Christoffer Carlsson

Can you describe what you do at Skruf Snus and what your day-to-day looks like?

As Finance Manager at Skruf Snus I develop and ensure proper financial flows and procedures and proper compliance to regulations, accounting principles and standards. Another of the key responsibilities is managing internal controls and governance, and identifying various risks within the operations and setting up frameworks to minimize the risk of fraud or incompliance.

Also, as a member of the management team and entity board, I am also responsible for presenting the financial outcome of the market and entity board as part of the strategic execution, as well as forecasting and budget follow-up.

What excites you about your work? Where do you think your field is going in the next 5-10 years?

What I appreciate a lot in my position is the variety of tasks and responsibilities. And within a FMCG company like Skruf Snus, there is a lot of development and therefore challenges in terms of systems, analysis and business support. I would simply never get bored as there is always something new going on. Further, the needs of consumers are changing over time, as well as legislative changes which affects ways of working.

How did you become involved in dragon boat paddling? What are the challenges of being a coach?

I was initially doing solo kayaking, but as I am more of a team player, the shift to dragon boating felt natural, as in a dragon boat team you are between 14 and 26 people. The main challenge is to motivate everyone to aim for the same vision or target, especially as the national team members live all over the country and have just a handful of occasions per year to practice and compete together. Another dimension in Sweden, where resources in terms of funding and a limited number of athletes compared to most other countries, is that you need to wisely use the resources in order for the team to be successful.

How has dragon boating affected your professional career (or vice versa)?

There are many benefits to bring from the world of sports into a corporate environment: setting a target and a vision for the team, recruitment and development of the team members, evaluation of training sessions and competitions, competitive analysis, etc. A key finding for me, was that even with limited resources and number of athletes, one should dare to set a high vision and target. We aimed for winning a World championship and did so. And in addition to that also won five times the European Champions!

What was so appealing about the BSc in Business and Economics program at SSE when you were considering where to study?

SSE has high standards in terms of the studies and content of the program and therefore has a very good reputation. Many employers are eager to be present during the program. And as the fellow students were ambitious and targeted, the environment itself was appealing. Still today, some of my nearest friends are my former classmates from SSE.

How did your time/education at SSE help guide you to the career journey you have embarked on?

I built a solid financial knowledge foundation at SSE which is essential in a position like mine. And as SSE has an excellent reputation, there are many career options available. But due to the presence of employers during the program, you get many chances to talk to and listen to what each one has to offer and where your knowledge would be most needed.

Following your time studying, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with our current students?

Don’t be afraid to go outside of the most common career paths after graduation. I have been in a few industries before joining Skruf Snus and you can gain great experiences and further develop in each field. It is better to try what appeals you, and if it is not your thing, take the lessons learned and try something else.

What are three words that sum up your time at SSE?

Knowledge, networking and cooperation.