When I started on my accountancy career, I was determined not to be a practitioner. It would, I thought, just be scratching the surface of business, whereas an accountant in business was there all day, every day, managing the operations, improving the systems and having more input than any auditor.
I struggled to get any accountancy work in either sector, though, after graduating with an accounting degree. I started working in retail instead. I was then approached by one of the managers, who told me about a relative looking for someone to join a local two-partner firm, so I made the move.
After a year I decided to take the next step and get qualified, as it seemed to open plenty of doors. To achieve my ultimate ambition of working as an accountant in business, I joined a larger practice, doing audit work. It gave me exposure to clients in a wide range of industries – from jewellers with million-pound pieces in their showrooms to an up-and-coming pet company – and three years later I moved to a property investment company.
You may only ever get one opportunity to do a stint overseas and it will teach you so much
I was married at this point and pregnant with my first child. My husband’s company then moved its operations to Cyprus and we moved with it. I joined KPMG, which had an office locally, gaining exposure to international as well as local clients. It nurtured my skills as a communicator.
After the birth of my second child, I moved to a corporate services company. It had clients in Cyprus as well as in places like Israel and the Caymans that needed accountancy facilities in Cyprus. Working with their auditors and the tax authorities on their behalf was a wonderful experience.
I realised that setting up my own practice would let me choose my own hours and still take care of my children
I would recommend anybody to do a stint overseas. The opportunity may only ever come up once and will teach you so much. The exposure you can get to international tax planning and the legalities in other countries is at another level. Living in a different culture is also a great learning experience.
By the time we moved back to the UK after five years in Cyprus, my career vision had changed completely. I realised that setting up my own practice would let me choose my own hours and still take care of my children, so that’s what I did. In the past four years or so, I’ve picked up the pace to build a standalone business – something I can sell within the next 10 years. By then I’ll be in my late 50s but if I’m still hungry to stay in the profession, I’ll do consultancy work and coaching.
There is so much admin, I sometimes feel I spend more time on that than on clients
Nowadays, my clients are owner-managed businesses and limited company directors working in service industries. The challenges they face are largely centred around cashflow and compliance – they often don’t realise they need to be VAT-registered or when they have to pay tax.
The challenge I face as a sole practitioner is that I’m wearing all the hats. The level of difficulty dealing with HMRC is also increasing all the time. In trying to make things easier through technology, HMRC is actually making it more difficult because its structures are not user-friendly. There is so much administration involved in running a practice that I sometimes feel like I spend more time on that than on client work. And client work is what I love doing – helping businesses achieve their goals and have confidence with their finances.
Outside of work, my biggest hobby has always been fitness. I’m up every morning at 6am for that. I also love to travel. My family takes up the rest of my time and I love that I can continue making them my highest priority while I am running my own practice.
