The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU’s new legislation that will replace UK Data Law (regardless of Brexit), comes into force in May 2018, meaning that unprepared businesses across all sectors have just eight more months to appoint someone in-house to ensure that all data infrastructure, cloud storage, tech policies and procedures are ready to meet the new regulations.
All UK companies need to comply, but a recent survey worryingly showed that only 7% of thousands of medium-sized UK businesses fully understand what the GDPR is. 40% in London alone had not even heard about it, and two thirds admitted they had been subject to an information breach in the past – something that could incur a large fine from next May onwards.
The construction industry may feel it is somewhat removed from data-heavy, consumer-facing other sectors, but the security threat is just as real and the impact could be just as damaging due to construction’s unique proximity to, and collaboration with, other businesses and sectors.
On typical construction projects, sensitive data is frequently exchanged with multiple immediate third-party project partners, such as architects, civil, mechanical and structural engineers, planning consultants and project managers. All of this communication will need to come under scrutiny, but some constructors will need to think beyond just the local partners. Involvement in critical and sensitive infrastructure projects, for example, could make the construction sector a preferred target for security breaches. All essential services and infrastructure builds will need to be resilient against not just the threat of cyber attack, but also against physical threats such as power failures and environmental hazards, in order to keep data centres, electricity and energy providers, and digital infrastructure secure.
Furthermore, this involvement with key players in infrastructure of any nature could make those in the construction sector a target of cyber attack not just for their own data, but also as a gateway into the securer sectors of their clients. Construction firms with property and facilities management clients too will no doubt be grilled on data protection processes and security measures to reassure and protect the clients’ own data.
As well as putting in place processes, storage, data transfer and compliance before May 2018, it’s worth remembering too that internal training will be paramount. It’s not just the disgruntled employee with access to sensitive information that maliciously carries out an internal security breach. Human error, or something as simple as poor password management can often be harder to detect, but just as damaging, both in terms of the breach and the incoming GDPR fine. The fines are high – up to 4% of worldwide turnover or 20 million euros, whichever is the highest.
September and October is always an interesting time of year for the many ACA Newly Qualifieds coming onto the market. They have completed their training contracts and many are now keen to take their first step into Commerce but are often met with conflicting ideas and advice as to where next to take their careers. After three years of hard graft many are looking to leave External Audit and explore the potential opportunities that await individuals with this sought after skill set. The academic pedigree required to be accepted onto a training contract coupled with the commitment of balancing continuous study with a non-stop audit schedule is well recognised among most hiring managers across Commerce and Industry. But what to do next?
As we have discussed in our previous blogs there are a number of different routes Newly Qualified ACA’s can take. Positions on offer may include Group Accountant, Financial Accountant, Management Accountant, Financial Planning and Analysis or perhaps a Commercial Analyst. Whatever decision is taken at this point will invariably affect career choices and their chosen career path later down the line.
More often than not however most ACA 0-1 Year Post-Qualified candidates will have their eyes set on a ‘commercial role’ within industry. Commercial is a word open to interpretation but what most will mean by this is a role that will offer the real ‘value add’ piece to a business; or in other words as little financial reporting as possible. A position where they can take the information prepared by the Financial, Management or Group Accountants and conduct analysis on the numbers which they can then translate into valued information that can add value to the top and bottom line.
The reality is however that although this is the sought after route desired by many ACA’s looking to make their first move into Commerce, many become frustrated as the only opportunities they hear about from Recruiters and In-House Talent Managers are too ‘Reporting Focussed’. Many candidates will have searched on job boards and taken the significant time investment to meet Recruiters and register with agencies. This investment is often met with frustration as they feel they are not being introduced to the roles they really want.
The reality is that most roles at the £45-£50k level (market rate for a 0-1 year post-qualified ACA) will contain a reporting element to some degree. This degree does of course vary depending on whether they enter a Statutory Reporting role, a Financial or Management Accountant position (which themselves are open to interpretation) or a Financial Planning and Analysis role. The true ‘commercial roles’ are available to these individuals but they are in the minority and the route to these is often through the aforementioned Statutory or Financial Reporting roles.
The most important thing to consider at this stage of their career is what they want to achieve later down the line. Most Finance Directors and Commercial Leads in any organisation will have at some point been in a position where they have been responsible for preparing Financial Statements including balance sheet, income and cash flow statements. Most will have proven experience of preparing accounts that accurately show the trading results and financial position of each company within a group or been able to provide an accurate picture of its financial positon and performance. They will have consciously chosen a role that will give them the experience and ability to encapsulate the company’s operating performance over a particular period and the financial position at a point in time by using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Most will have chosen these roles earlier in their career, got the ‘box ticked’ in a 12-24 month period and moved onto what they really wanted to do – the Commercial role. It is these guys that have taken these career choices when leaving practice who more often than not will secure the big Commercial roles, the Finance Director and CFO positions and increasingly the CEO mandate.
The real question to ask as an ACA looking to make the first move into industry is what do you need to do to reach your end goal? It is then making sure you have the self-awareness to achieve it. If this is a Senior Leadership role in either a Blue-Chip or a SME then at some point evidence of producing statutory accounts and financial statements could give you a competitive edge.
