We’re back with another Behind the Numbers and this time we’re joined by our Client Relationship Director, Josh Sanghera who recently celebrated his two-year work anniversary.
Tell us about your role
My role focuses on developing relationships with clients and their businesses, getting to know their goals and providing added value from a financial point of view. On a daily basis I work with business owners who’re passionate about growth. I play a part in their growth journey with strategic meetings, budgets, forecasts and raising investment. I also work with business owners who are preparing for exit.
What made you want to be an accountant?
At 13 years old, in my school yearbook I wrote that I wanted to become an accountant. It’s something I was drawn to and since I’d written it in the yearbook, I was determined to see it through!
I was good at maths and accounting was something that intrigued me. Don’t get me wrong, I did consider other career paths but as I got older, I was around financial experts and found I was even more drawn to their work. I had a natural aptitude for finance, wanted to work with people and make a difference, so it really was the right fit.
What made you want to be a Client Relationship Director?
Historically I was an audit manager which was very internally focused and not as involved with clients as I’d have liked. I like getting to know people, learning about their business and goals, so being a CRD was right for me.
In this role, I’m partnered with business owners and we work together to achieve a common goal which is great. There’s loads of opportunity to build rapport and relationships which I really enjoy too.
What is your favourite part about working at Blu Sky?
I can’t pick just one as it’s definitely the team and the clients. From a team point of view, they really are the best team in terms of personality, togetherness, capability and friendliness, they really make my working day fly by.
Client wise, I really enjoy working with so many different sectors and my clients are honestly some of the most interesting people I have ever worked with. Many of my clients are very passionate people who really want to make a difference, and I get to help them do exactly that.
What is the best lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
How to deal with people under stress, there can be many emotions and accounting can be very high stress. Historically I’ve found that I can get very invested, so I’ve had to learn to better manage the way I react, especially if it’s not something I can fix.
As I deal with so many different types of situations and personalities, It’s now much easier to deal with emotion and stress.
Over the years I’ve also learned not get too down when something drops or happens unexpectedly and on the flip side, not to get too comfortable, as you don’t know what’s round the corner.
What’s a fun fact about you that people might not know?
My parents own a chippy and I sometimes moonlight as a delivery driver! I know as a 12-year-old I wrote that I wanted to be an accountant, but then for ages I thought I would run the family business while having an unlimited supply of kebabs. In hindsight, high calorie food on demand and night shifts weren’t best suited for me!
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s considering becoming an accountant?
Accountancy is an unbelievably wide field, and you really can make it what you want it to be.
You can pick your speciality, flexibility and where you are based within the world as businesses across the globe need accountants.
Do your research and find what you’re passionate about. When you’re passionate about what you do it really does make you more high performing and you’ll be much happier in your role.
Find out more about our team
We’ll be back with another team spotlight, but in the meantime you can check out our social channels to see what the team are up to.
