Bart Kreemer is Senior Controller at “Aegon Retirement and Income”. During his working day, he doesn’t only spend his time on the cost allocation within the company, but he also makes forecasts for the upcoming years together with his colleagues. Besides serving our customers and enabling them to make informed choices about their financial futures, we have to do this for our own financial future as well.
What does your function as Senior Controller contain?
‘To put it simply, a business controller tells the management what is going well and what is going wrong within the company. Furthermore, a business controller will also explain what impact it has on the organisation. You will analyse these issues to the bottom and analyse the data to draw conclusions. What I like about this part of the work is the opportunity to work directly with the management team. The managers are your conversation partners. They will finally decide which direction we will take. The fact that you have impact on that decision, is very nice.’
Can you tell something about the projects you are working on?
‘There are a lot of projects which keep coming back, but I also face some ad hoc projects. In addition, we don’t just look at numbers from the past, but we also think about how to interpret these numbers and how you can create a strategic value for the future. For example, I have recently worked on a project that included the differences between the retirement business in The Netherlands, England and the US, and how we can learn from these countries. I made a comparison between these three countries for the management teams, where I focused on analysis, interpretation and strategy. That way, you are really contributing important information on an international level to an international public! It was a really interesting project.’
“I convince the management, even if something isn’t possible!”
What is the biggest challenge of your job?
‘Making choices! You can do a lot of things and everything is valuable, but in the end you have to make choices. Sometimes you have to be able to say no, even to the management. There are times in which you have bad news and you have to put a focus on specific numbers. Then you have to convince the management that something is impossible. This requires to stay for which strong and confident about your work.’
Why do you like working at Aegon?
‘At Aegon, you have the possibility to create part of your own function. This way you can keep your own interests in mind. Furthermore, Aegon invests in innovation, what makes it easier to help our customers. I also like “Young Aegon”. This community organises many activities: parties, events, sport activities and a ski trip with 80 people. If you think you know your colleagues, you actually really get to know them after you’ve visited an après-skibar with them. Amazing!’
Do you want to get to know Aegon better? Join our career event on March 23th.
Economies, jobs and businesses are changing all the time. What will your contribution be to this change? Will you disrupt or accelerate? Get to know all about the difference between acceleration and disruption at the upcoming Aegon career event on March 23th. Register now for free @werkenbijaegon.nl!
