Experience Report Niklas Barrenpohl

Controller Affiliates at thyssenkrupp rothe erde Germany GmbH

My background / my job

Following my apprenticeship as a banker, I decided to spend 6 months in Australia as part of a work & travel program.

Subsequently, I completed my studies in Finance, Accounting, Controlling & Taxes in Germany. During this time, I also worked as a student trainee for thyssenkrupp rothe erde for two years.

After my studies, thyssenkrupp rothe erde offered me a five-month internship at the Japanese subsidiary in Tokyo, where I was employed in the controlling department. Following this, I started working as a Controller Affiiates for the subsidiaries in Japan and Italy.

Additonally, I am doing a part-time master’s degree at FOM Essen.

The job as a controller for affiliated companies combines all disciplines from the areas of accounting, reporting and controlling, but also enables constant contact with our foreign colleagues.

In addition to working with the companies, I am responsible for special topics such as transfer pricing for thyssenkrupp rothe erde, the Global Engagement Tool as well as the global business partner reporting to thyssenkrupp AG.

My challenges

Being responsible for an Asian and a European subsidiary means working with two companies with very different legislations, mentalities and, above all, time zones. The language barrier is also challenging as the communication is only in English.

These challenges make my job interesting. I am a very open person by nature, I enjoy approaching people and speaking a foreign language. Therefore, it is something special for me to call my international colleagues almost every day. All of these tasks are a challenge that I am happy to face.

Besides my work, I am currently attending lectures three evenings a week. This is another challenge I like to face.

My typical working day

There is no typical day-to-day work. In addition to a number of reporting activities that are identical on a monthly or quarterly basis, a large part of my work consists of dealing with special and ad hoc topics. Furthermore and in relation with these topics, I am often in contact with various departments at thyssenkrupp AG.

 The collaboration with my colleagues within my department is very friendly, which makes coordination and teamwork much easier and creates a pleasant working atmosphere. In addition, the composition of the team is a colorful mix of different nationalities, cultures and age groups, so that the work remains exciting every day.

 No day is like the previous one.

Our slogan is „engineering. tomorrow. together.” Together means for me …

"Expertise. Forward thinking. Cohesion." That is how I would translate the slogan personally. thyssenkrupp is a group of companies which has long distinguished itself through its expertise in a broad product portfolio as a traditional company.

In my opinion, in a globalized world it is necessary above all to secure future viability and to think about the future through innovation and development. At thyssenkrupp rothe erde, we are therefore constantly working on innovative projects in order to adhere to this guiding principle. The cohesion and cooperation as a group of companies help to implement these goals in the best possible way and to remain leaders in our market segments.

My employer thyssenkrupp rothe erde

Through the opportunity of an internship in Japan, thyssenkrupp rothe erde showed me that ambitious employees are encouraged.

Thanks to the internship and my experience as a working student, the decision was easy for me to take the next step in my professional career with thyssenkrupp rothe erde as well.