In this series of ‘Emma Meets’, Emma Peterson, Director of Recruit 121 Finance & Accounting Solutions, finds out more about the sponsors of the Finance Awards Wales 2024.
Finance Awards Wales is designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented finance professionals working in Wales, showcasing the best of the best in the finance industry. In this edition, Emma meets Rachel Lewis, Group Accountant at Admiral.
What motivated Admiral to sponsor the Rising Star of the Year award in the Finance Awards Wales? How does supporting emerging talent in finance align with Admiral Insurance’s corporate values and business objectives?
We’re a long-standing sponsor of this award, and we’re proud of showcasing Wales as a hub of talent and a go-to destination for professionals, in Finance and beyond.
At Admiral, our purpose is to ‘Help more people to look after their future. Always striving for better, together’. By working together with local businesses and organisations in supporting emerging talent in Wales we’re not only supporting and celebrating those individuals but investing in the-long term future of business in Wales.
How does winning the Rising Star category contribute to the professional development and industry recognition of the individuals involved?
Being shortlisted for an award such as the Rising Star of the Year, let alone winning, is a huge achievement. The level and breadth of talent that’s recognised across Finance Awards Wales gets better each year, so being named at all really shows that you’ve demonstrated skills and innovation that stands out from the crowd. I’ve been lucky enough to sit on the judging panel for this award in previous years and the candidates that we’ve seen have been so impressive – I would have loved for all of them to come and work with us at Admiral.
I’m sure that the previous winners have gone back to their roles with renewed confidence and vigour and no doubt it has given them springboard to go on to even greater things in their finance careers.
Can you provide examples of how Admiral actively engages with and supports young finance professionals beyond the sponsorship of this award?
We support our young finance professionals in a number of ways. We provide funded access to a wide range of qualifications, such as for accountancy, actuarial, internal audit, chartered financial analysis and many more. We’re always looking to develop talent, from mentoring schemes to company initiatives such as leadership programmes.
Through our community work we also partner with organisations that seek to support the development of talent in Wales, including Cardiff Commitment and Prince’s Trust.
How does Admiral sponsorship of this award reflect the company’s commitment to the development of Rising Stars?
At Admiral we believe that people who like what they do, do it better. We want our young talent to have the opportunity of a long and successful career with Admiral and are committed to investing in attracting and retaining the best young talent, both in Wales and beyond. The sponsorship of this award is one way of demonstrating this commitment.
Does Admiral collaborate with other organisations or industry stakeholders in promoting the development of young finance professionals?
We work with two accountancy bodies, the ICAEW and ACCA, to ensure that our trainee accountants can access the support they need to be successful in their qualifications. We also are proud to have a number of Trainee Actuaries working with us, and stay close to the Institute of Actuaries in a similar way.
Admiral is also a proud sponsor of FinTech Awards Wales, an awards ceremony that celebrates the growth of the FinTech sector in Wales.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
I learned quite quickly early in my career that saying ‘yes’ to opportunities was a brilliant way to learn and broaden knowledge and experience. It results in some juggling at times and very hard work at others but if you don’t grab these opportunities the first time, they rarely come around again.
What’s your favourite movie?
I generally prefer TV series – with a busy family life I rarely find myself with a couple of hours spare to sit through a movie. I finished Stranger Things a few months back – I really enjoyed that but now I need to find myself something new to get into. I’ve been told Succession is good so I might try that next.
