After qualifying with ACCA and spending several years in a variety of finance roles, I wanted to try something a bit more ‘hands on’. I wanted to work more closely with customers but still make use of my accountancy knowledge. Owning and developing end-user products gives me the opportunity to directly benefit our customers while also being responsible for a P&L.
My role is to oversee the end-to-end journey of a product, from market research to development, launch, governance and ongoing improvement. My team comprises specialists in marketing, product management, contracts, tech development and others. A typical day consists of meetings on areas such as product enhancements and reviews, and project updates. When not in meetings, I am usually creating reports for senior stakeholders or conducting independent research.
AI’s capabilities would be useful in precisely determining risk and insurability
One of the most exciting things about working in insurance is the level of variety – in terms of our service offering and also the technologies we use. While demand for the core insurance products – home and motor – remains strong, there are many underserved niches in the market. Furthermore, the ways insurance products are distributed and integrated vary greatly outside of the UK. There is a lot to be learned by looking not just at what peers are doing, but also unrelated companies in other geographies. However, this innovation is balanced by the reality that many insurance services may be seen as discretionary. The challenge for providers is to consistently provide clear value to customers in a crowded marketplace.
In addition to AI’s broader benefits, its capabilities would be useful in precisely determining risk and insurability in a way that traditional models cannot. Combined with experienced underwriters, I expect it will be able to deliver much fairer risk-based decisions across the market as a whole.
I feel very lucky that I have had the opportunity to do a variety of roles in quite a short amount of time while rising through several levels. I am aware that not everyone has the chance to do this. I think that my experience of being a front-line customer service adviser and gaining increasing amounts of responsibility has given me a perspective that I would otherwise not have.
Having a variety of expertise makes you much more able to control where you go next
What I feel is most important for accountants is adaptability, a willingness to learn and embracing new tools. Moving beyond traditional finance roles has taught me that they tend to come with more unpredictability. However, I think it is inevitable that AI will reduce the number of finance roles, particularly at junior levels. People starting careers in finance will need to be highly tech savvy to keep pace, and those moving out of the sector will need to be able to identify the transferable skills they have (being able to read a balance sheet is never a bad thing) while being willing to learn new ones.
If I had to give any advice to those interested in exploring opportunities in financial services, it would be to just do it! Having a wide career with a variety of expertise makes you much more able to control where you go next. It is never too late to make the change or try something new. I’d also encourage anyone interested in a particular field to reach out to someone already working in it and buy them a coffee. It’s one of the best ways to learn more about the sector.
Outside of work, I love getting out into the hills. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy living in Scotland. I also enjoy the drive along the winding roads to get there; you need to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.
