I read an article at school that prompted me to become an accountant. It was about how an accountant made a calculation that had saved their company a phenomenal amount of money by leading them to change the length of a bolt that was too long. I think it was the idea of making a difference financially that inspired me.
I’ve spent half of my 30-plus years as an ACCA member working in practice and the rest within financial services. I was lucky enough to be involved in a startup, a sub-prime motor finance organisation, from its early days through to its later acquisition by GMAC and relocation to Cardiff. From there I became director of finance, continental Europe, for GMAC RFC, the mortgage arm of GMAC, and was involved in starting up its mortgage lending businesses in the Netherlands and Germany. I was seconded as CFO for a year to help steer a new venture, and finally worked as part of the strategy and investments team before deciding to relocate to the south-west of England.
I also get to help people, which is surely at the heart of everything we do as accountants
In 2007 I co-founded Securious, an independent cybersecurity company based in Exeter, with my husband. This was in response to the lack of opportunities for qualified cybersecurity talent in the south-west. We also believed we could provide a more ethical approach to helping organisations embed cybersecurity within their operations.
Our mission is to help clients protect their data and assets by empowering them to understand, own and become confident in optimising their cybersecurity. My accounting and auditing background enables me to quickly understand an organisation and identify important assets that are potentially at risk.
There have been more opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of the current situation
There are days when I have heart-breaking conversations with CEOs and business owners. They have suffered a breach and are trying to manage the immediate issues, while building a pathway back to normal, and helping to repair their reputations and build trust again. Other days I get to help develop new products and services.
The biggest challenge of the pandemic has been the transformation of many businesses to a purely digital environment. This has meant more opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of the current situation, where the priority has been being able to work remotely first and cybersecurity second. We are seeing the impact of this now.
I enjoy the fact that every day is different. I also get to help people, which is surely at the heart of everything we do as accountants. I have enjoyed providing opportunities for talent in our region and encouraging more women into our industry.
