Ep 15: Preparing for a Great Career with Nerma Kolenovic, Student at St. Francis College, New York City

Fascinated by numbers from an early age, Nerma Kolenovic, student at St. Francis College in New York City, shares how determination and being deliberate in the steps you take can push anyone towards a bright career.  We'll also hear what Nerma and her friends talk about when they get together after class, and why you should start training your opposite hand how to use the mouse!  If Nerma is any indication, the next generation will take the Finance Business Partner role to new heights.   Join us.

Thank you for listening and please visit Upside/Downside podcast and enter your email for my FREE list: "10 places to look for higher profits and cash flow right now!".

Matt

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hi, this is Matt Cooley, host of the podcast Upside Downside, where we explore what it takes to be the best finance business partners possible. I'm a finance business partner myself and former president of the New York City chapter of Financial Executives International. Prepare to meet professionals on the front lines of value creation and hear their stories. If you would like to suggest a future guest for this podcast or be a guest yourself, please reach out. Now on to today's podcast. Please welcome Nurma Kolinovic, student at St. Francis College in New York City. Welcome, Nurma.

SPEAKER_01: 0:35

Hi, Matt. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00: 0:37

The pleasure is mine. Thanks for being here. So student at St. Francis College, this is season two, and we're going to be talking to early career folks and students this season. So I'm very happy to have you here. Nurma, please tell us why you chose to pursue a finance career and what steps are you taking to make that happen?

SPEAKER_01: 0:59

Great question. Actually, Matt, growing up was not all sunshine and rainbows. My sisters and I, we were raised by single mother. For the early stages of my life, money was very tight and I kind of grew up rather quickly. So about the age of 15, I began working after school to help out. My first job, oh my God, I remember like it was yesterday. I was actually cashier at a local supermarket and I learned the value of the dollar and what responsibility is really like. Fast forward just a little bit, when I was in high school, I went to a trip at Grassy& Co, which is a mid-sized accounting firm, and I remember asking a dozen questions. I remember speaking all the time, and then at the end of the presentation, I spoke to a person, and he opened my eyes to the world of accounting. I was always fascinated by numbers, and I always wanted to understand why some families had money and why others didn't. There's one thing I can't stress enough, and it's don't be afraid to ask for questions or ask for help. This person, if he led me to my career path and he saw potential in me, it makes me think, where would I be if I didn't ask those questions and if he didn't directly approach me? A few steps I would like to take to continue my career. I want to finish school. I will be graduating with an MS and BS in accounting in January of 2022, which is hooray. I've been planning to take for the CPA exam and hopefully take a few parts within the year. I will be starting an internship at Deloitte this summer, which is another woohoo. And I'm going to continue that with the hopes of being a tax partner.

SPEAKER_00: 2:38

Wow. So your long-term ambitions are to be a tax partner. Outstanding. So, wow. I mean, that's a wonderful summary. And from, it sounds like your earliest days, you were very motivated. I love that you asked lots of questions. That's so important and very relevant here for this audience. So let's get into some other questions. So one of the big shifts in finance the last several years is partnering with the business to help them drive value creation. So advising the executives that you support how to grow profits and improve cash flow, if we take a real basic definition of value creation. Are students and young professionals, in your experience, being trained to thrive in this kind of environment? What are they teaching you?

SPEAKER_01: 3:25

Great question. I'm going to give you the famous accounting response, and that is that it depends.

SPEAKER_00: 3:30

There you go. I hear that occasionally on this podcast, by the way.

SPEAKER_01: 3:35

Yeah, I've heard it a lot too. And they're right. Most people can agree there's a difference between listening and hearing, just as there's a difference between seeing a document and actually reading it. So from my experience at St. Francis College, professors teach their students by challenging them to think for themselves. Come to think of it, I actually have a tax professor that comes to mind. He is famous. When I'm telling you famous, everybody knows him. What he usually does is he asks for opinions regarding someone else's homework to a different student and whether or not they agree before revealing the correct answer. It took me time to understand why he did it. In the real world, there is no answer key. To be successful, you must be open-minded and communicate with your peers. Multiple interpretations can lead to great things. Another professor, Dr. Dalia, he also changed my whole world with one quote. And the quote is, there's no good in wanting something you're not willing to work for. This quote alone just speaks volumes. I have goosebumps. But you know, Matt, there's a reason why successful people are successful. They invest time and energy into their passions, whether that be reading, taking additional courses, or even joining professional organizations like FEI. You have to work for what you want and be open-minded and want to communicate with your peers.

