Here at CEL, our team is a real mix – from legal specialists with years of experience under their belts to trainees just starting on their career paths, as well as experts in finance, HR and business development.
Our financial controller, Tom B, talks us through a day in his life at CEL…
8.30am
I like to get into the office a little early so that I have chance to get myself a coffee and pour a bowl of cereal – I’m a man of habit and it’s a generous helping of bran flakes for me each morning! I’ll usually use this time to ease myself into the day, listen to a bit of music and start checking emails, flagging anything super urgent.
9am
I’ll review cashflow for the business, identifying any issues that might need addressing and look at whether there’s anything that requires attention. I take each department in turn and look at the revenue coming in so that I can report into our directors.
10am
I like make sure I catch up regularly with each team as it’s really important that I have a good idea of what everyone’s working on and what’s coming up, asking lots of questions along the way. Of course, this is a real blend of in-person and virtual catch-ups at the moment as we’re all doing a combination of working from home or from the office. One thing I love about CEL is that we are a really close-knit team so, despite us all having different specialisms, we all ensure we stay abreast of the wider picture to offer support and a different perspective where needed.
12pm
Lunchtime! If I’m in the office, I’ll get out for a 20-minute walk – I usually give my wife a call to check how she and my eight-month-old son are doing and the fresh air always helps me get ready for the afternoon ahead. I’ll often join some of the team over at the pool table in the office during my lunch hour, too – although my pool skills aren’t great so I stick to spectating and offering critique!
1pm
I regularly catch up with the relevant heads of department and look at which areas are doing well and which areas might need more focus. Today, for example, I’m working closely with one of our directors, Mark Montaldo, who heads up our Japanese knotweed claims team – we’re looking at how we can accelerate this section of the business and boost awareness, so it’s good to hear from different members of that team about the sorts of cases that are currently live.
2pm
We’re dealing with our year-end report at the moment so this is one of my main priorities – we need to make sure everything’s ready for the auditors and that I’m armed with all the information that our board will want to know when I present our figures to them.
3pm
It’s Friday today, so that means we down tools early and head to our amphitheatre for our weekly team talk. This is where a team member will present to everyone on a topic of their choice – this could be work-related or simply something that they’re particularly passionate about. Our proclaim developer, Ken, recently got up and talked to us all about his love of running…inspiring us all to get more active and pound the pavements! Nowadays, there are fewer of us there in person but we make sure everyone gets chance to catch up virtually later.
4pm
After our team talk, we can head to one of our office bars and unwind with a drink or two…from a social distance, of course!
