Chief Financial Officer Onutė: “I’m not afraid to employ young professionals without experience”

The accounting department deals with many stereotypes: is it just paperwork? Is it simply boring? Or does it demand hard-working professionals? Onutė, who has been the Chief Financial Officer for five years, decided to dispel these preconceptions and tell us more about what the department actually does.

Building a new department

Onutė’s start at MARINO is truly atypical: she moved from the construction sector to the much broader shipbuilding market, where it is important to know not only Lithuanian law but also foreign law.

“There were a lot of challenges in the beginning, especially when MARINO was growing very fast. We had to set up a new accounting department, organise our work, at times make unpopular decisions and convince the team that we’re moving towards a common goal. In my opinion, when you see a common goal, understand it and work towards it diligently, everything falls into place. After an interesting first year of work, the team achieved great results. We started working more efficiently and easily. Now it’s heartwarming to see how well the colleagues in the department work independently.”

Young professionals are the best asset

The search for a new employee is a crucial moment for any department head. According to Onutė, a candidate’s personal qualities matter more than their experience.

“Strangely enough, I don’t have any preconceived ideas when looking for a new professional. From a CFO’s perspective, it might seem more beneficial to hire someone with experience. However, I’m always willing and not afraid to recruit young professionals without experience, especially women. I feel a moral obligation towards young women because I know from experience how difficult it is to get started in accounting. In our company’s practice, we have recruited a number of young women who have shown their ability and have quickly achieved excellent results. So I don’t use clichés when selecting people, and I probably don’t fit into a box myself.”

Leadership through example

Onutė’s leadership is second to none. She is always positive and in a good mood, and she is able to motivate her team of 18 specialists. What is her secret?

“To be a good leader, you have to lead by example and not be afraid to do the simple tasks.”

“My team knows from practice that I have never thrown anyone out of the office in my life. If a colleague comes to me with a question, I do my best to help or at least point the correct way. I especially appreciate colleagues who come to me for advice and already have their own solutions in mind. This shows that the employee is not just working mechanically, but also taking initiative and responsibility.

I’m also giving priority to developing the competence of our staff and maintaining a high quality of work. For example, we have a number of professionals who came in without experience, have shown their potential and received a career jump. Through that experience and through training, we are growing as a department. I am pleased when staff who have worked in accountancy with one area of expertise take on an unfamiliar area with courage, delve into the subject, master it and so continue to grow as professionals.”

Three things to know about the accounting department

For all other departments, this is what you need to know:

1. “Other departments don’t always understand or see our usual routine. Everything that happens in the company must be documented. A verbal agreement cannot be equated with a document, in the same way that a nice story cannot be attached to a tax return. This leads to requests for other departments to send the missing information.”
2. “Is our job just paperwork? Not at all. Finance requires creativity, and today it’s not enough to know the law or accounting policies to become a good professional. You need psychological knowledge, communication skills, a sense of humour and the ability to look at things from an unconventional angle.”
3. “Accounting is going global. EU directives on rotation workers, the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical factors have a major impact. Sometimes the same situation that happened 10 years ago is now treated differently by the law. This is why you need to keep up to date with accountants’, tax and social security portals, monitor government projects, and talk to people who work in these areas to feel the industry’s pulse. Plus, AI is coming to accounting, significantly changing the way we’ll work.”

Thinking about changing employer, or looking for a team that is simply good to work with? See the open positions at MARINO and join Onutė’s team.