Maz Williams

Succeeding in Corporate finance – a Q&A with Carl Swansbury, Partner and Head of Corporate Finance at Ryecroft Glenton

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in corporate finance, or are you wondering what you need to do to build a successful career within the sector? Our Newcastle Practice recruitment team recently sat down with Carl Swansbury, Partner and Head of Corporate Finance at Ryecroft Glenton, to find out what he attributes to his success, and to get his views on what finance & accountancy candidates need to do to thrive in this service line. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your experience to date? I joined PwC straight from sixth form College on the AAT/ACA fast-track course, which is a challenging but very rewarding four-year programme. I initially started out within audit and assurance, qualifying at the age of 20 and left PwC shortly after in December 2006. I always knew I wanted a career in corporate finance or consulting, so I decided to join RSM Tenon in January 2007 to pursue it. As with any new career, I started in a junior role as a Corporate Finance Executive and progressed accordingly within a four-year period, being promoted to Corporate Finance Manager, Corporate Finance Senior Manager and then Director, all during my time at RSM Tenon. In May 2011 I joined Ryecroft Glenton, successfully established the Corporate Finance function and consequently progressed to my current role as Partner and Head of Corporate Finance. What does a typical day look like for you and your team? Working within corporate finance keeps me very busy. Generally, I am on my laptop for around 7am and ready to start taking calls and attend meetings by 8am. I like to start as soon as I can in the morning so I can look at what needs to be done that day, and then plan my time accordingly. I usually start my day by going through my emails to ensure nothing urgent needs to be actioned, and then from 8am I am usually in back-to-back meetings with shareholders and funders. No two days are the same, which is part of the reason I love working in corporate finance. In terms of my team, they will be providing expert advice and guidance to clients, producing business plans, carrying out detailed research, preparing detailed financial models and leading transactions. What is the most influential thing you have learnt/been taught in your career so far? Working within any fast-paced role is enlightening, and I have learnt a great deal throughout my career, but there are two things that really stick out as being vitally important, especially for those looking to carve a successful career in the sector. The first is to always be mindful of the need to deliver clear and concise advice in a strategic way. Secondly, corporate finance professionals need to keep their knowledge up-to-date, be aware of what is going on around them and always remain optimistic. It is very easy to give up or think that giving your best is pointless in the face of adversity, however that is not true. For example, in the current political climate with Brexit looming, many finance professionals are apprehensive of what might happen, and some have let this impact their decisions. However, at Ryecroft Glenton we have remained positive throughout and have managed to achieve our best year yet, showing that a positive outlook can be hugely beneficial. Longevity at your firm is fairly obvious, what is it that’s kept you with the business so long? Being part of a full-service firm and working for a company that is results driven and committed to being a market-leading advisory firm has made my decision to stay and progress at Ryecroft Glenton very easy. The clarity of our firm’s vision is exciting and demanding, making it a very interesting place to work. Another aspect is the autonomy I have been given from stakeholders to lead at Ryecroft Glenton’s corporate finance function and drive this forward. They have recently hired two new heads into the corporate finance team and are willing to grow despite the current climate to drive the business forward, something many other firms are not doing. What are the key things that you look for when you’re looking to hire? When looking for people to join the firm it is a given that we look for individuals who are academically and technically astute. This is essential in our line of work. We also look for candidates that are likely to fit in with our core values, as cultural fit is almost as important as technical ability. For example, we look for conscious individuals who will care about our clients and colleagues and we look for candidates we can trust, so we will consider anyone that has been in a trusting position in a previous role. It is important to us to find people who are aligned with these values because we remunerate and appraise against them. What are the key challenges that you face when recruiting? Attracting talent who have the above values combined with the technical skills from the small talent pool in the area is very difficult. What learning and development opportunities are available for employees with Ryecroft Glenton? We employ candidates straight from school/university and will assist them through any official accounting or tax qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/AAT/ATT etc). During their studies candidates will work with us and be mentored to ensure they have the best possible foundation to build a successful career in the sector. We also offer a four-year internal training programme within advisory. In addition to this, we also put a great deal of time and energy into ensuring our employees have the best possible chance for success. Once qualified, our employees have access to additional on-the-job coaching and additional qualifications through Accelerate to help them further their career and progress with us at Ryecroft Glenton. How do you think your business differentiates itself from the many other practices in the North East? There are several things that I believe differentiate us from our competitors. Firstly, our heritage. We are a very well-known and established firm with a clear growth strategy. Secondly, we are a market-leading firm providing full advisory services including all six service lines. There are very few other independent firms in the North East providing