From Seasons In Ibiza To Growing VIQU’s Finance Department: Q&A With Hannah Parsons

Hannah Parsons is VIQU’s Finance Director and one of our founders. She started as a volunteer, giving her spare time to assist with VIQU’s accounts, and now she runs the finance department that caters to whole VIQU Group.

I was pleased to sit down with Hannah to learn more about what it’s like to be the finance guru in a sea of recruiters.

What attracted you to working in finance?

Hannah: So, there are two different answers I could give for this question.

The real story begins when I was around 8 years old. I really liked counting money and putting the coins in order. That’s what started my interest in being an accountant, as I thought that’s what accountants did – counting and sorting money! I would always get excited about taking my birthday and Christmas money into the bank. NatWest used to give these pigs out to children with savings accounts, and I collected all 5 of them!

However, the official story that I tell most people, is that I wanted to do a practical degree at university to help with getting a good job afterwards. I studied Science subjects and Maths at A-Level, so for me, the logical next step was to study Accountancy, Financial Management & Business Studies and then become an Accountant.

Did you go straight into finance after university?

Hannah: Truthfully no – I wanted to avoid getting an adult job for as long as possible after university!

I worked a couple of seasons out in Ibiza, then when I was in the UK, I was working in clubs at night and temping during the day. I started a temp job in the Credit Control department of an organisation, and got chatting with people in the finance team, and realised that being an Accountant wasn’t so bad and that I should finally do something with my degree.

From there, I started looking for an employer that would offer study support for professional accountancy qualifications.

Have you always worked in the recruitment industry since then?

Hannah: I’ve worked across a number of industries including a timber merchant, an SMS company and a business supplies wholesaler. The great thing about working in finance is that every company needs it, but that their requirements are all different. I’ve worked in the recruitment industry since 2014.

What’s it like being part of the back office function of a recruitment agency?

Hannah: It was a bit of culture shock when I first joined VIQU, I won’t lie. Joining a business with a strong sales environment with impressive rewards and incentives, was a very different setting to what I was used to. However, in my time at VIQU, I have been on many incentive and reward trips, and so I’ve seen first-hand why they are so important in the industry.

At VIQU, every team member is included on incentives and Christmas conferences abroad, whether you are customer-facing or back office, which isn’t the same across all agencies.

What does a finance role look like in the recruitment industry?

Hannah: Thankfully, the recruitment industry accounting-wise, isn’t overly complicated. Some industries can be quite complex, but in terms of finance and accounting, it’s pretty straightforward.

However, the main focus with a recruitment agency like VIQU, which is predominantly contractor-based, is to ensure compliancy, accuracy and cashflow. The contractors and all suppliers need to be paid correctly and on time to maintain our reputation. As a lot of contractors get paid weekly, we focus heavily on cashflow to ensure that money is available each week for people to get their pay checks on time.

The recruitment industry is fast-paced, so, naturally this is the case for our department too, as we need to be really organised to keep on top of everything. One of the benefits of working at a smaller agency like VIQU, is that it’s so easy to talk with the consultants face to face to sort out any issues quickly. It also means that we are involved in all aspects of the business which makes the job a lot more interesting than just focusing on numbers.

Would you recommend working in a recruitment agency to a back office employee?

Hannah: 100%! It’s a great atmosphere.

I’ve always found recruiters to be quite fun, they’re very talkative and there is often a real buzz around the office when they’re on calls talking with clients and candidates. There’s often a lot of great incentives and work socials to attend as well.

Why did you choose to join VIQU?

Hannah: My story is a little bit different to most. I was a close friend of the founding members, so when they started out, I volunteered to do their accounts in my spare time.

This rolled into more as the company grew. They needed someone permanent to build their finance department and that is when I officially joined the team. Over time, I became more involved and have helped grow the department, and now have two other team members who work with me.

You sit on VIQU’s board of directors, do you enjoy that aspect of your role?

Hannah: I really enjoy working alongside the board at VIQU. The other members of the board are both my colleagues and my friends, and we all have a lot of respect for each other as professionals and for each other’s opinions.

I also like that my voice is heard within these big business decisions. Within conversations, I can challenge others and be asked questions in return. I feel very proud to be part of the senior team of a successful business like VIQU.

What are your biggest career achievements?

Hannah: I have three answers for this …

• I received an award from CIMA while I was studying because I came third in the world for one of my accountancy papers, all whilst working full time.
• During the credit crunch, I took on a maternity cover role as Commercial Finance Manager. It was a big step up and within my first few weeks in the role, I had to create a detailed 3 year forecast within just a few weeks, something I had never done before at that scale. However, doing so, contributed to the business being successfully re-financed, and saved so many jobs.
• With VIQU, I am particularly proud of coming to a start-up and being able to build the finance function from scratch. I was able to support our team as we grew and successfully moved all our finance software to the cloud as well.

What are you looking forward to now in your career?

Hannah: I’m really looking forward to supporting the growth of the VIQU Group. It’s really interesting to work in different sectors with new teams, performing integrations of new processes and systems. I recently worked on the acquisition of Consult Energy, and I’m excited to see what other projects arise in the future.

With us celebrating VIQU’s 10^th anniversary this month, I can’t wait to see what memories we make and challenges we face in our next 10 year chapter.

If you are curious about what a career looks like at VIQU, you can check out our interview series with team members here.