Heidi Hiltunen

Describe your role and what it is that you do overall and on a day-to-day basis.

I am a part of the Assurance and Financial Reporting (AFR) department at Deloitte where we work with a wide range of projects relating to accounting and assurance. Therefore, everyday looks different. Most of the things I do on a daily basis are somehow related to accounting or financial reporting – it can be anything from analysing how a transaction should be accounted for to working with system implementations. The variety means that I have changing tasks and responsibilities but to exemplify it can include writing accounting memos based on an analysis I have done, supporting audit teams in technical accounting problems or working with clients with implementing a financial reporting system.

What interested you about the field/company/role you are currently in?

SSE definitely assisted me in finding this field. I never thought I would work with anything related to accounting when younger due to it sounding "boring". The different courses I took at SSE painted a wider picture of what accounting is, and what business information you can discern from the resulting figures. In terms of the role it is the variety of projects that we do and the fact that our department is a smaller one within Deloitte that intrigued me. The variety means that you get to think about different kinds of problems over time, encounter many different companies and continuously develop multiple skill sets. Furthermore, I get to work with very senior people with extensive knowledge and experience within the field. This means that I am given a lot of responsibility and great opportunities to learn from some of the most prominent people within accounting in Sweden.

Why did you choose to study your subject area at SSE?

I started out with the BSc program in Retail Management at SSE after having worked a couple of years within the retail industry. I then chose to apply for the Master program in Accounting, Valuation and Financial Management and was accepted. This choice was a result of accounting, surprisingly enough for me, ending up being one of my favourite courses during my Bachelor studies. In hindsight I also think the combination of the two programs has been very valuable to me as the two programs combines a more strategic way of thinking and hard skills creating a thorough basis for analysing various businesses. All in all, I have chosen my studies based on my interests and what I have thought is fun to learn more about. Then of course, you might not love every course you take, but it can anyhow be valuable for creating a more holistic perspective.

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

I was very certain that I would work with procurement when I started studying but my time at SSE exposed me to various types of companies, roles and knowledge. This widened my perspective with regards to what kind of opportunities I would like to embark on when finishing my studies. Allowing yourself to be curious about different fields and be inspired by other people having guest lectures, workshops, alumni, fellow students etc. definitely opened my mind to what kind of things I would like to work with during my career. But having said that, you can always change direction, all acquired knowledge is almost always valuable also in another role or field.

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

Be curious, pick the brains of your professors - they have a lot of knowledge, and make sure to have fun alongside your studies. Besides that, I think one of the most important things is for you to consider what You want. What do you want to do after your studies, what kind of projects or skills do you want to have or acquire? It can be hard knowing exactly where you want to work and with what but consider what you think is fun, what courses that inspire and motivate you and go from there. You are creating your own foundation right now and it will be so much more rewarding if you enjoy what you do.

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

Curiosity, excellence, inspiring.