Aileen has worked at Prodrill Energy Resource Solutions for over11 years. After starting out in Accounts Payable, she is now Finance Managerfor the multi-million-pound recruitment business and is currently responsiblefor the smooth running of day-to-day accounting operations.  A true country girl, Aileen travels to work bypublic transport to Aberdeen from the Banff and Buchan town of Fraserburghoften known as ‘The Broch’ to the locals. Her career journey and the miles shetravels every week is a true example of hard work and dedication.  

Early career infishing

Starting life as a student at Banff & Buchan College,Aileen never envisaged working in a Finance role. She trained in secretarialstudies for a year before securing her first job on the production line in afish factory.  There, wages increasedbased on how fast you could trim and the amount of waste you produced duringthe trim. It was an unexpected start in the art of managing resources andreducing waste in business – both lessons would be crucial in Aileen’s futurefinance career.

A taste of finance

Aileen moved to a wholesale company in Bridge of Don area ofAberdeen where she started as an office junior before she was given theopportunity to take on an accounts payable role on a temporary basis. It wasn’tlong before Aileen was made permanent in the role, due to her willingness tolearn and true dedication. 

 It was the 90s, a time when the industry was on the cusp of movingfrom paper-based accounting to software-based systems. Therefore, a large partof Aileen’s job was to sit with the Managing Director of the company and checkthat what the piece of paper said they were charging was in fact what thecustomer should be charged. She would check the quantity, the address, theprice – it took a long time to get through! While Aileen found that part of thejob tedious, she fondly remembers her first opportunity in Finance. After fiveyears at the company, the company restructured and closed the wholesale part ofthe business and Aileen was made redundant. The company had been trading fornearly 100 years, so it was a sad day for many. 

Fortunately, Aileen got another job with a leading Oil &Gas service company – where she learned a lot about purchase ledgers, invoicingand purchase orders. After 5 years, the company relocated to another part ofAberdeen. Unfortunately, Aileen couldn’t commute from her home in Fraserburghdue to the new location, so she moved to an Account Payable positionfive-minute walk from her home in Fraserburgh.

Too close to home

On paper, Aileen had the dream job. A five-minute walk andgoing home at lunchtime to do the housework, however, she missed the routine ofwaking up to catch a bus. She was then approached to come back to work for aprevious employer this time in a finance role within the Company.

The role was a promotion, and Aileen looked forward to goingback to her travel routine by bus. However, there were challenges ahead. Thecompany was going through accounting changes and improvements, something Aileenknew before she returned. But she was up for the challenge. In the weeks thatfollowed, the improvement project double in size which meant Aileen would haveto put in double the effort to reform the purchasing and invoicing issues that hadcompounded within the business.

Before long, Aileen had a small team working to createprocesses and systems. Together, the team successfully implemented improvementsto their accounting processes. Along the way, Aileen acquired not just finance skills,but she also managed a small accounts team.

Joining the Prodrillteam

Further developing her career in finance, Aileen took theopportunity to join the Sovereign Oilfield Group who was a newly formed oil services’group.  After a period of time workingwithin the corporate finance office, Aileen was given the opportunity toprogress her career working for one of the groups’ subsidiary companies,Prodrill; the rest of years are history.  In that time, she has undertaken a vast arrayof duties from accounts payable, to management accounts preparation andfinancial year end reporting.

With the change in ownership after an MBO by the Managementteam at Prodrill in 2009, Aileen took on more responsibility and gained furtherexposure to all areas of the business working closely with the Directors. Shealso progressed with her ACCA studies and undertook 3 exams she was passed withflying colours – a great achievement considering she has no formal financequalifications. She notes,

“I found out that I know more than I thought I knew”

The first week of each month is the busiest at Prodrill. Aileen’sdaily job includes banking, credit control, payments, collating timesheets, andplanning around monthly schedules. Budget time is always hectic, so she alwayshas a bag of chocolate and snacks to keep her fuelled. At Prodrill, we takepride in our robust procedures, ensuring everyone gets paid accurately and ontime. 

Whilstshe could probably secure a job closer to home, Aileen has taken the bus fromFraserburgh to Aberdeen for a long time. She explains,

 “It’s much cheaper and relaxingto use the bus, and the time on the bus is my time”

She has an amazing career, thanks to the people that gaveher opportunities to do more to, believed in her ability and help her developher skills. Her time at Prodrill is a testament to her commitment to the businessand her dedication to developing further in finance. 

In 11 years, Aileen has travelled over 200,000 miles by bus forthe love of what she does at Prodrill. By using public buses, she has helped toimprove the impact of daily commutes on the environment along the way.

Tel: 01224 261932  e-mail: tara.stephen@prodrill-ers.com