Employee Accounts Payable
Employee Accounts Payable
Team Finance Operations
Works in Utrecht and from home
Lives in Nieuwegein
At VodafoneZiggo since January 2009
Making sure that VodafoneZiggo's suppliers get paid in full and on time: it's the responsibility of Angela Tewarie. She has a keen eye for all the ins and outs of invoices, and she helps suppliers put all the correct and relevant information on theirs. "Getting everything straight can be a bit of a puzzle, but I don't stop until everybody is happy!"
Caterers, leasing companies, property managers, content creators – VodafoneZiggo does business with a huge pool of suppliers across many sectors, and all the associated invoices pass the desk of Angela and her team. "Getting everything processed and paid by the due date is quite a challenge," she explains. "If an invoice doesn't 'come through' fast enough, I get in touch with the person in the company who has to approve it. And if something is wrong or incomplete, I find out what's needed so that approval can be swiftly granted. It's a bit like a puzzle in which the pieces are bits of information from several different sources, and I'm very good at solving puzzles like that. When a puzzle-invoice is all complete and ready to go, it gives me a wonderful buzz. Everybody's happy!"
"Each of us in the team is responsible for our own set of suppliers. Municipalities are my specialty. They send us invoices from contractors who install network infrastructure for new housing estates, for instance, or replace a damaged cable beneath a road in a busy town centre. It's my job to verify that the work has indeed been satisfactorily completed before I approve an invoice. Municipalities send all the relevant documentation along with the invoices, detailing the relevant construction projects, street names and costs incurred, making it easier for me to check that everything is in order. If I do find some anomaly, I contact the municipality to help them compile an invoice that is correct and complete. It's how we warrant bona fide bookkeeping."
Colleagues are extremely important to job satisfaction and Angela considers herself very lucky. "We have a lovely team. We're all very different in terms of age, background and interests, and that diversity makes for a wonderful atmosphere in the office. We've all been here for some time, so we know each other very well, share joys and sorrows and aren't afraid to crack a joke at each other's expense. And when things get busy, we back each other up, keeping at it together until we've successfully closed off the month again and can all go home at the same time. We take great pride in everything we achieve as a team."
A pleasant team is especially important to Angela. She was born deaf and has had to overcome more than a fair share of obstacles. "I've had difficulties with several past employers, but Ziggo has been great from Day 1. They had no experience whatsoever of employees with impaired hearing, but thanks to a fantastic manager, that changed very quickly when I came on board. At meetings and events like kick-offs, for instance, there's now always a signer present." Angela starts to smile. "As a result, more people in the company know me than the CFO. No, seriously, people mail me and start online chats when they need me, rather than picking up the phone. They know and understand my disability and that makes my life a whole lot easier."
"I am much more confident than I used to be and what was once no more than a dream, I now dare think about seriously: promotion opportunities. We have access to a whole host of courses and other educational materials and my manager has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and broaden my horizons. I'm looking into using my experience with disability in the workplace to help others in a similar position, perhaps at the HR Diversity Department. It's all very new and exciting, but one thing I do know is that my disability will never again be an obstacle to my growth and further development."
