Tired of routine? How to find variety in your accounting career?
After years as a chief accountant at one company, you may reach a point where you feel you have seen and done it all. So, what comes next? After working as a chief accountant at a large corporation, Kaspar Tihane found a new opportunity at a professional services firm. Today, he is a Senior Accountant and Accounting Group Leader at Grant Thornton Baltic.
Before joining Grant Thornton in 2024, Kaspar spent nine years at a large company, eventually becoming its chief accountant. When looking for his next role, however, he was not simply searching for another large corporation. He wanted a different working environment.
“I wanted a broader perspective rather than moving from one large corporation to another. Working at a professional services firm means I get to handle the accounting of many different companies. The amount I have learned in two years has been incredible,” Kaspar says.
Another major advantage is the breadth of expertise available within Grant Thornton. With more than 160 employees, including around 50 accountants as well as financial advisers, auditors and risk management specialists, there is an enormous pool of knowledge to draw on.
Kaspar Tihane
Broaden your horizons
Kaspar’s five-person team handles the accounting of around 30 companies. These range from small one-person businesses whose accounting takes only a couple of hours a month to international groups requiring both consolidation and subsidiary accounting. The clients also operate across a remarkably wide range of industries.
For Kaspar, that variety is exactly what makes the work interesting.
“If we were doing the accounting for 30 professional services companies, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. Our portfolio includes manufacturing companies, service providers and financial-sector businesses. I learn something new every day because every client is different. It keeps you sharp,” Kaspar explains.
Another aspect Kaspar enjoys is working with large systems – particularly those that are still a work in progress.
“I like situations where there are more questions than answers and the day-to-day processes haven’t yet settled into place. It’s like tidying up a messy child’s room when, at first, you don’t even know where everything belongs,” he says.
But the feeling of finally getting everything into place and creating added value for the client makes it worthwhile. “It feels great when I’ve managed to solve something for a client!”
Working with international clients also provides insight into how things are done outside Estonia, both in terms of tax systems and accounting practices.
“For example, I occasionally have to remind one client that Estonia doesn’t have a traditional corporate income tax on retained profits. They find it hard to believe and keep asking whether I’ve already recognised the tax on the company’s profit,” Kaspar says with a smile.
Client work is a masterclass in communication
Kaspar’s colleague, Senior Accountant Liis Pajussaar, remembers that when she joined Grant Thornton in 2017, picking up the phone and calling a client felt like one of the most daunting things imaginable. Today, many questions are quickly resolved by phone or via Teams.
“I believe that working with different clients and projects has above all given me the confidence to ask questions, provide answers and guide others. If something is unclear or doesn’t seem right, it’s always worth asking,” Liis says, adding that there is no such thing as a stupid question.
For Accounting Group Leader Jelena Leoško, one of the eye-opening aspects of the job has been discovering just how much of it is based on communication.
“Communication is an important skill that needs to be developed consciously, because talking and truly communicating are two different things,” Jelena emphasises. “Everyone sees situations in their own way and from their own perspective, expressing their thoughts through their own words and experiences. These can differ significantly from my own understanding, but that is precisely what makes communication valuable.”
Jelena believes that collaboration allows us to learn from other people’s experiences and perspectives.
Jelena Leoško
Working with a wide range of clients also keeps her work varied and interesting.
“Every client has their own needs, ways of working and expectations, so no two situations are exactly the same. It teaches you to be flexible, attentive and solution-oriented. It’s also rewarding when I can find a solution that works for the client and makes their work easier,” Jelena says.
Growth stops when you stop learning
At Grant Thornton, however, there are opportunities to learn every working day, while career progression is also within reach for those willing to take on new challenges.
Jelena, for example, joined Grant Thornton as an Accounting Assistant in 2017. As she gained experience, she was given greater independence and responsibility, and in summer 2022 she became an Accounting Group Leader. She says that with greater responsibility have come greater confidence and the courage to put her knowledge into practice.
Her ability to teach others has also developed over time. “Teaching others helps me make better sense of my own knowledge and reinforce it,” Jelena says.
Liis has also experienced first-hand how an accounting career can develop. She has progressed to Senior Accountant at Grant Thornton and increasingly shares her knowledge with colleagues.
“For example, I introduce colleagues to the capabilities of our payroll software and share advice. So I’m no longer just an accountant – I wear many hats,” Liis says.
Jelena wears many hats too. In addition to handling client accounting and leading her team, she works on implementing and developing new software and systems.
“Routine isn’t really my thing. You might wonder how that fits with accounting, which is often seen as routine work: the same deadlines, reports and workflows every month. In my experience, however, that isn’t really the case.
“Introducing new software or systems initially makes the work more challenging in a good way, because you need to understand their logic, capabilities and particular features. Once you have mastered a system and know how to use it effectively, you feel that you’ve made a major leap forward.
“I have deliberately taken on tasks related to implementing, developing and configuring systems because I enjoy discovering new solutions and exploring what they can do,” Jelena explains.
A couple of years ago, Liis also took on a new and bigger challenge: implementing payroll processes and new payroll software for a client. Grant Thornton then continued providing the client with payroll services.
Liis remembers it as a very demanding period. Because the entire process was new to her, it involved a great deal of learning.
“At the same time, I realised that I enjoy tasks that differ from conventional accounting work. The project required a lot of exploration, attention to detail and discipline, and it also taught me project management.
“This year, I took on a similar assignment again, but on three times the scale. Every client is different, so this time I’m once again learning new approaches and solutions,” Liis says.
She has also taken part in other temporary projects outside conventional accounting work, helping her stay curious and keeping her working life interesting.
It is therefore no surprise that Liis believes Grant Thornton offers opportunities to take on a wide variety of assignments – including some you might never have thought of yourself – if you have the motivation and initiative.
Liis Pajussaar
Kaspar sums it up: “Being a highly experienced specialist doesn’t mean your development has to stop. At an accounting services firm, there is always more to learn and plenty of variety in the work.”