a service like this other than the Big 4. Finally, we can provide a national and international service from our regional location in the North East, giving people a great opportunity to travel and gain exposure to various types of businesses. How do your tailor your benefits, employee recognition and rewards to ensure you attract the best talent? We benchmark ourselves against our competitors to ensure our benefits are in-line with the rest of the market. We also carry out an annual internal survey to ask our employees if there is anything they would like to see implemented, which allows us to cater for the wants and wishes of our employees. In most firms, individuals tend to become a ‘specialist’ in a service area (Tax, Audit for example). Is it then possible for these individuals to move into a different service area? It is of course possible to change service line focus within practice. For example, we recently had an employee move into a Corporate Finance Senior Manager role from audit and assurance. Candidates just need to have a good working knowledge of the sector and be able to show a drive and determination to learn and succeed. I believe it is also important to give candidates exposure to multiple job roles and practice areas so they can make an informed decision on their career path as early as possible. To assist with this, we offer all trainees the chance to work in various service lines and offer secondments within the firm, so they can get a feeling for where they see themselves working longer-term before making any final decision on their chosen career path. What advice would you give to anyone looking to secure or advance their career in practice? To build a successful career in practice, candidates need to be technically strong and have a full set of soft skills in addition to technical prowess – skills such as communication skills, leadership capabilities, organisation skills and problem-solving skills for example. In addition to this, they also need to have a broad professional network and a drive and passion to help lead both clients and colleagues to success. Can we help you… If you would like help securing a role within corporate finance or other service areas within practice, then please get in touch. Alternatively, you can check out our latest North East Practice jobs here.

Is working 9-5 becoming a thing of the past? – a conversation with Sally Little from The Growth Company

Flexible working is fast becoming one of the most sought-after benefits on the market across all business sectors. From working parents looking to support a growing family to millennials in search of a better work/life balance, more-and-more candidates are seeking out flexible working arrangements in their next employer. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to consider offering flexible working arrangements as a standard benefit in order to appeal to the best candidates on the market. Sally Little, Group Head of Financial Accounting & Reporting at The Growth Company was one of those candidates. We recently worked with Sally to find her current role and she says that the flexible working on offer at The Growth Company was one of the major deciding factors in her decision. Stephanie Tasker, Principal Consultant at Sellick Partnership sat down with Sally to get her thoughts on the importance of flexible working, why she thinks it is so important in modern day society and why more businesses should follow suit and implement flexible working policies as a standard benefit. Flexible working – the deciding factor For many modern-day candidates, the thought of working nine to five, five days a week is becoming hugely outdated, with an increasing number of candidates seeking out employers with flexible working arrangements that fit in with their life at home. As a recruiter I have witnessed this change and can confidently say that flexible working is one of the most sought-after benefits on the market, often being placed above salary in many instances. Sally Little, who I recently placed at The Growth Company agrees. While looking for her next role it was important to find an organisation that would fit around her life at home. “I live in Preston so being able to have 2 days working from home means a couple of days when I can take my kids to school and overall gives me a much better work/life balance.” This is a common theme with the candidates that I and the wider team here at Sellick Partnership speak to on a daily basis. The majority, if not all, of the candidates on our database are seeking or would like some sort of flexible working arrangement in their next role. In the last 12 months a large percentage of my placements alone have chosen their current employers as a result of the flexible working arrangements they offer, proving that it is becoming a major deciding factor for a lot of candidates. A growing shift towards flexible working Flexible working has always been high on the agenda for candidates I have worked with, especially those looking for work within the public sector, however now we are witnessing the increase across all sectors and industries. Only 6 percent of UK employees are working the traditional hours of 9 to 5 according to a new poll carried out by YouGov. That means that 95 percent of the current working population work hours that fall outside what we would class as ‘the norm’. The same report also found that just 14% of employees would opt for working 9 to 5 if given the choice. I also feel there has been a shift in the types of candidates that are seeking flexible working arrangements. A few years ago, if you asked me the types of candidates that wanted flexible working, I would probably have said that more experienced candidates with families saw it as a priority. These days however it is much more widely requested. Everyone from recent graduates straight through to CEOs are now seeking some sort of balance which means that businesses that are not offering flexible working are putting themselves at a real disadvantage. What can businesses offer? To me, flexible working isn’t just about the hours you put in at the office. Yes, it is a real benefit to candidates to allow them to alter how many hours they do or change start and finish times to suit their needs. But some businesses are going the extra mile and