A day in the life of an accountant, with Irina Batin, Senior Accountant

Hi, Irina, thank you for joining us! What is the first thing you do to prepare for a day of work? 

Coffee is usually the first item on my list when I arrive at the office. Then I tackle my tasks for the day, I read and answer my e-mails and I organise both my responsibilities and my colleagues’.  

Take us through your tasks and responsibilities!    

My tasks vary from day to day and I can honestly say that no day is identical to another over a month. These include preparing monthly reports, preparing and verifying financial statements, meeting with clients, conducting audits, and implementing accounting systems. I also work closely with our Automation & Innovation team to streamline repetitive processes that can be automated.   

An important part of my role is organising the tasks for my team members, to ensure that the deadlines are met and my colleagues have all the support they need.  

Team meetings or one-on-one discussions, how do you stay up to date with your team?   

Meetings with my team, for sure! Within our department, we are used to having small meetings every morning to align our priorities and to gain an insight into each other’s workload. These also represent an opportunity to socialise and reconnect with one another, especially in the case of colleagues who work exclusively from home.  

What is your afternoon pick-me-up of choice?   

Most of the time I oscillate between coffee and tea, but, being a big coffee lover, this is the winner in the majority of cases. Thus, I enjoy a moment of relaxation before regaining my energy in the afternoon.  

How do you like to end a productive day at work?   

Most likely by updating my to-do list and checking off the tasks I’ve completed. And if there are quite a few of them, I realise I’ve truly had a productive day, feeling both a sense of calm at the end of the day and excitement for the one ahead.   

Now, let’s keep it real with some rapid-fire questions!   

Are you team hope my message finds you well or is it too millennial? 

To be honest, this isn’t a phrase that I use often, but I surely don’t consider it to be millennial, on the contrary, I think it is a good way to start a conversation.       

How many times did you look at someone’s Teams background and wonder if that is their real home?   

Too many times... 😊 

And finally, what is the best sign off to an email?   

Always using a warm tone of voice, thanking the respondent for their help or information. 

Thank you, Irina, for your openness and for giving us a glimpse into what a day in your role looks like!  

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