The impact of my work
I could see the impact of my work during each of my rotations. Catching anomalies in Arpa’s order entry had a clear financial impact on the company, as did my analyses to track our sales performance at Direct Online Services. My work in Cincinnati helped smoothen the inclusion of Hartson-Kennedy in the group by structuring accounting processes, implementing reporting tools and collecting data for the first external audit.
Variety in disciplines
I interacted with multiple departments in each of my three projects, from accounting and marketing to health and safety. In order to integrate an SAP module at Arpa, I had to collect data from finance, transportation, warehousing and sales and then put everything together with the help of IT. By the end of my traineeship, I had made several important contacts across the companies in the group.
Variety in locations
I lived in four very different cities during my trainee program: Bra (Italy), Den Bosch (the Netherlands), Cincinnati (USA) and Cheltenham (UK). I felt like a resident of every one of those places and interacted with people from across the world. I became a regular at a traditional café in Italy, with the owner calling me by my first name and asking “the usual?” In the US, I got to have the full American experience with Halloween, a Thanksgiving dinner and watching the Superbowl. Very few people get to experience so many cultures in such a short amount of time.
Taking responsibility
After the acquisition of Hartson-Kennedy, I was involved in improving the company’s accounting processes and implementing Broadview’s financial reporting tools. I felt like it was up to me to conduct the project in the way I believed was best for the group. I travelled between Cincinnati and the state of Indiana multiple times to work with the different teams involved and had to deliver updates on my progress in a weekly meeting with senior managers.
My projects and current position
My first project was at Arpa, where I was tasked with implementing a specific SAP module and conducting analyses on product margins and order entry. At Formica North America, I assisted in the post-acquisition integration of Hartson-Kennedy, with specific support on financial and accounting topics. My third project was at Direct Online Services, in the UK, where I performed commercial and financial analyses for the sales and marketing teams.
Currently, I am a Business Development Analyst at the Broadview main office. I coordinate Health and Safety topics across the group, work on M&A projects and look into other business topics whenever they arise.