Interview with Jay Dhamelia MICB CB.Dip PM.Dip - completed all stages of examinations within 2 months of joining ICB.
“I had been working within the profession since 1980, starting as clerk in a Chartered Accountants office. I quickly progressed to doing accounts and eventually became an Audit Manager. I moved around, gaining experience in different firms, within different industries until I became a financial controller of an entertainment company.
Around 1999, I joined a group of companies with a £3million turnover. Having started work as a consultant, I joined the corporation as a permanent employee and was promoted to Managing Director within a couple of months. I facilitated various systems for the company during a period of growth, increasing turnover to £10million, while also managing 250 members of staff.
In July 2010, I resigned from the company due to the turbulent economic climate and decided to start my own venture.
“I wanted to do something, on my own, at my own pace.”
“I started looking around for ventures at the beginning of 2011 which could put my existing knowledge and skills to use. I became a franchisee of The Financial Management Centre and worked towards setting the business up. I wanted qualifications and knew that I would need to hold some form of licence. That is when I came across the ICB.
I enquired about joining ICB over a telephone call and then received a very thorough email detailing all the examinations I would need to take in order to become a full member. From that moment onwards, I made it a point to complete every single one of them. It was a personal task which I set myself in order to gain the ICB qualifications.
I booked my first exam in September 2011. I hadn’t done an exam in a very long time, but after the results of my Level I exam, I just wanted to keep going.
“While I was studying, my main goal was to become an MICB. Now I am an MICB, I want to become a Fellow.”
“I hunger for knowledge and I live on the mottos that everything is possible and knowledge is infinite.”
“Once you have set goals for yourself, if you put in a little commitment, you can reap a lot of satisfaction.”
With the support of ICB, Jay intends to have 5 members of staff employed and to have around 12 – 15 clients within a year. “Advice that I would give to perspective members in practice would be to network with local businesses and make a prominence, make yourself aware of the market that you would be working with, approach clients with confidence – don’t tell them what you don’t know, tell them what you do know! Help them work towards their goal, don’t be let down if a company decides not to use you, sometimes they will refer you to other businesses. It is important that you win your clients over so you need them to trust you. Getting a client is easy but to retain a client is the hardest part. In terms of longevity, you need to develop trust.”
“Being a member of the ICB opens so many opportunities for bookkeepers.”
“It is a reputable and recognised institution and it’s for life. I visit the website on a regular basis and often keep up to date with information. Reading through the forum makes me feel like I am part of a community where everybody is willing to help each other out. I feel like ICB have become family and I will always be 110% loyal to them.”
Jay Dhamelia is the owner of The Financial Management Centre, Croydon.