A board year as Treasurer/Secretary at Asset | Accounting & Finance

In this article, Isa Brangers and Charlotte van der Veeke share their experiences as board members of Asset | Accounting & Finance.

Who are you?

Isa: My name is Isa Brangers and I am 21 years old. I am originally from Nederweert-Eind, but moved to Tilburg in 2022, at the beginning of the third year of my bachelor. When I moved here I immediately became active at Asset, first in the general events committee and later also in the sports committee of Asset | Accounting & Finance. Now one and a half years later, I have finished my bachelor in Business Economics and I want to start my master accountancy after my board year.

Charlotte: I am Charlotte van der Veeke and I am 19 years old. I am from Almelo, which is quite a distance from Tilburg. However, I chose to come to the beautiful Brabant and have absolutely no regrets. I am currently in the second year of my bachelor in Business Economics and joined A&F last summer. After being in the Orientation Committee for six months, I liked it so much that I decided to do a board year.

Why did you choose to do a board year at Asset | Accounting & Finance?

Isa: Based on the recommendation of my former roommates, I joined A&F, which immediately brought me into contact with many new, fun people. Soon my calendar filled up with all kinds of informal events. Initially, I was on the general events committee, where I still didn’t understand exactly what Asset | Accounting & Finance entailed. After six months, I decided to join the sports committee as well, which gave me a better idea of what was going on in the rooms. Initially, I was convinced that a board year wouldn’t be for me; it seemed too busy and I doubted whether I wanted this responsibility. However, I had almost completed my bachelor’s degree and the decision to choose a master’s was very close. I did have the idea that I would like to study Accountancy, but I didn’t know what this looked like in practice.  After hearing countless positive stories about board years, I decided to apply anyway, hoping to meet new people, organize great events, see different companies and finally make the right choice regarding my master’s.

Charlotte: I chose a board year because I want to develop myself on a personal level. I feel like I still have a lot to grow in certain areas and I didn’t manage to do this during my studies. Therefore, I think this is a good way to make my desired development possible. In addition, it is a welcome distraction from studying and I can fully dedicate myself to the association. Because I had such a good time last semester, I am looking forward to taking the association to the next level.
The choice for secretary is because I am very organized which is convenient for this position. The best thing about my job is that you can ensure everything stays neat. While the rest of the board members are busy completing their tasks, you can make sure that those tasks come together properly. You take minutes during the board meeting, you take note of the new members that the Vice-Chairman brings in, you make the annual planning for the organized events of the other directors (and your own, of course) and you can pick up smaller tasks from them if they don’t have time for them. This is how, little by little, you lift the association to the next level.

What does a week as Treasurer/Secretary look like?

Isa: As a Treasurer, you are responsible for all the finances within Asset | Accounting and Finance. At the beginning of the year you set the budget, which you keep updating throughout the year. What I find very interesting is that almost everything costs money, so you are involved in all the decisions. Unfortunately, sometimes you are forced to be strict and reject interesting but overpriced ideas. On the other hand, of course, you can occasionally bring good news if there is room in the budget left for a spontaneous drink. I also coordinate four more committees: Activities- Sports-, Investment Night and Lustrum Committee. With these, there are weekly meetings, in which you work together towards the events. What I like about this is the variation. With the Investment Night committee, you work all year towards a big formal event, while with the activities and sports committee, you focus on small informal activities for active members. As a nice bonus, we are celebrating our anniversary this year. So I like the challenge of being responsible for this series of major events together with the committee. It is great to see that such a large group of members and former members attend our activities and that we can share this experience together.
In my opinion, a board year is a unique experience where on the one hand you carry a lot of responsibility, but at the same time you have a lot of room for your own interpretation. It allows you to build a large network both formally and informally. One of the biggest advantages of a board year, in my opinion, is the alternation between formal and informal events. After a formal event, it’s always nice to have drinks with the other board members and board members. However, drinks on evenings before formal events are not so recommended, but these are part of it too!

Charlotte: As secretary, I am involved in various tasks. One of these is the weekly Secretary Meeting on Wednesday afternoons, where you get together with all the secretaries of the other departments to keep all administrative matters in order.
In addition, around this time of the year, we as secretaries are busy preparing the new annual schedule, which is also an important part of my duties. In doing so, you ensure that next year’s events have a set date and that the annual planning of Asset | Accounting & Finance is aligned with the other departments so there is no overlap of events.
Another important part is keeping the records of the (active) members in order. This is sometimes quite a difficult job, because sometimes it is not clear who does or does not belong, for example. However, it is very satisfying once everything is in order and you can proudly say that you fulfill an important task within the board.
Furthermore, the secretary has the committees StudyTour and Faces Online. These are two large and important committees for which you have a meeting approximately every week. During the StudyTour you go away for two weeks to a place outside Europe and do both formal and informal activities. Faces Online is our platform where weekly articles related to Accountancy or Finance are posted. So these are two committees with a lot of responsibility and as secretary you have to be able to bear this. But in the end, you can be incredibly proud that you have been able to coordinate those two committees so successfully.

Final words

Isa: When I started my board year, I had no idea that I would get so much out of it. It certainly didn’t always go smoothly, but that’s probably no surprise to anyone. As a result, I haven’t regretted my choice for a moment and would recommend it to anyone. It has been a year in which I have learned an enormous amount professionally, made valuable friendships and most of all had an enormous amount of fun. I have had experiences that I will never forget and am also still incredibly looking forward to upcoming events.

Charlotte: I would definitely recommend a board year. I have not regretted my decision for a second and am very grateful that I can develop in this way and meet new people. You learn to plan more efficiently, cooperate with other people (even if that cooperation doesn’t always go smoothly) and what it’s like to keep an association running and improve it. I appreciate this opportunity and will make the most of this year.