AIESEC interns stories, Beata Piechura, Accounting Controller

"There were a number of reasons why I chose to apply for an internship at Husqvarna. After my degree in finance and accounting in Poland, I wanted to gain both international and professional experience. Husqvarna is a strong and globally recognized brand and the experience I gain here will be very beneficial to my career."

When I was at university I was a member of AIESEC and was aware of the opportunities on offer. I was keen to get international experience and the Husqvarna job description really appealed to me.

Since coming to work here, I have learned so much about the company and particularly its financial reporting system. I have definitely developed my analytical skills and my ability to communicate with people from different countries. Each day I learn something new and I recently created one part of the Group's annual report, which means a lot to me.

Opportunities and challenges

Working in a group and with people whose native language is not English gives me the opportunity to break down cultural barriers and increase my knowledge. I also have my own specific tasks and responsibilities, which makes this internship more interesting. It is also very interesting to learn how to cooperate daily with people who don't speak your language and who may have other ways of solving different problems.

Of course there is also the professional development aspect, working for an international company at the highest level. Everyday I am learning new things and the most important thing is that I am doing what I always wanted to do. I can certainly say that my professional dreams are coming true. I am also learning a new language. Swedish is not easy but I hope by the end of my internship I will eventually understand it!
 
The biggest challenge initially was contact with my controllers (units from different countries) as I didn't know any of them. I am responsible for the Eastern European countries and sometimes language is a problem because not all of them can speak English. The good thing is that I can use Polish in certain cases. I'm working with very experienced people, which certainly helps a lot.

The working atmosphere is more then good! My colleagues are wonderful people and make me feel really comfortable about being here. I can ask them about everything. I feel that they treat me like an old member of the team.

I think that my internship is a very good investment in my future career. I wish that all young people who have just finished university could have the same opportunity as me.