As I approach three years at Insider Pro, I reflect on how my academic background aligns with the skills I use in the workplace. Despite earning degrees in Geography and Environmental Leadership and Management, much of the theory I studied has proven difficult to apply directly. To bridge this gap, I've recently completed a course titled 'Challenges in Advanced Management Accounting' through The Open University. In this blog, I explore how it has deepened my understanding of practical financial tools and strategies, empowering both individuals and organisations to make informed, impactful decisions.
I'm approaching three years of working for Insider Pro, which also means three years of putting my university degrees to good use... or am I? I've just completed my second free Open University course, Challenges in Advanced Management Accounting. While I acknowledge that this was not specifically within the remit of my university degrees, I feel the strategies discussed are valuable across many different lines of work.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at university and have no regrets about my course choices or my overall experience. However, to this day, I've struggled to apply much of the theory I learned. My undergraduate degree was in Geography, and I later pursued a master's in Environmental Leadership and Management. I leaned toward human-focused modules over physical ones, but the content often explored economies and economics on a much broader, macro scale. In contrast, the influence most individuals have on a day-to-day basis is typically confined to the company they work for and the companies and customers they engage with. Those responsible for improving a company's finances need to focus on understanding what makes their company thrive, rather than on how global exchange rates affect a country's GDP, because sadly there is very little impact they can have on that.
Reflecting on this, I've realised that we often get bogged down in high-level numbers and factors beyond our control, losing sight of the things that truly matter, are right in front of us, and where we can genuinely make an impact. In the latest course, I learned about the challenges businesses face in dynamic economic environments and explored how adopting a strategic perspective can enhance management accounting for pricing and project evaluation. I examined tools like customer profitability analysis, which uses activity-based costing to assess customer value, and techniques like discounted cash flow analysis, which helps improve decision-making while accounting for uncertainty and risk.
All of the tools covered encourage and empower individuals and organisations not to passively react to market forces, but to take control, adapt, and make informed decisions when presented with new information: and I encourage you to do the same.