Kathleen O’Connor

6.00 AM

My alarm goes off and I slowly roll out of bed, maybe even hit the snooze button before I get hit by the guilt of how my snoozing is cutting into my dog’s walk time. I quickly get dressed, feed my dog and am out the door 15 minutes later for his morning walk.

7.20 AM

After taking my dog for his walk, it’s time to get my boyfriend up for work. With that achievement completed for the day, I finish getting ready for work myself.

7.40 AM

With both of us now ready to head out and catch the train, my dog is giving me his usual morning look of 'you better not be considering leaving this house without giving me my much-loved Dentastix!'. I wouldn’t dare, who could deny that face. With him now happy, we head out and are on the train to work 10 minutes later.

 
I brought Cooper at our office during the Bring Your Dog to Work day.

8.30 AM

I make the short walk from the train to the office. First stop is the kitchen to put my lunch in the fridge and grab a much-needed morning coffee. Next stop is at my desk.

 
Unlike other typical accounting or finance jobs, there is no 'typical' day in insolvency.   

After the good morning’s and general chats with those around me, I get started reading my emails, responding or flagging any as ‘further action required’ where necessary (i.e. responses to debtor recovery letters issued; potential sale contract for a property; amendments requested by my manager for a report). I then have brief discussions with my colleagues about any emails or issues which have arisen on our matters, adding any tasks to my to-do list and preparing myself for the day. 

Although, this preparation might go out the window if a new matter comes in or I get thrown a curveball on one of my other matters. For example, a leaking pipe in one of our receivership properties where I have to deal with organising the emergency repairs and insurance claim; or unexpected influx of calls from employees requesting documentation in relation to their outstanding entitlements; or having to attend site and assist with a trade on. 

9.00 AM

First matter I attend to is ticking off the easy and smaller items on my to-do list,like following up a sale agent for an update on a marketing campaign or potential offers received; following up lawyers about an uncommercial transaction we are pursuing; or processing receipts and payments into our accounting system. 

9.15 AM

I receive a phone call from the sale agent I just sent a followupto, they provide an update over the phone, and we discuss any maintenance requirements for the property (i.e. lawn mowing or the missing mailbox). 

9.30 AM

After I get off the phone, I get started on the bigger, meatier and more interesting tasks on my to-do list like research for an agricultural due diligence report, or preparing and paying a distribution to creditors, or assisting our Forensic and Ligation team with investigations into potential fraud. 

10.00 AM

I receive a phone call from a creditor who wants an update on a liquidation. The phone call only lasts about five minutes, as they want to know if they are likely to get paid and if so, when. 

10.30 AM

It’s time for my fortnightly file reviews with my manager and a colleague. We head to the hub (our communal office space) where we discuss the current status of each of our matters and what tasks need actioning. My manager also informs us about what matters are in the pipeline and what potential aspects of the matter we might oversee if it’s a big job (i.e. employees or trade on operations). We also briefly discuss non-specific work items such as how I went on my CA exam, or when one of us might be looking at taking leave. 

11.00 AM

On my way back from file reviews, I quickly grab a snack from the kitchen and have a short discussion with one of our admin staff about the most recent Disney movie. Ok so, it wasn’t a short discussion. 

11.30 AM

I start up the server for one of my matters and wait for it to load before reviewing company records for any key documents or information to assist our solicitors with pursing preference recoveries or a potential insolvent trading claim. I discuss any findings with my manager, who will collate and provide the information and documents to our solicitors.  
 

12.30 PM

My colleague pops around to my desk to see if I can assist with the urgent task of reconciling company records, employee entitlement claims received and employee payments made under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) Scheme, which is required before they can start the priority distribution process. We have a quick meeting about the required task and discuss any relevant matters which have arisen since we were appointed liquidators. 

After the meeting, I get started on using Power Query in excel to merge the three spreadsheets into one and highlight which employees have entitlements still owing after any payment made by FEG. 

1.00 PM

My stomach is now growling at me, so I guess it’s lunchtime. I didn’t receive a Skype message from my colleague declaring today Guzman YGomez day, so it looks like I’ll be having my leftover pasta from last night instead. On the way to the kitchen, I stop by my colleague’s desk for our daily discussion on who has pasta and if either of us are likely to have pasta in the near future. (Honestly, I don’t remember how or why or where this daily discussion originated from). I obviously addressed the fact that I did have pasta today when she didn’t. 

The kitchen is unusually quiet today, but our office is quite tightly knit so there is always someone to sit with at lunch. I decide to sit with three of my colleagues from various segments.

 
2.00 PM

After lunch, I head into the office boardroom, as I’ve put my hand up to volunteering the afternoon shift for our Starlight kids packing day. This year I havethe important task of rolling up the colouring in pages. For the last couple of years, FTI Consulting has worked with our charity partner Starlight Children's Foundation, to send goodie packs to kids who are either unable to leave hospital or are too ill to get out and about in their school holidays. It takes our office nearly a full day to pack 1,000 ‘game night’ themed bags to brighten up their school holidays this year.This is one of my favourite charity events for the year as having previously worked in a children’s hospital, I have seen firsthand the work and impact Starlight has. 
 

3.00 PM

On my way back to my desk, I quickly pop into the kitchen for a coffee. While I make my coffee, I continue the daily debate with my colleague regarding his taste for Nescafe Gold. We still have not reached any agreement. I doubt we ever will. 

I notice I have missed a phone call from one of the debtors I issued a recovery letter to last night. I return the call and they are disagreeing with or refusing to pay the outstanding balance. After a long discussion, they agree to pay the portion of the outstanding balance they don’t disagree to and provide supporting documentation for the disagreed portion. Once the call has ended, I provide a quick file note update for my manager and the appointee regarding the telephone conversation. 

If it’s a Wednesday, our office manager comes around with chocolate for Chocolate Wednesday! It’s a tough decision on whether I go for KitKat, Crunchie or Mars this week. 

3.30 PM

I continue with my earlier task of merging three sets of data together using Power Query. With that now completed and any remaining employee claims highlighted, I update our accounting system with this information. After I provide my colleague with the merged information, noting the task has been completed, I get back to the tasks I had originally started this morning but had to abandon.

5.30 PM

As I have nothing urgent requiring my attention or any networking events on tonight, I head out of the office to catch the train. 

6.00 PM

I walk in the door, and to no surprise, my dog is super excited to see me. I give him a good few belly rubs before getting changed and taking him for his afternoon walk. 

7.00 PM

After a quick shower, I get started on cooking dinner. On tonight’s menu is creamy mushroom chicken courtesy of Hello Fresh. 

Before sitting down to dinner, I fill my dog's bowl with biscuits. He will refuse to eat them and even look down his nose at them until we have finished, just in case he gets some of the human food. He doesn’t, but he gives his best puppy dog eyes a go.  

7.30 PM

I head into the study and do my CA readings for an hour. Depending on the subject content, I might find myself falling asleep at the desk. 

8.30 PM

With my CA readings completed, I can finally lay down on the couch and watch on YouTube or Netflix. 

10.30 PM

Time for bed. To be honest though I will struggle to get to sleep for another hour and during this time will play a game on my phone. I am currently addicted to Nonogram and Oddmar. 

 

 

FTI Consulting is an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organisations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional. FTI Consulting professionals, located in all major business centres throughout the world, work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and opportunities. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook and LinkedIn. FTI Consulting, Inc., including its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a consulting firm and is not a certified public accounting firm or a law firm.

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