What it’s like to be a finance apprentice

Darryl Bonner of Connecticut-based Liberty Bank is part of a pioneering finance apprenticeship program. He’s in the midst of a rotation through several departments at the bank, and he’s taking steps to receive the CGMA designation as well.

Bonner is one of the first apprentices in the AICPA’s Professional Apprenticeship for Finance Business Partners program, which in 2022 was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

On this podcast episode, Bonner discusses why he was drawn to Liberty Bank, how he mixes his day job with the CGMA Finance Leadership Program, and what title he seeks to achieve in his career.

Resources:

• Liberty Bank’s CFO, Paul Young, CPA, CGMA, joined the JofA podcast 13 months ago to discuss why the bank was interested in taking part in the program and how adding apprentices could help to address a talent gap.
• A short video on the impact of the apprenticeship program: https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/video/professional-apprenticeships-are-making-an-impact

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• How Bonner first heard about the finance apprenticeship program.
• Why he considered his interview process with Liberty Bank to be unique.
• An explanation of the departmental rotation program at Liberty Bank.
• Why Bonner says “everyone can’t be coached the same.”

Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:

— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.

Transcript

Neil Amato: Welcome back to the Journal of Accountancy podcast. This is your host, Neil Amato. Darryl Bonner of Liberty Bank is joining me for this episode. Darryl is part of a pioneering finance apprenticeship program, one that ramped up in 2022 after it was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to be an apprentice. Darryl, first, welcome to the show. How long have you been with Liberty Bank?

Darryl Bonner: Thank you. Glad to be here. I’ve been with Liberty Bank since July, so six months. Actually, six months a couple of days ago. Dec. 10 was my six-month anniversary.

Amato: We are recording in mid-December at the Future of Finance Summit in Orlando. As I understand it, the apprenticeship program — hearing about it was one of the reasons you took a job at Liberty Bank, is that right?

Bonner: Exactly. When I was making the decision that I wanted to get out of the military, I began to search around and had a few different companies that I had interest from and that I was interested in. Then, also through some networking, Liberty Bank popped up on my radar as well. I was pretty close to making the decision, I feel like. Toward the end, Liberty came and they brought to my attention that they had an apprenticeship program.

One of the things that really stood out to me was not only was there an apprenticeship program, where I would have the ability to be certified and get my CGMA, but also the rotational program that was within Liberty Bank that Paul Young had started. That was really what drew me to Liberty Bank versus another company. Then also, it sounds a little cliché, but it is actually true, where I felt like they wanted Darryl Bonner. They didn’t want a body in a position. That was really instrumental and key to bringing me up to Connecticut to Liberty.

Amato: Paul Young, he’s been a former guest on the show. I guess he’s the CFO at Liberty Bank, is that right?

Bonner: Yes.

Amato: Did you meet him in the hiring process?

Bonner: I did. I think my hiring process was maybe a little unique, I would say. The first person that I spoke to at Liberty Bank was David Glidden, who is our CEO. We spoke, we talked about some things. Then he said, “Paul Young has this program that he started at Liberty. I would love for you to talk to him and see if that would be something that you would be interested in.”

My second interview was with the CFO of Liberty Bank, Paul Young. Talk about nerves and things of that nature, but when I spoke with him and David, they were just so down to earth. They were very welcoming, warming, and the way he explained it, I was ready to sign up pretty much that day. But, obviously, wanted to do a little bit more research, and he was the second person that I spoke to, and when he brought up the opportunity, I was 99% sure that I wanted to do that.

Amato: What appealed to you about this program?

Bonner: For me, I have a finance background through the military. However, I don’t have the accounting degree that normally a lot of other people would have when starting off. It was a unique pathway for me graduating from the United States Naval Academy, then going to financial management officer school, and being a financial management officer. Once I was getting out — the military is not a for-profit organization. There’s a whole part of the balance sheet and P&L that you’re just not doing at all.

That was a great opportunity for me to be able to sharpen those skills, get the credentials that I needed, and also learn through the rotational [program] as well. Get a big picture of how a business runs. That was really what drew me because if I was going to go to another company, they were going to have a spot for me. But I’m not necessarily sure I would have — I don’t think my ceiling would have been as high as it is now.

Amato: Again, that program, the Professional Apprenticeship for Finance Business Partners, sometimes referred to as the Registered Apprenticeship for Finance Business Partners. Darryl and others, both at Liberty Bank and other companies, I guess you’re immersed in learning more about finance. I was hoping you could just take me through what a typical day for an apprentice is at least at Liberty Bank.

Bonner: Sure. For me starting off, first of all, Liberty has a great onboarding process. It was amazing. Shout-out to Natalie Weaver for that, head of our HR. But daily now, especially in December, right now, we are getting ready to prepare our presentation to the board for earnings. For me, it’s been working with financial planning and analysis. That’s the department that I’m currently in right now. I’ve been with them since July.

For me, we have a 100-page PowerPoint that we present to the board. It’s a lot of divide and conquer. Our group is comprised of about six, seven of us, I believe. Our director, he has a lot of due-outs, and right now, that’s pretty much all we are focused on every day. Getting summary statements together for this year, summary statements in comparison to last year, forecasting for the rest of the year and budget for next year. That’s really what I’ve been focusing on.

