Working in Hong Kong was a real highlight of my career - Terri Cave - Head of Finance

Please tell us about yourself and your career to date.

I went to university in Leeds and studied Mathematics with Finance.  After university I went into a Graduate programme at Baker Tilly (now RSM) and worked in several regional offices in East Anglia.

In 2010, after the recession had hit and promotional opportunities had been low, I applied and was successful in being given the chance to go to work in our Hong Kong office for 3 months. It was a big decision to do this to further my career and develop myself.

On my return from HK, I moved to a different Baker Tilly office in Milton Keynes and then made the move out of audit practice and into Network Rail. I have progressed through the company and am now Head of Finance for the Group Property function. I am also proud to have been appointed Finance Director & Trustee for Women in Rail.

What have been the highlights of your accounting career?

Working in Hong Kong was a real highlight – not only teaching me how to work internationally, but also the life skills I gained from moving to a new place on my own. I have such fond memories and have been back many times.

I have been fortunate to be involved in some big change programmes at Network Rail and was one of the finance leads when we delivered a £1.4bn disposal, which is probably the largest figure I will see in my accountancy career!

How was your experience working in Hong Kong? What were the main challenges of working in Hong Kong?

I think the main challenge for me was the language barrier. I had not studied any Chinese and so was unable to speak the language before I went. I was also very mindful of cultural differences. It did make me realise how kind people can be, and how we can communicate with one another even if it takes time.

Overall, I was really proud that while out there, I could still demonstrate my strengths and add value to the company. For example, we had recently launched new audit software in the UK and so I led all the training on this package. This made me really think about how I could present the information clearly and easily.

Were there any communication issues? 

My standard greeting was ‘Good Morning, How are you?’. After a few days, one of my new colleagues asked me what this expression meant and how detailed their response should be. It made me realise that things can be misinterpreted – in the UK, ‘how are you’ is used frequently as a greeting but my colleagues weren’t used to this.

My colleagues really looked after me, taking me to local restaurants and translating as best as they could. This did go slightly wrong when I was served chicken feet unexpectedly, but I did get to eat lots of new foods and try Yum Cha.

What would be your advice for anyone thinking of working internationally?

Research the location and try to understand as much as you can about the local culture before arriving. Be prepared to try new things whilst out there and recognise that you can bring your own strengths to the organisation you are joining. Look to network and make connections as early as you can, it can be daunting on first arrival so plan a few things to sightsee and familiarise yourself with your local area. Keep in touch with friends and family back home, the internet has made the world a much smaller place!