Reema: returning to TAS
Returning to the team
I first joined the Transaction Advisory Service team at Grant Thornton in 2018, after moving to London from Mumbai, and within a year of joining the firm I had been promoted. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I had to move back to India in 2019. However, I always planned to return to London at some point.
Whilst I was back in Mumbai I was in touch with my team, including my people manager. In 2021, with Covid restrictions lifting it felt like the right time to make the move back and luckily, the team had the right role for me. I received a counteroffer from my existing organisation in Mumbai to join their team in London, but I chose to re-join Grant Thornton as I was familiar with the team’s culture.
Supported to excel
During my first stint at the firm, one of the partners wanted to develop the data analytics function within the team, which at the time was quite new to the firm. After attending external training, I had responsibility for developing and rolling out training for the wider TAS team. I travelled to various offices across the UK and facilitated the training on the new software. The partner could easily have given this opportunity to another more experienced member of the team, but he knew this was an area I was really interested in and could see this was a great development opportunity for me. It’s things like this that show how much the firm invests in people and supports everyone to succeed.
I’ve always have felt encouraged and supported to progress my career in a way that works for both me and the firm. When I re-joined in 2021, my people manager asked me about how I wanted to progress my career. This allowed us to have an open and honest conversation about what I was looking to achieve, and how he could support me to do this. Whilst originally, I took the lead on the data analytics roll out, at this stage in my career, I wanted to focus on overall project management and further developing my industry knowledge
Finding the balance
Because of the nature of the work within the team, there are busy periods, but we are supported to make sure we can manage our workload and are always able to flex based on project requirements. If I have ever felt overwhelmed with either the timescales of a project or the volume of work, my managers will always work with me to find a solution. Whether that’s bringing additional team members in, or speaking to clients about the deadline, together we manage to find a solution to ensure quality deliverables whilst retaining a manageable work/life balance.
What would I say to someone considering a career with Grant Thornton? “If you’re looking for a firm that offers variety in clients, career progression and a supportive environment – come join us!”
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