🌟Discover the world of Finance at bet365 through Ayesha Lowe journey🌟

We caught up with Ayesha Lowe to learn more about her journey and the incredible growth that our Finance team has experienced over the past few years.

What brought you to bet365 and what has your journey been like so far?

After completing my Accounting & Finance degree, I was exploring career options and came across the opportunity to join bet365 as an Assistant Accountant within the Business Planning, Analysis and Decision Support team. The decision to apply was a no-brainer as it was an exciting prospect to be able to build a career within such a large organisation that is one of the leading operators in the online gambling industry. In addition, I had heard that bet365 places great emphasis on the growth and development of its employees, which was an important factor for me, especially being at the start of my career.

It’s now been four years since I joined bet365 and I am very pleased with how it’s turned out so far. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had held multiple roles within the team during this time, which has been invaluable towards my personal growth and development of my financial and commercial knowledge. It can be challenging at times, as you are often given the opportunities to push beyond your comfort zone, but my managers and colleagues have always been on hand for support, and this is part of the reason my time here has felt so rewarding.

What has been the most significant change in the Finance team over the past few years?

Since I’ve joined bet365, the Finance team has grown from around 50 people, to now having over 130. This increase is largely as a result of an increased global presence, with bet365 continuously expanding into newly regulated markets, as well as experiencing increased regulatory demands from existing markets. This is a trend that is set to continue.

For the Business Planning, Analysis and Decision Support team, it is more important than ever that we’re building relationships with key business areas and being proactive in identifying where we can provide value-adding insights to aid decision making and drive financial performance.

What developments are ongoing within Finance?

Over the past few years, the team has built and continued to develop this business partnering function. Another key development comes from our implementation of a new budgeting, forecasting and reporting tool, which is aiding us in providing business areas with more tailored and dynamic financial reporting on their associated costs, and delivering efficiencies that are proving vital following the continuous increase in business complexity.

Other developments include the evolution of our financial reports, insights and forecasting, providing a greater degree of insight on market performance and business initiatives, which is especially important as markets become increasingly competitive.

How has the company’s overall growth influenced your role and responsibilities?

It has given me the opportunity to perform various roles during my time with bet365, each of these providing me with a different set of skills and combining to enable me to gain a well-rounded knowledge of the finance function and how the business operates.

I have received two promotions at bet365, with the latest promoting me to Senior Finance Analyst. With this, I am consistently given more responsibility, which is both challenging but greatly rewarding as it allows me to continuously develop myself and my skillset.

I have regularly been involved in the training of new recruits and I am often able to pass elements of my knowledge over to them, helping to further build the team.

What makes working in the Finance team so rewarding?

Aside from the points already mentioned, a huge part of this is the people within the team. They are a great group to work with, and many of our outputs are built up from a team effort. Everyone is super collaborative, and each person brings in their own set of skills and experiences. Everyone’s opinions are listened to, which ultimately drives outputs that we believe will be most effective in adding value for the business.

What advice would you give to new employees or those considering joining your team?

If you are looking for the next step in your finance career, are looking to develop yourself, and are a team player, then I’d definitely recommend applying for a finance vacancy here! Take advantage of every opportunity presented to you and push yourself. There is so much room for knowledge building, growth and personal development within bet365, and it’s really rewarding when you see it materialise. There are so many people within the department with a wealth of knowledge and experience – taking the time to listen to their opinions and perspectives will really come in useful when navigating your role and deciding on how to approach things.

Ready to join our growing team? Explore our current vacancies and apply today!