I’ve been tasked with a lot of summary statement stuff, and then also just a little bit of commentary for that stuff as well, speaking to it, little excerpts for Jeff, who is our director of financial planning and analysis, and Paul also to present to the board. That’s pretty much what my day consisted of.

Then, whenever I do have downtime, which was made very clear in the beginning, which I really appreciate is, it’s OK to work on the CGMA while you’re at work. I think that’s very valuable, too, because you could be the normal person, at nighttime, that’s when you knock it out, do it then. But it allows a little bit better work/life balance as well, just being able to put in an hour or so here and there within the workday as well.

Amato: I’ll get back to the rotation question I had in my mind in just a bit, but you said working on the CGMA, I guess that’s the CGMA Finance Learning Program (Editor’s note: The correct name is CGMA Finance Leadership Program)?

Bonner: Yes.

Amato: Tell me something about what that entails. I guess the end goal is to get the CGMA designation, is that right?

Bonner: Yes, definitely. It’s an online platform. It’s through Kaplan, which has been great, especially speaking with people who have gone through the CGMA over like the past 10 years and just seeing how it has developed and evolved to the product that I see today. I think it’s really amazing what they have been doing with the live sessions that we get a couple times a month. They’re recorded, so I’m able to go back. Because you know how it is — sometimes you’re taking notes while they’re speaking and then you forget whatever they were talking about while you’re taking the notes. Having recorded sessions is really cool as well.

Then, they have tutors, they have dedicated tutors that you can contact and get in touch with, and they will work on whatever you have questions on. I think that is really cool as well. Another benefit that drew me to Liberty was that they said, we’re going to pay for this for you because we want you to gain this education. We want you to have career progression. We’re going to do that and show you that by paying for this and supporting you as well.

Amato: What’s the timeline, first, I guess with the rotations? How many different departments are you in, and how long are those rotations meant to be?

Bonner: It’s a little fluid, but usually it’s six to eight months between each rotation. Right now, I’m in financial planning and analysis. From there, I’ll be moving on to procurement, which I should be doing that in the March time frame, I believe. From there, it’s a little fluid, but the next departments that I will have a chance to go to throughout the next year and a half per se will be accounting, treasury, and project management.

Amato: What’s the end goal?

Bonner: The end goal for me? So, you know, everybody’s going to say CFO, CEO, things of that nature. I like to get a little bit slower steps at a time, but I do want to be a director. I don’t know what department yet. I don’t know what field of finance. I do aspire to be at that position one day. I don’t know if it was the military in me taking it one step at a time. So, for me, that’s my next goal — my next big goal, I would say. Obviously, the first goal is to get CGMA certification. But, I definitely want to be a director one day. I’m just not sure what department yet.

Amato: What’s the timing, you think — I guess it is as you say, in flux, fluid — for achieving that CGMA designation?

Bonner: I’m keeping myself on a pretty tight schedule. Paul sometimes says that I can pump the brakes a little bit, but I know myself, so I try to keep things with a tight schedule. About eight months per level, I’m at operational right now. I would say about two years from now.

Amato: You’re at operational level. Again, what are the levels after that?

Bonner: I started at the foundational level, which is new from when I spoke with people as well. That is, basically, you don’t have to have any type of financial background for it. But Paul recommended that I do it just because, and so I did that. That took about three months, and then now you go to operational. Then from operational, you go to strategic. Then from strategic, you go to management as well.

Amato: That’s good. It’s a good explanation. I think I’d heard it, but having the refresher for both me and our listeners is helpful. Tell me about this event, what you’ve heard, what you’ve learned. Anything that stuck out to you, again, from the Future of Finance Summit in Orlando mid-December?

Bonner: That’s a loaded question and that just speaks volumes of how this conference has been going. One of the things for me has definitely been inclusive leadership — which I’m not necessarily in a leadership position right now — but it’s definitely skills that I want to take with me as I continue to grow and progress in my career.

One of the things was just how everyone can’t be coached the same. That was big for me. Also, playing football, things of that nature, I remember seeing coaches — like, you can’t coach every player the same. I think it’s the same in the workplace. Some people can take that beat-down. Some people need a little bit more nurturing. That was one of the things.

Then, just create an environment where it’s OK to disagree because disagreements bring more ideas, they bring more perspective. And if people are afraid to disagree, you won’t even hear those voices in the first place. I thought that was really key. Wassia, she brought that up during her workshop. She brought up how we argue with our siblings and we argue with our parents sometimes, but at the end of the day, we all know we love each other, and we’re able to say those things because we know the relationship that we have. She was saying we should have something similar in the workplace as well, where it’s OK, we know we’re going to disagree sometimes. But at the end of the day, we have common goals, and we all want to reach the same things that the company has and stuff. I just thought that was really cool.

Amato: Again, that’s Darryl Bonner of Liberty Bank. We appreciate him joining the podcast. Resources related to the apprenticeship program, as well as a podcast episode with Liberty Bank’s CFO, Paul Young, will be in this episode’s show notes. Also, Darryl mentioned a session that stood out to him and the name of the speaker, Wassia. That’s Wassia Kamon, and you’ll be hearing more soon about that leadership topic in Wassia’s own words as she also joined me for a podcast session in Orlando. Listen for that episode in the near future. Again, this is Neil Amato with the JofA. Thanks for listening to the Journal of Accountancy podcast.