SPEAKER_00: 4:51

Well, that's excellent. And I can tell, I can feel that passion and experience, you know, a broad-mindedness jumping through this podcast channel. So I appreciate you sharing that. So I'm curious, what do you talk about with your friends regarding career aspirations? What's your generation looking for in a career?

SPEAKER_01: 5:14

That's another great question. It's funny you mentioned that. I was actually hanging out with my friends a couple of days ago. And when we were into the car, my friend was telling us how she invested in a high-yield savings account from an app on Marcus by Goldman Sachs. And the discussion came about how is this app and this account different from a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA account. And it was so great to be able to bounce ideas off of each other. I'm lucky though, my friends are also recent graduates from St. Francis College. They're sitting for the CPA exams. They're interning at other big boards, but they're like-minded just as I am. And we can help each other stay focused and reach our goals. My generation is looking into enter the workforce with efforts to change and spread awareness about the significance of paying it forward. Oh my God, I can't tell you how happy I am that I had people who told me, okay, don't be sidetracked or don't go out that day. How about you stay and you study with me? We can do something. We can bounce ideas off of each other. We can get somewhere ahead. And I was like, oh my God, sure, let's do that. So it's good to keep each other in check.

SPEAKER_00: 6:21

You're right. And I love that too, because you're motivated beyond just your own personal success. I mean, you said, you know, spreading awareness about paying it forward. That's really great to hear. Okay, so I think those of us not in your generation, we can take a deep breath and relax that, hey, it might be okay. The future might be fine. Oh, excellent. I like to ask my guests where they think the finance business partner role is headed. And I know your early career, but I'm certain you have perspective on this. And what should people be doing now to prepare for that future?

SPEAKER_01: 7:00

The first thing that comes up to mind is a thumbs up because it indicates dedication and logic to hold such an essential role within a company. As a finance business partner, you'll remain critical because it directly affects the direction and the health of the organization. As I mentioned before, I really hope to become a partner myself, but I do have five tips that I think are important for everyone to do. And the first one is surround yourself with like-minded people that That includes family, friends, colleagues, network, meet new people, and be aware on important topics. Honestly, again, I have to thank everyone who gave me the time of day because it really helped me begin my career. That's the first one. The second one is before making any decisions, stop and ask yourself, am I thinking rationally? How will this decision affect the future and others? The third is write things down and give yourself internal deadlines. I do a lot. I work. I have family, I have organizations that I like to be involved in. So I have to give myself an internal deadline so that I make sure that I do everything that I want to do.

SPEAKER_00: 8:12

And I'm curious, how do you write those things down? Is it digitally or what is your to-do

SPEAKER_01: 8:17

list? I leave

SPEAKER_00: 8:18

it on my computer. Okay, that's a good way, actually.

SPEAKER_01: 8:21

So I see it every day.

SPEAKER_00: 8:22

Nice.

SPEAKER_01: 8:23

The fourth one is be optimistic and realistic at the same time. we're human occasionally we make mistakes but we have to remember to stand back up and metaphorically shake off and brush off the dirt and continue working hard on your goals and dreams because one day i promise you you'll wake up and you'll realize how far you've come and i say this today i was in high school one day now i'm waking up i'm a senior i'm gonna start my deloitte internship i've done so much and i have impacted and so many people have impacted me and If you're ever stressed, just remember, take everything day by day because one day you'll wake up and realize how far you've come. And the last one is learn a new skill. So for instance, I'm actually, I'm training to use my left hand with the mouse instead of my right hand, leaving my right hand, the ability to write something with a pen or being able to punch in the numbers. Having my left hand on the mouse saves me a lot of time.

SPEAKER_00: 9:23

I love it. I love it. Sort of pulling mind and body Body and soul together in all five of these. Wow, this is great. Well, listen, thank you so much for sharing your insights today. And I feel like what I need to say to you is go get them because you're ready. Thank you. This is very inspiring. And I really appreciate you being on the podcast with me today. And I'd like to say thank you to our subscribers for listening to this episode of Upside Downside. We will see you next time. See you later, Nirma.

SPEAKER_01: 9:56

See you later. Thank you again.