Profile

Caroline Owusu-Bennoah

Role: Flexi placement - BT Consumer finance Department
Department: Graduates, Finance Management Trainee

Caroline had been working in the NHS for 3 years before she applied for Gradscheme. She found out about the Scheme through a friend. At the time she was looking for an opportunity for career progression and the gradscheme offered her that opportunity. The scheme provided the opportunity to train to become a professional accountant as well as offered her the job opportunities to help enhance my finance skills.

Caroline says...

Applying for the scheme was quite straight forward. looking at the length of time it takes to for the whole process was quite daunting at first but the time just flew by. Each stage of the process exposed me to the NHS even more and gave me an idea of what I would be doing while on the scheme. The assessment centre at the end of the application process was especially daunting!! It was 24 hours of hard work but it was well worth it as it exposed me somewhat to what being on the scheme was going to be like...... a real opportunity to make a difference in the NHS.

Once the scheme started it has been hard work all the way, and a lot of fun as well!! Orientation helped expose me to the NHS even more. Got to know the NHS in a way I never did before. It was a real eye opener even for someone who had worked in the health service for 3 years.

My first placement was a financial accounting role in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. This was a challenging but very interesting job. The role enabled me acquire essential financial accounting skills which went towards fulfilling my Gradscheme as well as CIMA competencies.

My second placement was at Bromley PCT, as a Senior Commissioning Accountant. This was a management accounts/ commissioning finance role. It exposed me to the commissioning part of the NHS, It was really invaluable experience.

My next placement was at Oxleas Foundation Trust where I worked as a management accountant. I am currently undertaking my flexi placement in BT, a very different but somewhat similar organisation to the NHS. The placement is going very well and I learn new things everyday, things that will be useful for my future roles in the NHS.

Transcript

Hiya I’m Caroline Owusu-Bennoah, a 2007 Finance Management Trainee, the Grads scheme has been a fantastic opportunity to help build up my career profile. It’s been a great time on the Grad scheme these past one and half years.

In these one and a half years I have undertaken different very interesting roles, I’ve worked in a financial accounting role and two management accounting roles. My current role is in Oxleas Foundation Trust where I work as a Finance Management Accountant, it’s an exciting opportunity, no two days are the same on the Grads scheme, the courses that we’ve undertaken have been really good and interesting, the Management Account Professional qualification is something that helps me in my day to day role, I have also enjoyed working on different projects, in my Financial Accounting role I undertook single handedly a section of the Auditors local evaluation and that was a fantastic opportunity, and great learning for me.