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"I very much enjoy my job and have, in fact, for all of my 27 years with the company. Ashland is a great place to work!"

Bob
Lead accountant
Ashland Inc.
Barendrecht, The Netherlands

Day in the Life

As lead accountant for Ashland Inc. in Barendrecht, The Netherlands, I am responsible for review and control of financial reporting for the Valvoline Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) divisions. I also supervise the European Shared Business Services
(ESBS)* accountants of Valvoline's EMEA affiliates.

There are a number of skills required for success in my job, but I believe the keys are flexibility, accuracy, communication, dedication, initiative, integrity, reliability and compliance.

I joined Ashland 27 years ago through the administrative department of Valvoline in Dordrecht, where I first discovered the pleasure of working with a dedicated group of young people toward a common goal.

I continue to maintain good business relationships with many of my early co-workers and still enjoy being part of a hard-working, dedicated team. Another drive for me is the constant change. It makes Ashland an interesting company and my job quite challenging. A lot of times it's not easy, but at least you don't get bored!

On a given day, I interact with my own group of accountants, controllers and accountants of other Ashland divisions and departments within the ESBS, and with personnel at Valvoline's EMEA headquarters, affiliate site personnel and Valvoline USA controllers.

The best part of my job would be a combination of my financial reporting responsibilities and personal contacts with employees inside and outside the ESBS. Ashland is a great place for those who enjoy working and communicating with a diverse group of colleagues - especially at the ESBS in Barendrecht, where there is a mixture of cultures and languages.

The most challenging part of the job is staying within our five-working-day financial reporting deadlines, despite all the ongoing changes within Ashland. Although accounting is pretty straightforward, this job requires a person who can also anticipate change, communicate well, show initiative and take responsibility, especially around the tight financial closing deadlines.

On average, I work about 60 hours a week. This is not a nine-to-five job! Every two or three months, I travel within Europe to our Valvoline affiliates to ensure compliance in financial processes and to assist or to advise in any local matters.

I have many good memories at Ashland. One of the best was my move from the Valvoline Netherlands office in Dordrecht to Ashland Services in Rotterdam. I suddenly had to deal with all the Valvoline locations in Europe and all other Ashland divisions. For sure, it was not an easy change, but it was certainly more challenging. It gave me a much broader perspective of Ashland as a company.

* The ESBS Center, located in Barendrecht, The Netherlands, provides finance, information technology, human resources, communications, legal and environmental, health and safety support to all Ashland Inc. divisions in Europe: Ashland Distribution, Ashland Performance Materials, Valvoline and Ashland Water Technologies.