready to apply for a job. Read More