Dax Richards will take back to St Helena what he learns over the next three months. Picture: ROB CURRIE (00893519)

IT took five days on a boat, a long-haul flight and another boat trip to get here, but now an accountant from St Helena is settling in well to his new role with the States of Jersey.

Dax Richards, a senior accountant for the government of St Helena, is on a three-month secondment in the Island to learn more about how larger jurisdictions deal with their finances.

It is hoped the 29-year-old, who is working in the corporate finance department of the States, will be able to take back what he has learned to St Helena.

St Helena is one of the most remote islands in the world and has a population of just over 4,000 people, even though it is a similar size to Jersey. It is so remote that Mr Richard’s journey to the UK included a five-day journey by boat to Cape Town in South Africa, and then the long-haul flight to the UK.

And although Mr Richards, who moved to Jersey on 4 January, has spent time studying in the UK, life in St Helier is proving somewhat different from what he is used to in St Helena.

‘I have been in the UK about six months so have got used to the weather now,’ he said. ‘St Helena is very warm – it rarely drops to below 12 degrees! But I was here when it snowed in January and it was very interesting to see the closure of the schools and the disruption. We would probably have a similar situation in St Helena if it ever snowed because we are just not used to it.’

Currently Mr Richards is helping the States staff to work through their end-of-year accounts and he is hoping to be able to put into practice what he has learned when he returns to St Helena in a couple of months. ‘Anything I can learn from the experience which is suitable to our situation I will take back, and there are a lot of issues that I can see we can improve on,’ he said.