So, here we are at the Molineux Stadium, home of English Premier League football club,
Wolverhampton Wanderers. So Rita, tell us about your role. Well I oversee
all the finances in the football club, and that involves making tactical and
strategic decisions, looking at business management, budget, financing,
forecasting, securing of funding, so no different to any other business, but where
it is particularly different is the environment that we operate within - it's
an extremely dynamic environment, which requires a huge level of investment and
therefore that brings quite a lot of challenges for sporting CFOs. So tell us
about some of those challenges and how they're different from a CFO in a more
normal or traditional industry. So we're always scrutinised on a public basis,
we have to be very careful about all the decisions we make.
So the supporters are not just interested in what happens on the pitch,
but actually off the pitch as well, so they want to be sure that everything
that's happening within the club is working towards success of their team,
so we're accountable to a lot of people.
So now turning to the football industry as a whole, what are the big things that
you see on the horizon? Well I see changes in the broadcasting of football
with live streaming of games now - I think that's going to be quite a big
feature of the new broadcasting deal, and being able to monetise that, which is
what the Premier League are always looking to do. Every Premier League deal
that we've had has resulted in quite a substantial increase and I don't see
that changing in the industry. I think the Premier League are now looking more
into the overseas market and looking into sort of extending that digital reach globally.
Did you ever imagine when you were younger that you would be the
CFO of a Premier League football club? Believe it or not I had no interest in
football when I went for the role, and it was actually that factor that helped me,
one of the factors that helped me clinch the role. They were looking for somebody
who was quite clinical and dispassionate, and could look at the Football Club as a
pure business and not be swayed by the passions of it. What tips have you got
for any aspiring young financial professionals who might want a job as
CFO of a football club? Well, to do a lot of research, because it is a very
fast-moving industry, and make sure you're abreast of all of the
current issues that we face, that's very, very important. But also just to keep
trying, be tenacious, take chances go for any opportunity in a club, whatever the
level, get your foot in the door, because it is a difficult industry to get into.
It's a very enjoyable industry once you're in it, which is why a lot of
people that are in this industry tend not to leave the industry, which is
probably why it's difficult to get in, because everybody just moves around from
club to club. But certainly, you know, if you're determined and you're passionate
enough, you'll succeed. How has being an ACCA member helped you
with your career? It gave me a good strong foundation in business management
and enabled me to get a position where, you know, you could move strategically
around the business, so it gave me a great commercial awareness as well. So
Rita, now it's time for the quickfire questions. What's your pet hate?
Poor customer service. What are you most proud of? My achievements at Wolves -
joining the club when there wasn't a finance function and creating and
developing what we have here today. I'm also extremely proud of my two sons,
which I brought up single-handedly whilst juggling a very busy career, so I
know that's something that a lot of women have to contend with.
What did you want to be when you were 10? Well Chris, I wanted to be an ACCA member. Very good!