Anyone work in finance?

[Clarence15]

Do you prefer to work for a smaller company thereby working on the whole finance function, or for a larger company specialising in just one area (sales/purchase ledger, payroll, management/financial accounts etc)

I've always tended to work for smaller companies so have a broad experience in all these areas but can't decide whether to move on to something else. I like seeing the 'big picture' in a small company but tend to reach a point where I can't move forward. I'm quite ambitious and would like to further my career over the next few years but not sure where to go next. Any thoughts?

I moved from a large organisation in a specialist role to a small company where I do a bit of everything. Work wise I prefer the range of work rather than specialising. I'm finding it slightly isolating though going from a big department to their only being 2 of us. I also feel a bit exposed, there's no one to hide behind. Thankfully my manager is very supportive.

I think going the other way, there will be more opportunities for advancement, but you may feel like you don't stand out so much anymore in a huge department.

There, not their!!!

I moved from a small(ish) company to the head office. Being in the head office (large multi-national) gave me an excellent overview especially of what really mattered to the large organisation. The smaller company gave me the experience of the detail.

I think that starting with the detail is excellent grounding. I noticed that my colleagues who had always worked in the head office didnt always understand where the numbers came from in a transactional sense.

Now talking in the past tense as I was made redundant a couple of months ago. Excellent package which might not have been available in a smaller company.

I've done both and prefer doing a bit of everything.