Sometimes a new passion can carve an unforeseen path. Transitioning from a family bike business to finance, Jonas discovered this firsthand. After a phone call from TriFinance, all bits and pieces started to get together and soon after starting his career as finance consultant, Jonas’ first project was already just around the corner.
So, picture a bike enthusiast turning into a financial maestro, go grab your own bike and take a ride through Jonas’ one-of-a-kind story!
Shifting gears
While honing his practical skills in the family business and sharing his passion for bikes, Jonas discovered an interest in managing invoices, finance management and overseeing quarterly closings. As these tasks became a part of his daily routine, Jonas enrolled in Accountancy-Tax, illustrating how a shift in interests can lead to a surprising new professional path. The transition from fixing gears to finance has proved to be a natural fit for Jonas. “Back to school after 10 years of working in a bike store has definitely been a challenge, but one I do not regret!”
The road to a new challenge
When TriFinance first reached out to Jonas to join the internal team, it sparked a newfound interest in him to start his career in consultancy, recognizing the potential for accelerated learning and skill development by doing projects in various companies. “It is an excellent way for newly graduates to find their way in the world of finance. But also for people like me, with an atypical career path, it is a unique opportunity to get to know all areas within finance and discover what my ambitions are.”
While embarking the path as a finance consultant, Jonas found unwavering support from our BaseCamp team. “As it was my first interview for a project, the Business Manager accompanied me and made sure I was well-prepared.” Next to that, Jonas also got the support of a personal mentor who guided him through uncharted domains, such as PowerQuery and Excel, creating a culture of continuous learning. “It was super coincidental that my mentor was someone I spent time with in secondary school. That made me feel very secure, as it felt like I was getting training from a friend.”
A mentor is more than just a colleague. It is someone who helps you with questions about your project and gets you going if you are stuck with something.
Biking into the future
Thanks to the good support and his own motivation, Jonas was able to start on his first project at a major player in the hospitality industry very quickly. “I started at my project and handled tasks such as salary bookings, monthly closing, AP/AR bookings. However, after a short run-in period and the trust of my team my role rapidly evolved, encompassing more complex responsibilities such as assisting with corporate tax returns and handling various GL tasks. I also emerged as a key point of contact for inquiries related to audits.”
An SAP-implementation on Jonas’ project increased the workload, so an extra pair of hands on the GL-bookkeeping department was necessary. “The go-live of the SAP-implementation, the yearly closing and the audit were challenging, but at the same time I got the opportunity to gain a lot of experience and knowledge in these departments.”
And those first steps in finance got Jonas thinking about the future…
“It’s my ambition to grow in my role as GL-bookkeeper and to later convert to the role of Finance & Administration Manager. In pursuit of this goal, I have enrolled in a comprehensive two-year Finance and Administration (F&A) Academy at TriFinance to expand both my knowledge and skills.”
