Hello again!
First off, I need to talk a little bit about my trip last weekend because I promised to share some of my experiences in Rome! During my time in Rome, I got to enjoy visiting the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Piazza Navona, and St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a very busy weekend as we wanted to see as much of Rome as possible, along with trying to fit in some shopping and late night dinners. The food was incredible as I mainly focused on the Italian specialties of pasta and pizza! We also had perfect weather the entire weekend, which made the site seeing more enjoyable while allowing for a quick tan. Everything about Rome was amazing! This city is by far my favorite European place I have visited so far, and I hope I get to visit Italy again someday. The trip really made me appreciate the amazing opportunity I have this summer to be here in Europe and to be able to immerse myself among various cultures.
After the weekend I unfortunately had to return to reality. This week at Sirius Facilities, I was able to better understand the operations and purpose of the company within my department. Currently, I work with the Regional Financial Controllers (RFC’s) within Sirius. Each RFC is responsible for a set of BV’s which are the businesses parks, or real estate properties, the company manages. Business Parks provide a flexible workspace for various customers, which includes the use of office space, storage, conference centers, and workshop and production space. The finance team focuses on updating the numbers and data metrics that coincide with each of the BV’s. In order to get these numbers, the RFC’s must be in direct contact with the bank, the BV itself, and any intermediary companies Sirius hires to help maintain the occupancy and rental leases of its business parks. Daily tasks include completing bank bookings, consolidating the numbers of all BV’s, reading bank statements, and constantly completing reconciliations to make sure the numbers and calculations make sense from a company perspective. Sirius Facilities is a corporate company that trades on the London Stock Exchange, so they must be extremely careful with the numbers they present to the public, as its shareholders do not want to be misinformed. The RFC’s also create expected budgets for the upcoming years of their BV’s, and complete some data analysis for potential acquisitions in their respected areas. Throughout all these tasks, I witnessed how RFC’s must be very detail orientated and have strong organizational skills to be successful within the industry. I have been able to work directly with the finance team over the past couple of weeks, and have received a very in-depth learning experience pertaining to the life of an RFC.
This past week I also had the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a company getting ready to submit its annual report to the public. Sirius had a really intense and stressful environment as there was constant checking of numbers and communication with auditors to make sure everything is correct. My supervisor is fully responsible for the numbers presented in the annual report, so he has a lot of weight on his shoulders right now.
Besides work, I got to enjoy a little more of Berlin this weekend! A couple of us found this really cool pool that sits on the Spree River, and has an area filled with sand to relax and hang out. We also visited a German flea market, where we were able to buy some authentic souvenirs! I continue to enjoy Berlin more and more each day, and am very grateful to be a part of this Pitt Program!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Logan
