We’re shining the spotlight on how colleagues at Insight Associates work together in a series of profiles. First up: Associate Director Cara Smith and Finance Assistant Amy Bridger. Read on to discover how the positive and proactive pair share tasks, successes – and soap opera plotlines!
Great teamwork delivers great results
Open communication. Excellent organisation. Positive outlook. These are just some of the attributes that make Cara and Amy such a brilliant team. The pair deliver critical outsourced financial services to several Insight Associates clients, including higher education provider ASU London.
As Finance Assistant, Amy performs a range of tasks for ASU London – from reconciling balance sheets and processing purchase ledgers to running payrolls. “I love the variety of my job,” said Amy, who has been in her current role at Insight Associates since 2021. “I’ve always enjoyed working with data. I get a real buzz when I share financial stats that will make a difference to a client’s business.”
Proactive duo help client excel and evolve
Amy is supported by Cara, who started her career at Insight Associates in 2011 and is now Associate Director for Client Services. As well as assisting with meetings and day-to-day service delivery, Cara oversees special requests from ASU London, such as year-end reconciliations and audits.
“We’ve just concluded the Audit Completion Meeting, it went very well, with no concerns raised,” said Jerome Ilenotuma, Finance Partner for ASU London. “It was a successful outcome, and that’s a direct result of the hard work, diligence, and collaboration from you and the wider team.
Sharing the load – and the vegetables!
Positive comments like these are a real bonus for Cara and Amy. “It’s great to work with a client that truly appreciates our efforts,” said Cara. “We’re both really excited to be supporting ASU London as it embarks on a new chapter of growth.”
New chapters can come with new challenges, but Cara and Amy are ready. As working mums, they both excel at juggling schedules, organising tasks – and disguising vegetables in tomato sauce for their young children! “Cara and I work as a team to ensure nothing falls through the gaps – we have a shared email inbox and a shared love of soap operas,” revealed Amy.
Learning together, succeeding together
ASU London, which encompasses TEDI-London, offers students the opportunity to gain a UK-accredited degree enhanced by the globally recognised curriculum of Arizona State University. It provides degrees in a number of key areas, including engineering, business, computer science and AI.
Insight Associates has been working with the organisation since 2019, helping to set up its banking and payroll systems and designing a monthly reporting pack using iplicit accounting software.
“It’s been a positive learning curve for us and ASU London. And there’s still lots more we can learn from each other,” said Cara. “We have an honest and open relationship where we challenge and encourage each other to achieve our goals.”
