Kate Evans
Investment Accountant
Baillie Gifford
You studied down south, tell me what attracted you to work in Scotland.
I completed a Maths & Financial Services degree at college. I enjoyed it, but decided to take a gap year to consider what I wanted to do. I came to Edinburgh as I have friends here, and started work with Baillie Gifford as a temporary administration assistant.
When a permanent contract became available for an Investment Accountant, I applied and was successful. I've been with Baillie Gifford for 5 years now.
What sort of work do you do?
I have responsibility for a number of specific clients and it's my job to ensure they receive a high level of service relating to investment administration. On a daily basis I ensure our accounting system accurately reflects the clients' portfolios and I reconcile this data to that of the custodian banks.
On a monthly and quarterly basis I am responsible for preparing and sending out key reports to our clients. These reports have to be completed to agreed deadlines making it a busy time.
I also act as a custodian bank reviewer which involves me giving feedback to management on the service levels being received from a major custodian bank. This also requires me to attend both internal and external meetings.
What do you find most rewarding?
Working in a team is most rewarding. I'm part of a team of five with a team leader who provides support when required. We look after our own clients but work as a team too, helping others when it's busy.
I enjoy communicating with the client whether it's by phone, email or client visits. I've definitely become more confident since I've had to deal with clients.
I've also worked on projects where I've had to present the outcome to other people in the department. In the past I would never have been confident enough to achieve this.
What impact has this job had on your lifestyle?
The majority of my friends also work in financial services and we tend to socialise after work.
Within
Baillie Gifford there's a great social environment. The company
arranges a range of different events - this includes bowling nights,
theatre trips, an annual dinner dance and an annual office outing,
where you can choose from a range of activities - so far I've tried
pony trekking, canoeing, windsurfing, and laser pigeon shooting.
