Angelica Sarmiento

05:20 AM                                                                                          

I woke up at the sound of my alarm clock beeping. However, I automatically snoozed it for another 10 minutes. I usually do this to gather my thoughts before getting out of my bed. I had 2 slices of bread for breakfast and took a bath afterwards. I left my house at 6:30 am to avoid the traffic rush.

07:00 AM

I arrived at the office at 7:00 am and noticed that there were only a few people. There were many empty seats due to the skeletal schedule and the work-from-home setup. I got my coffee from the coffee machine in the office. As I sip on my cup of coffee, I relaxed and gradually set my mind on a work mode.

I started to organize the accounting documents on the top of my table for filing. It’s been almost a month when I last reported to office since my work can usually be done at home. The scanned documents for recording are forwarded to me in advanced through e-mail.

08:30 AM

My routine usually includes checking of the updates in Workplace and responding to e-mails from last night. I revisited and updated my outstanding to-do list for the week in my MS Teams planner. I set up a timeline for tasks/projects assigned to me to track to my progress. I also sent follow up
e-mails on my requests that are already due based on my planner.

10:00 AM

One of my responsibilities include monthly bank reconciliation. Every Friday, I check if there are possible missing bank entries in our accounting system (SAP). I flagged the bank accounts which might have upload errors especially those that have agreement with the bank for automatic posting. Possible bank upload errors are communicated with our Cash and IT department.

In preparation of our quarterly report, I updated the mapping of some subsidiaries’ balances in our prior year consolidated worksheet. I also prepared some of the parent company’ schedules that are required to be disclosed in the quarterly report.

12:00 PM

A one-hour break time! I reheated my packed lunch and had a quick catch up with my colleagues while waiting for our food to be reheated. Of course, we did not forget to follow the COVID-19 protocols. We just ate at our designated working area for safety purposes. While waiting for the end of our break time, I decided to browse through the updates on stock market. I also browsed my newsfeed for memes and videos that create positive vibes.

1:00 PM

I continued working on the schedules for the quarterly report. I also assisted in printing out documents for statutory filing. A delivery arrived afterwards – a free drink from our Controller! The Okinawa Crème Brulee is such a sweet treat perfect for an afternoon dessert.

2:00 PM

It’s officially the first day of Transforming Leadership Capacity (TLC) program for Finance which is provided by the company. It is defined by the organizers as an on-the-job development acceleration program for emerging leaders who are driven to grow themselves, the business, and the organization sooner.

Our topic was about personal leadership facilitated by our very own Chief Financial Officer. He shared his personal stories which showed his vulnerability. We learned many useful insights during the program. One of the messages I could personally relate to is we all just need someone to trust and push us to become better and achieve greater things. That would be the starting point. It is then up to us to exert effort for the dreams we want to achieve despite the challenges and fears we are going to face.

4:30 PM

I received accounting documents for recording. I ran through the documents and input the pro-forma entries and supporting computation in MS Excel. Then, I revisited my planner and marked the tasks I have completed.

5:00 PM

Time to pack up! The admin personnel gave our monthly supply of vitamins and face masks before we left the office. On my way home, I put my mind to rest and looked up at the sky and the surroundings.

6:00 PM

When I got home, I immediately took a quick shower and had dinner with my family. I usually spend the night by watching Netflix shows and browsing my social media newsfeed. Before sleeping, I read daily devotions to lift my spirit and strengthen my faith in Him.