I’ve always wanted to be part of something big

SEB’s Group Finance and Procurement Services organisation is run by a huge team of 220 people, one of which is Inese Puiše-Skakauska, who works as Head of Data and Control. With over 10 years of experience from working at SEB she talks about career growth and explains why working with pure finance is so exciting.  

– Group Finance and Procurement Services focuses on ensuring a smooth flow of processing, including invoice and expenses payments, accounting, month-end closings, data quality assurance as well as regulatory, legal and management reporting, for the entire SEB Group. Our team is quite diverse, ranging from students who are in their late years at university, to people who have spent over 20 years in the profession. So, we have a great synergy and combination of people with fresh knowledge, for example when it comes to the latest tech tools, and those who have gained expertise and maturity by working in the industry as its changed.  

– As Head of Data and Control, my key task is to make sure that we deliver high quality services to our stakeholders with well-run teams. Though my team is based in Group Finance and Procurement Services, my stakeholders extend to areas such as Group Finance, Business Services, Tech, and most recently Group Risk. Therefore, I work with topics that fall across various areas and even outside my own division. So, even though I’ve been in this profession for quite some time, I’m always learning something new by getting involved in different content topics.  

What made you choose this specific career path?  

 – I’ve been in finance my whole life, as I enjoy working with numbers and big sets of data intensively. However, the best part about this profession is being able to combine pure finance with people management skills. Working closely with others is definitely what I enjoy most about my job, and the reason why I’ve stayed within this area for so long - going from junior to senior positions. I began my professional career as an auditor, and later worked as a CFO, before joining SEB. My journey within the bank has grown organically, but I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have a professional appetite for change. I’ve always wanted to be part of something big, with high complexity and fast driving changes. So this career path fits me well.  

Where do you see this area in the future?  

– As a profession overall, this area is going through a big transformation phase, with regulators implying changes on how we do certain things. Therefore, we must stay smart and understand what our internal capabilities to meet these new requirements are. This includes transforming ourselves internally with higher engagement in new tools, more external partnerships and cross-collaboration across several areas. We have big work ahead of us, not least when it comes to digitising in order to do things quicker and swifter with more modern tools. As an employee, it’s very interesting to be part of implementing these changes in real life and contributing to the banking industry's transformation journey.  

Why should someone choose SEB as an employer? 

– SEB is a very stable company with a long history and tradition. Most importantly though, we have a great corporate culture, which is yet another reason why I’ve stayed within the bank for so long. We support, encourage and inspire people to continuously learn and grow in their profession, for example by engaging in leadership topics. Just within Group Finance and Procurement Services, there are a lot of career opportunities since we cover the full finance value chain. This means that we work very broadly, which naturally creates the right circumstances to grow. You always have the opportunity to learn more about the areas that you find interesting, no matter if you’re in the late or early stages of your professional career.