It’s not hard for smart people to climb the career ladder
There is no rigid hierarchy in Grant Thornton that might clip people’s wings. If you want to move up the career ladder, or want to challenge yourself in the same position but a different field, you are free to do so. The desire to move up the career ladder is quite common, but some people want to try something else instead of their current field without leaving the company. Marge Litvinova gives an example of a sworn auditor with many years of experience who, no longer wishing to continue in the same job, found work in the Accounting Department as a project manager: in their new position they were able to use their financial expertise as well as their experience in managing people and work processes.
But no matter whether your career path is horizontal or vertical, in each case, those who want it are offered the chance to get involved in projects in different fields and different roles, to try out what they like and gain new experience and a broader perspective.
A lot of attention is paid to the next generation of managers. ‘Let’s grow together!” is the motto of Grant Thornton for good reason. Smart, ambitious employees are noticed and offered increasingly challenging tasks and projects. This is how Janno Greenbaum, Tarmo Rahkama, Kristjan Järve and Anastasia Borovaja, among others, have grown from specialists to middle managers and on to partners.
Half of the partners of Grant Thornton Baltic started as specialists in the firm. From left: Janno Greenbaum, Tarmo Rahkama, Kristjan Järve, Mati Nõmmiste, Artur Suits, Mart Nõmper and Anastasia Borovaja.
Borovaja recalls that when she joined Rimess Baltic as an audit assistant in 2009, she didn’t know much about either auditing or the company itself. She knuckled down, learning something new every day, and was soon offered a much more responsible job as an audit project manager.
Borovaja explains: “My development in the Audit Department was facilitated by both experienced audit managers and partners in the firm who guided, supported and trusted me. So I can say that if you’re bold, open-minded and full of ideas, the company will support your development and new challenges and more complex projects will come your way.” That was how things went for her: she was soon running the Accounting Department and managing its 25 people, and in 2016 she became a partner in the firm. “Ours is a company where relationships are built on trust, people’s potential is recognised and they’re not afraid to take on more responsibility,” she says. “It’s not about length of service or previous experience: it’s about drive and attitude. Those who dare to keep an open mind and have their say will find interesting challenges for years to come.”
How to reach the top of the career ladder or how to become a partner
Broadly speaking, there are two ways of achieving this at Grant Thornton Baltic. The first option is to be ambitious, to develop from a specialist into a senior expert and to take an interest in developing the whole company, not just your own area. This is how most of the past and present partners in Grant Thornton Baltic have become partners.
The second option is to own an accounting, audit or business advisory firm (or all three in one) and to merge with Grant Thornton Baltic.
Either way, a prerequisite for becoming a partner is the ability to generate new business, i.e. to find new clients and provide new services in addition to existing ones. A partner must be able to see the business and its development as a whole and to plan the development of their own area in a way that is in line with the development objectives of the business as a whole.
Of course, you also need to be good at managing people so as to retain and develop your team and client relationships.
