Donna Erskine,
Group Financial Controller

1. What is your current position in OSSO?

My principle role within OSSO is Group Financial Controller however as with many companies of our size you often have the opportunity to wear multiple hats, an element which I thoroughly enjoy! May will mark my 10 year anniversary with the company.

2. Explain your career growth and journey to date.

My career has always driven towards accountancy; I left school with an HND in business studies and started out bookkeeping for a small accountancy firm, which gave me the opportunity to be exposed to a wide verity of financial tasks. It was while in this position I made the decision that I wanted to become a chartered accountant and expand my capabilities.

It took two years to complete but I had secured my chartership in accountancy and I am proud to say I self-funded the process. I then proceeded to work at Johnston and Carmichael and Apache for a number of years before starting at OSSO nearly ten years ago. As with any SME you are asked to wear multiple hats and support the wider business in areas not necessarily relating to directly to finance. But one thing I have learned throughout my career is – pretty much everything can be drawn back to finance and accounting in one way or another – whether that be stock checks, goods in/goods out, supply chain. It really is incredible the span and scopes of work you can get involved in.

3. What do you enjoy about your role and working for OSSO?

I genuinely love the people I work with – we are all after the same goal – to do well and have a laugh with each other while we do. In addition to this, I also enjoy the variety of my work, no two days are the same. Contrary to what people believe just because I am in finance doesn’t mean that I don’t get involved in the wider aspects of the business – I very much do and I find that with my background knowledge I bring a lot to the conversation which is widely welcomed.

4. What technology/product/cultural piece are you particularly proud of at OSSO?

For me I am most proud of the fact that we hit record turnover for the month of December last year. This is the highest turnover we’ve ever seen in the company based on our rental and people utilisation. It’s testament to the hard work of the BD team.

5. What advice would you give to those just starting out in their careers?

I didn’t do the usual route when it came to becoming a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant – the usual being graduating from university with a degree in accountancy or finance. Instead, I worked from the ground up, learned every and all aspects of financing and accountancy while employed and then secured my qualifications. My advice whether you have a degree or not would be to learn/study all aspects within a company as this will truly help you have a greater understanding of your role within the business. A company is a machine - and no one cog drives it – so learn as much as you can.