Congratulations to Laurence Appiah on his promotion to Financial Controller. We heard from Laurence about his successful career with us and the importance of investing in training and development.
My A levels at college were oriented towards finance and business, so when I finished I was looking for a role that would give me the ability to both gain experience in this area and study to reach my end goal of becoming a qualified accountant. Venn Group provided that opportunity, encouraging me to study for my initial AAT accounting qualification and then eventually to qualify for ACCA. I also recently completed an external 12-month team leader and supervisor course that’s helped me in my training for management at Venn Group.
Alongside this, I’ve received a lot of on-the-job training; Keith, Paul and others on the team have a wealth of experience that I’ve learned from, and working within a busy department means I’ve been exposed to so many different areas of finance that have helped to broaden my skills, knowledge and experience.
Reading from a textbook and answering exam questions is one thing, but being able to apply this knowledge in the workplace is another, because that way you feel a sense of accomplishment and get to see whether you actually understand it. Certain areas of accounting can be very technical and require a lot of learning and memorisation, and it’s exciting to see how this all coheres together in a practical way when we create financial statements for our annual audit; I’ve also found that when I apply it, it’s helped me to pass my exams!
Some people may move between companies because they enjoy their job but feel like there are no training opportunities and can’t see themselves developing. But if the company gives you those opportunities – like Venn Group have – it can be beneficial staying longer-term, because you will become more familiar with its culture, processes, and you can build good relationships. I’ve been at Venn Group for eleven years, and in this new role I’m looking forward to continuing to build up my wider experience in the Finance world, because there’s still a lot that I need to learn.
I once heard someone say that the best investment you can make is in yourself. It can be daunting and challenging to take on something new and unknown, especially if you’re working at the same time, but never pass on opportunities for training and development, because once you qualify for something, no one can take that away from you.
We also heard from Laurence’s management team who have supported him throughout his career:
‘Laurence joined Venn Group as part of our apprenticeship programme. His outstanding commitment and work ethic have seen him gain his accountancy qualifications and progress through the various finance departments he worked in. More recently he’s been managing the management accounts team and his attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile has made this a natural progression. I am excited to see Laurence continue to develop and grow and he is a great success story for our apprenticeship programme. Congratulations Laurence!’
Paul Hayward, Associate Director
‘Laurence joined the Venn Group Billings team as an apprentice (after beating 30 other candidates through an interview day) straight out of school in 2012 where he was for a couple of years before moving to the Accounts team. Through tremendous hard work he combined working and studying for his AATs and then ACCA seamlessly which culminated in him becoming ACCA qualified in 2018. Laurence takes challenges in stride and is happy to provide any assistance to his team or the wider business when called upon.’
Julie Kisalu, Internal Payroll & Data Analysis Manager