Bashni

Bashni Govender has been with Royal HaskoningDHV for almost three years, joining in October 2019 as Finance Manager.

Since January 2022, she has filled the Head of Finance role, which she thoroughly enjoys.

 “For me, it’s the dynamic nature of the work. It’s constantly having new things to take on, seizing new opportunities, and dealing with quite challenging things."

"It’s been exciting because it's been a continuous learning journey over the past three years. I believe that every day is a chance to learn something new – if you’re learning, you’re growing. This role gives me a great sense of accomplishment, motivating me to take on new tasks. It’s quite diverse.”

Bashni believes she thrives thanks to the company’s incredible culture of across-the-board learning. “My team teaches me, and what's also important for me – and part of my role and responsibility – is to make sure I'm teaching them too. It gives me great pride watching my team members progress and upskill themselves. So as much as I've grown, I've seen my team grow as well, which is incredibly rewarding.”

Coming from a background in a listed company in the mining sector meant that joining RHDHV was a bit of a culture shock.

“It’s a very close community of people, and the warmth really comes through. That inclusive culture was really important to me when I joined because a lot of people wanted to share information, offer assistance, etc., and that’s something you don’t often get working in large, listed companies. It’s helped me open up a lot too. Here, people are respected for who they are, and you can chat to anybody – it is a really nice aspect of working here.”

Bashni is particularly proud of being part of a company that fully embraces EDI, as RHDHV does. “While we drive profitability, we also take on the responsibility of positively impacting the world. And this talks to enhancing society together. That’s important to me because it creates a wonderful sense of purpose. It’s also amazing to be part of a company that values its people, recognises young talent, and isn’t afraid to grow people.”

Besides being a “typical accountant”, Bashni also has a creative side.

“In my spare time, I do a lot of painting, and I love baking. It's quite different to my day job,” she laughs. “I do these incredible cakes for my kids’ birthdays, and I can be quite creative with cupcakes. I love any kind of art.”

And her advice to young professionals entering the finance world? “I would suggest that they always keep a growth mindset. Coming out of university, there's a lot of knowledge that you've gained, but be open to exploring and expanding that knowledge and be hungry to learn because that's what's going to drive your career progression. Keeping an open mind is so important because we often have these preconceived ideas of how things work, but the world is changing so much that we've got to adapt to that change and be open to different ways of doing things.”