Assistant Finance Business Partner Review

As a Finance Business Partner I am primarily concerned with month end reporting, monthly forecasting, financial planning & budgeting, annual reforecasting as part of the management accounting side of my role. The other side includes data analysis and report building to help stakeholders make decisions key to the successful running of the business.

As part of my accounting apprenticeship I have learned many skills including amongst others how to apply professional scepticism within my role by always challenging the figures and making sure I do a sense check as well as build checks into my reports. I then send my work to someone else to check.

I really enjoy learning new information and liked most of my accounting modules as I felt they stimulated me and challenged my brain whilst also providing the knowledge and theory to the work I carry out on a day to day basis. However the apprenticeship side was less enjoyable as it is not so well organised.

It is really beneficial to have a talent coach who can support you however you only speak to them every six weeks and outside of this time you can only contact them via email. This means you have to wait for a response and there is no central place to find the information you need. The resources and tutors through the training provider are fantastic however.

My employer funds all of my exams and annual membership fees. Furthermore they also support me by allowing me to attend live online tutoring sessions and being able to study during work hours. As well as this I am allowed to have the day off on the day of my exam.

My training provider sends me fantastic resources such as a study text, exam kit and pocket notes. Online I also have access to recorded videos, live online sessions, tests, mock papers and much more. There is also an email and phone number for student support which is helpful for any queries.

I now have the theoretical knowledge and understanding of many key accounting concepts which underpin what I do in my role on a day to day basis. Learning this has helped me to understand these concepts better, know why we carry them out and in turn perform better in my role.

At my work there are some extra-curricular activities that employees can get involved in such as monthly socials, a football team, panel events and quarterly town halls. However none of these are specifically apprenticeship related. I know that there are now however some groups for certain apprenticeships to support each other.

Yes

Lidl works hard to promote diversity and inclusion and is constantly reporting on this as well as organising certain events such as panel discussions to make sure everyone feels included and that it is a safe and welcoming environment to work in. Lidl also fosters my development by supporting my studies.

I would encourage those who are interested in applying to Lidl to be confident and show examples of efficiency and productivity during the hiring process as these are key traits that Lidl looks for and encourages in its employees. It also helps to have a bit of German being a German company!