In our ‘Introducing Altum’ -series, we’re introducing you to the people behind the scenes taking care of our different operations. This time we’ll get to know more about the newest member of team, our CFO Joanna. We’ll learn about her experience at Altum so far, the highs and lows of working in finance and the tips she has for anyone aspiring to become a CFO in the future. Read on to find out more!
How long have you worked at Altum?
7 months now.
What made you want to work at Altum?
I was looking to take on a CFO role as the next step in my career, and Altum seemed like an interesting company to work for. The technology itself seemed very interesting, and overall I have enjoyed working with different technologies in the past. I also prefer working in smaller companies and teams.
As the newest addition to Altum’s team, what has been most surprising/interesting about working at Altum?
Nothing has really surprised me, but I have enjoyed working here: the atmosphere is really nice and matched what I was hoping for. You could say my expectations were fulfilled.
The most interesting part has been to learn about the technology and the engineering that goes into it. That’s not typically what you’d expect from a finance role, but since I’m also handling our funding, I need to be able to explain the technology in detail.
What are your favorite things about your job?
At Altum, my favorite things have been the atmosphere and how easy it has been to work with the management team. But about finance in general, I enjoy the universality, as the rules of finance apply across different companies. This has allowed me to explore different industries, from hard engineering to AI consultancy.
What are the most challenging things in your job?
The most challenging aspect of working as a CFO or in finance in general is that when everything’s running smoothly, nobody really notices the work happening behind the scenes. But when something goes wrong it is usually very visible. A lot of the daily work goes unnoticed and finance is rarely celebrated.
What’s a common misconception people have about CFOs?
A common misconception about CFOs is that our job is to stop people from spending money, as that is not true. I think you can’t save yourself to success. We just want to make sure that the money is spent in the smartest way possible.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to a CFO role?
I would say my best advice is to be patient and learn about every aspect of finance. Even if you’re passionate about one area, you need that broad foundation as a CFO. It’s also important to understand that your role is to support everyone else: sometimes that happens through hands-on support, sometimes by implementing policies. The essence of being a CFO is to prop up the company.
Describe the Altum work community with 2 words?
Based on my experience so far, I’d say friendly and open.
Thank you Joanna for sharing your thoughts!
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