I graduated from university in 2004 with a Bachelors Degree of Commerce (Finance and Marketing) from the University of Sydney. I have been with Westpac for five years, having started with the bank in my final year of university.

I was fortunate enough to find a role within the bank that was relevant to my studies, and opted to work full time in my final year whilst completing my studies. The role was supporting the London and New York foreign exchange spot markets desks, which meant I worked at night and attended classes during the day. Juggling full time work with full time study is challenging but very rewarding. It is a choice that many people make at some point in their career. My motivation was to gain a competitive advantage over other graduates competing for placements after graduation.

My university qualifications and relevant experience helped me gain my next role within the Corporate Finance business at Westpac. Throughout my four years with the team my role was varied – I spent some time managing a small operations team, originating transactions, working on strategic projects (for the bank) and my most notable achievement was setting up the leasing business in the New Zealand market.

At the beginning of 2008 I joined the Structured Finance business, which is part of Westpac’s Treasury area. Primarily we focus on arranging high value complex cross-border financing arrangements for the bank.

I joined the team in order to continue the development of my technical knowledge, and to broaden my network through the bank. Given the breath of each transaction, we apply technical knowledge across corporate law, regulatory policy and framework, accounting, tax law (domestic and foreign), credit underwriting, capital policy and framework, capital and debt market dynamics, and portfolio management. As a result each deal takes several months to execute, so the team must work collaboratively.

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What does a typical day involve for you?

A typical day is largely dependent on the flow of a deal.

When working on a transaction, my role involves writing internal papers (such as transaction summary papers, Board papers, and any other internal papers required); performing cashflow, accounting and tax modelling and analysis; attending internal stakeholder meetings – often ‘white-boarding’ proposals to assess risks and benefits; and attending external meetings with our counterparties, lawyers and advisors.

When we are not actively working on a transaction, it’s an opportunity to read up on previous transactions to determine how benefits were achieved, and what sorts of issues or risks were encountered. I also use the time to research changes in domestic and foreign tax law, treaties and regulatory standards.

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What interpersonal skills are essential to fulfil your role?

Two key interpersonal skills I believe are most important are (1) developing good verbal communication skills and (2) adapting to different working styles. Both are complementary and important, especially when you are beginning your professional career.

To me, verbal communication is being able to articulate yourself in meetings; articulating your career aspirations to your manager(s); talking/meeting with your colleagues; and also being able to have a social chat with other teams, managers and colleagues over drinks, lunches, functions etc.

In all of the roles I’ve held, I have had to interact with a diverse set of people. Ultimately you work as a team to deliver on sales targets, project outcomes, or execute deal structures and business strategies. You need to be able to identify how each person in the team operates, so collectively (and individually) we deliver on these objectives.

On a whole, this assists you in creating a profile for yourself within the organisation – which is a combination of how you operate and the work you produce (or objectives you deliver on).

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What sort of person is good in this role and type of organisation?

People who love problem solving and being challenged intellectually will enjoy a role in structured finance. Each transaction we work on is unique, so there are always several unknown issues.

Your problem solving skills will assess risks, issues and structure solutions. Solutions are always sourced by a combination of personal research but, more importantly, consulting experts in the fields. The key therefore is to interpret the issues so you can ask the right questions.

The complexity of each deal makes it necessary to work as a team. Generally the deal is managed by a deal leader and tasks are allocated to the deal members. The key to working within a team is task management. Each piece of work we individually complete contributes to the ability (and creditability) of the team to execute.

Organisationally, Westpac culture is achievement orientated. You are encouraged to be a team player and someone who challenges accepted ways of doing business. The key objective is always to improve the value of our products, services and experience to our customers, as well as improving our own experience within the bank.

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What do you find the most rewarding about your current role?

At this point in my career, I am motivated and rewarded largely by the learning I acquire. I enjoy being challenged on my technical knowledge, and find it rewarding that I can apply this in my current role. Whilst I don’t have a tax or accounting background (having largely focused on finance in my previous roles), I am fortunate that I can access on the job training via my colleagues as well as courses that Westpac offers.

I also find the flexibility afforded in terms of working hours rewarding. There is no pressure to be seen looking busy all the time. Instead the focus is on the quality of work you produce when the work is needed. I enjoy an active sporting life that helps me stay focused at work. Around me I see that the flexibility is appreciated by working mothers and fathers who juggle a work/life balance daily.

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What do most people find challenging/difficult about a role like this?

Analysing a structure or developing a transaction requires a depth of knowledge in all areas of finance, tax, accounting, regulatory, credit and financial markets. The challenge is to understand enough to ask the right questions to those who are experts. We may be experts in one field but certainly not in all fields.

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What were you looking for in an employer when you took your current role?

I was looking for learning and development, as well as career progression. I was surprised by Westpac’s strong culture promoting work/life balance.

Already in my five years with Westpac I have performed several roles (project management, people management, customer sales/origination, and now financing arrangements for the bank). In this regard, my technical and interpersonal training has been exponential. Westpac does a great job of recognising and sponsoring talent and creating opportunities internally.

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What benefits are essential to attract the best people?

Largely, I think graduates of my generation (the infamous Gen Y) are largely attracted to non-financial benefits. Namely:

Learning and development
Career progression (for those who seek it)
Flexible working hours (for working mums and dads, but also for those who have career responsibilities, or active sporting life etc)
Market-competitive remuneration.

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What other jobs and career paths could you consider in the future?

I enjoy working in banking and finance and would consider taking on management roles in the future.

Investment banking would also be a possibility, with the view of widening my skill set and network within the banking and finance industry.

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How do you keep up to date?

One of the easiest ways is via your friends and colleagues in the industry. These may be people you once worked with professionally. Also, by attending industry sponsored events (including the annual golf day!).

At Westpac, we have access to a large library of source material (e.g. publications, newspapers) that we can access via our internet or by simply approaching the library staff. Source material is a great way of independently keeping up to date with market events.

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Are you considering any study or professional development in the future?

I am considering completing my Masters of Business Administration (MBA), most likely at Macquarie University.

Over the next few months I am participating in a Westpac-sponsored career development workshop. The workshop is a six-week program covering elements such as mentoring and networks, career values, personal branding, experiences and transferable skills, and visioning.

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What industry associations do you belong to?

Finsia's Women in Finance Committee(NSW)
Ladies in Leverage, sponsored by Corrs Cambers Westgarth

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What tips for success do you have for aspiring financial services professionals?

When you are first starting out, I think you should be conscious about your relationships with colleagues and, importantly, aim to develop a strong sponsorship with someone in the organisation that can assist you with your career aspirations. This takes time, and is assisted by always delivering on your career aspirations with your actions.