Louise Cook
My Role
I look after the MD of BRAL and some of our lovely senior managers and managers in my role as PA/Office Manager. Working with my colleagues, Laura and Ali, I also give general administrative support to BRAL which means that anything and everything can come up on a daily basis! This makes for a varied role and an interesting day. Thanks to the nature of the work I do I get the opportunity to work with pretty much every department within BRAL and also our sister company Fluency Solutions and parent company Blick Rothenberg. They are a friendly and helpful bunch so I love the social aspects of the role.
How have you progressed within the firm?
Having a bookkeeping background and then graduating from University with German & Business BA Hons, I began working at BRAL in 2001 as a German-speaking Financial Administrator. I then moved on to become a Senior FA, before being promoted to Administration Manager assisting new clients with their set up in the UK, finally moving over to work for the BRAL Directors (which, funnily enough, is the role I mentioned I wanted at my first appraisal!). I have worked for the company now for six and a half years in total, although I did take a two year break during which time I worked in property management and development.
How would you describe the culture of the firm?
I feel that our company culture is quite unique in comparison to other offices in which I have worked in London. We have many language speakers, several of whom are multilingual, and come from all over the world. But whilst we are all working in London, the culture is definitely not “London-centric” so although English is our lingua franca in the office we never assume our clients will want to deal with us in English. A German company, for example, can have a German native speaker as part of their BRAL team. I think that the services provided by Fluency Solutions – in which we effectively act as a hub for our clients - is also a great example of this working in practice.
What differentiates BRAL from its competitors?
Lots of us at BRAL are studying for accountancy and professional exams and the company encourages and supports this. For example I recently graduated with an MA in Anglo-German Cultural Relations. I think that the way in which the company supports its staff in their studies contributes to the forward thinking and professional services that we offer our clients – we are way more than dull accountants! For me personally, the responsible company attitude towards things like the environment and making a difference in the local community by encouraging charity days, etc. is something which definitely attracted me back to BRAL/Blick Rothenberg. From a competitive edge perspective, I think this also helps ensure that the brightest young graduates are excited to join the company.
Steve Birney – BRAL Account Manager
My Role
Within my accounting team there are three Financial Administrators, four Management Accountants and two Managers looking after a portfolio of some 80 clients. I am responsible for service delivery to 40 clients who are split into full service clients where we give full administrative day-to-day support and bookkeeping only clients. This includes regular client communication and a quality review of the management accounts and reports produced by our management accountants.
I enjoy the atmosphere in the office. It is relaxed and multicultural, which can sometimes make for a very interesting day. I also enjoy the differences in our varied client base. This encompasses a broad range of clients in different industries, ranging from smaller owner-managed businesses to listed international groups.
How have you progressed within the firm?
I began in 2003 as a Management Accountant and was in that role for 2 years. I then spent a year in the New Business Team specialising in assisting client set-ups and integrating them into the BRAL procedures before being promoted to accounting manager in 2007 and to Account Manager in 2008.
How would you describe the culture of the firm?
The culture is one of relaxed professionalism. BRAL is very conscious of its staff’s needs and I feel that the company provides a workplace that makes it easier to find the right work-life balance.
The atmosphere is quite different from other firms due to the many different nationalities that are represented by both the staff and the clients.
What differentiates BRAL from its competitors?
Many other firms offer outsourcing, but I feel that the client relationship management performed by the financial administrators is the extra value that BRAL adds to the relationship with the client.