I didn’t have a traditional start to my accountancy journey. I started out in hospitality working for the Marriott hotel chain, but always had a passion for the numbers. I used to look at what the food costs were, how the menu was built up, what the room rates were, how we could save on wages.
After a year’s career break to go travelling, I decided to take the plunge into accountancy. I started in temporary jobs, including credit control and accounts payable, but was eventually fortunate enough to find a company willing to sponsor my ACCA studies. You have this idea that accountants do one thing, but I soon realised I could bring accountancy and the skills I’d learned in hospitality to different organisations.
I always wanted to run a street food business
I spent 10 years at this company before realising I wanted to go higher and become a financial controller. I wasn’t sure how to do that, especially as I work a four-day week. But I went to a lot of networking events and worked with different mentors before finally taking the plunge.
It was a bit daunting at first, moving from a large company to a smaller one. At Tropic Biosciences, everything was in-house, nothing was outsourced, so I had to learn how to communicate differently. I’m responsible for a lot more operations – it’s a different kind of pressure, but a good one because it’s you who must make the decisions. I’ve learned so much – it was a pivotal moment in my career.
I have my own mobile Tex-Mex catering business as well. I started it with my partner six years ago. My hospitality background means I appreciate the joy that fresh food can bring to people. I always wanted to run a street-food business, and this lets me show how my accounting skills can be transferred. There is so much I can bring to the business that I have learnt from my qualification.
The business is doing really well. Our focus is on attending local places and private parties. We are looking for larger commercial kitchen space to take on further bookings and employees. The success of the business is dependent on me and my partner. Creating that legacy for my family is important and shows how you can achieve anything with the right mindset.
Sometimes I go to Business Networking International events to meet other people
Running my own business makes networking really important. Sometimes I go to local Business Networking International events to meet other people, whether they’re accountants or other professionals, just to see what they’re up to and what’s happening locally.
Technology is one of the most significant challenges now. We are going to try using artificial intelligence to process invoices in future. This frees up my time to look at other pressing issues, such as changes in regulation around R&D tax credits. The threat is that organisations that widely adopt AI might start to reduce investment in courses and people. But you still need basic accounting skills – you need to programme the software and tailor it for your needs.
We recently brought our statutory reporting back in-house from the outsourced team. I had to put forward the business case for this, redo the cashflow workings, look at the tax position, make sure everything flows, and upload everything to the new software. It was a complex process, but one I’ve really enjoyed.
My advice for others is explore all areas. Keep up your skills and take any opportunity to learn, because you never know when those skills might become useful.
