Behind the Numbers: A Day in the Life of Johanna Aromaa, Director of Business Control at W?rtsil? Water & Waste

Any business needs a range of functions to help it work. From HR and marketing through to sales and strategy, each department is a vital cog in the machine. This, of course, includes finance, reporting and compliance as well; and this is the arena where Johanna Aromaa spends her working days for W?rtsil? Water & Waste .

?

“We’re ?responsible for the financial planning and reporting, and implementing a clear financial strategy for the business unit. That’s a huge privilege and responsibility”, Johanna says.

?

Working from her office in Finland, Johanna leads small teams of finance professionals in the UK Finland and Germany, all of whom work together to make sure that the business meets its regulatory requirements and has a clear view of its financial status at any given time.

?

“It’s not just about keeping an eye on cash in the bank, although that is of course important. It’s also about making sure that employees and suppliers get paid, and that we’re meeting the financial milestones we set ourselves for projects”, she says. Her team also make sure that everyone within the organisation has a clear set of financial principles to guide them. In doing so, she says, her and her team’s work supports the overall business to achieve its goals.

?

Part of this work is also about keeping an eye on and reporting key metrics that the business needs to benchmark its progress. “Take your pick”, Johanna says. “We track our EBIT margin, our Net sales, and the delivery margins, Order Intake, our working capital… all the things that one might expect in any finance department.”

?

The unique challenge for Water & Waste, Johanna says, is doing all of this while also increasing the business’s standalone capability, as part of the organisation’s strategy to become independent post-divestment. “That’s the key challenge from a finance perspective, and it’s very interesting for me personally to help build that capability.”

?

Johanna’s role is not limited to the office. “I am lucky to have been able to travel for work – to the UK and Germany to meet with my teams” She also works closely with the rest of the business to provide finance training for all employees. Recently, she has been involved in a mentoring programme for colleagues within W?rtsil?, intended to help them upskill and learn from colleagues.

?

Throughout these sessions, Johanna says she works hard to explain that what she does is not a completely traditional role. “This job is very far away from what you might call ‘traditional accounting’. I’ve been in W?rtsil? for 16 years but I am always learning. I try to go into work with an attitude that everyone always knows something that I don’t – I think that’s key for anyone considering a career like mine.”

?

The need to communicate and talk to each other is something that Johanna is also very clear about. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of professional certainty. But we should never underestimate the power of talking to each other and the change that it can generate.”

?

She clearly takes pride in her team’s work.

“I would sum up our impact as being very important, because finance is the support function that pushes the whole business forward. We enable the whole business to drive forward.”

?

And on working for an organisation with a clear purpose, Johanna is very clear: “I’m very motivated to work for a business that is contributing to finding solutions for keeping our oceans clean. It’s empowering and motivating to do our best… and to do our best for the next generations also.”