giving employees even more flexibility. Take the Growth Company for example... they introduced agile working in March giving their employees the flexibility to choose where they work, when they work and the way they work. Agile working can be anything from mobile working, remote or home working, hot-desking, or just more flexibility around the times of your working day. Being agile helps to create a performance-based culture which promotes trust, outputs and efficiency. As part of implementing agile working, The Growth Company introduced flexible working hours, giving employees the flexibility to manage their own working day between the hours of 7am and 7pm subject to business need. This was huge cultural change for the organisation and required significant planning to upgrade equipment and prepare employees, but six months since launch they are reaping the benefits with employees being empowered to manage their working day and attracting the best candidates on the market, like Sally Little. This flexibility was one of the reasons Sally accepted her role so she can work around her commitments at home. Talking about the policy Sally said: “We can work between 7am to 7pm from any location. We have the flexibility to choose the way we work but this is around work priorities and is managed locally in teams how often you are expected to be in the office, as some of our teams are client facing. It is expected that I will be in the office 3 days a week on average however others have much lower expectations to attend the office.” For flexible working to work it needs to suit the needs of employees of all kinds. This could mean starting and leaving the office earlier or working from home a few days a week. While speaking with Sally I was delighted to hear how popular the initiative has been. She added: “Everyone has engaged with this, very few employees are in the office 5 days a week now. The ability to hot desk allows you to meet people you wouldn’t normally sit with and to work in your own preferred style (i.e. desk, multiple screens, café tables, large group meeting tables)”. It is this type of flexibility that is giving some companies a real competitive edge and is becoming the key deciding factor when experienced candidates are accepting a role. Giving prospective employees an alternative to working the normal 9 to 5 allows businesses to recruit from a much wider geographical talent pool. Flexible working requires trust to be a success There is no question that the demand for flexible working is huge and is continuing to grow, which makes me wonder why there are still businesses and some sectors that are refusing to adapt and change with the times. Although quite rare, we still speak with some employers that are not equipped or able to offer any forms of flexible working for their staff, which often puts them at a disadvantage from the offset when recruiting. But why are some businesses and managers still hesitant to offer something that is so widely well received? When speaking with Sally she told me that she believes that trust is the basis of making flexible working a success. She said: “Some managers worry that if you can’t see your staff you don’t know what they’re doing. This comes down to leadership not management and trust within a team.” I found this a very interesting point and find myself agreeing with what Sally is saying. Many of the organisations that I see that are still hesitant to offer flexible working are very performance and KPI driven, so them not having trust that the work will be done fits. However, I think this is a shame as there are plenty of sales businesses such as ourselves at Sellick Partnership that have proven that flexible working can work in a highly pressured sales environment, and these businesses that are hesitant should take stock and follow suit, otherwise they risk falling behind and will likely struggle to recruit. Successful businesses can reap the rewards Flexible working however is not just a fad, in fact it has a huge number of benefits for employees and employers alike. Benefits such as employee satisfaction, motivation, increased productivity and even financial benefits have all been linked to successful flexible working policies. At the Growth Company they believe agile working: has improved business performance and customer satisfaction helps to attract and retain talent provides a more responsive and competitive service supports better work-life balance and health and wellbeing enhances productivity and has helped achieve cost efficiencies in their estate that has been reinvested into the business Introducing agile working also helped The Growth Company make changes to improve the way they work which has contributed to being awarded Investors in People Silver. The future of flexible working What does the future hold for flexible working? Personally, I only see the appetite for it increasing. I agree that trust and respect of colleagues is the basis of making anything work, but if an employer can ensure they have this I do not see why flexible working can’t continue to evolve, especially as digital developments continue to make remote working even easier. I personally take advantage of flexible working in my current role at Sellick Partnership. As a mother I needed to be able to work my hours around my commitments at home and being able to do this has greatly assisted in my development and career as a recruitment professional. Without this support I may not have been able to achieve what I have, so I know first-hand how important flexible working can be. Sally agrees… “On the days I’m not in the office I work when I would otherwise be commuting and the lack of interruptions from office noise keeps me focussed and allows me to increase my outputs. I am a happier person as the guilt of wanting both a career and motherhood is reduced and I feel I am a more rounded person as a consequence”. Can we help you? We have helped numerous businesses implement successful flexible working benefits with great results. If you would some advice on how to approach flexible working, and what types of policies will attract the candidates you need, get in touch. Alternatively, you can engage with this article, or others like it on the Insights section of our website or on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.