ACCA’s new Career paths reimagined report highlights the gradual decline of the linear progression of finance professionals, and the rise of what it calls a ‘squiggly’ career path of frequent moves between employers and sectors. These twisting career paths are defined by opportunity – when something appealing or likely to move you forward comes up, you take it and see where it goes – but for Sophia Levell ACCA, the leapfrogging career path has been more a necessary consequence of her neurodiversity.
‘I realised early on that career progression had to come through jumps rather than a steady rise,’ she says. ‘I’m young and blonde, and staying put meant I would be seen as only that. Moving around helped me massively because it meant I could be seen differently.’
‘Having ADHD means craving that dopamine hit, and that pushes you on’
Finding her passion
Her ADHD neurodevelopmental condition, she explains, meant that while she was ‘quite academic’, she was ‘a nightmare’ at school. ‘I never really knew what I wanted to do and bounced all over the place.’ At the age of 16 she took an accounting course at college ‘and it just clicked. Finding a passion made all the difference. It was tunnel vision for me from then on.’
When she was a child, her father had introduced her to motocross racing, which gave her a much needed focus. She raced at national level but dirt-track competitions took a back seat once she set out on a career in accountancy. ‘Right from the start, I remember having like a physical feeling of wanting to be the best accountant I could be.’
For Levell, this meant dropping out of college and taking a job as a receptionist. ‘The company hired me because I told them that I would love to get into accounting or finance. Six months later the accounts assistant left, and they offered me the job.’
Within a year she was taking AAT exams, followed swiftly by ACCA. ‘I sat two exams every quarter because I just wanted to get them out of the way,’ she explains.
Having ADHD, she says, means ‘always craving that dopamine hit, and that pushes you constantly onto the next thing, pushes you to be better. One of my biggest fears in life is never trying or never knowing what could have happened.’
‘It was a massive risk. I mean, who is an interim CFO at 25?’
ADHD also means ‘I generally find it hard to sit still for more than two minutes’. As a result, a permanent role and steady progression was never likely to work.
‘I stayed in my last permanent role for about a year. I was learning a lot, but I can’t stick to one business unless people are going to progress me at lightning speed, which isn’t very likely. So I made a decision at 25 to become an interim CFO. Obviously, it was a massive risk. I mean, who is an interim CFO at 25?’
Wild card
But her youth, she believes, actually acted in her favour. ‘When I went for my first interim job, they only interviewed me because I was so young and they were intrigued. I was the wild card.’
What followed was a string of contracts with SME businesses in finance, the beauty sector and, at one point, a startup platform for AI-generated content. ‘Working with SMEs has really helped me,’ she says, ‘because it means I’ve been exposed to a lot of commerciality. I’m more of a strategic accountant than a technical one.’
‘How do you get finance to people who need it faster?’
A pivotal experience was working with Love Finance (which rebranded earlier this year as Lovey), a B2B lender and broker for SMEs set up in 2016 with the aim of simplifying the loans market for growing businesses. ‘It was the first role I had where I partnered closely with the CEO. I learned a lot about strategy, managing different departments and different personalities.’
It also ignited a passion for finance products. ‘They help people achieve what they want to achieve,’ she says. ‘I became really interested in how you get finance to people who need it faster. What does that mean for underwriting and checks? Is there a way of looking at the cashflow of applicants rather than their entire credit score?’
Going it alone
The result is her own company, Numiii, which she set up last year. It is an AI-powered marketplace that matches UK businesses with accounting, finance and debt funding specialists, and which she likens to ‘Deliveroo, only for finance and accounting services’.
‘Life is about taking risks – I’d rather lose everything than never live at all’
‘I really liked the idea of setting up a brokerage,’ she explains. ‘Throughout my career I’ve talked to business owners who don’t understand what they pay their accountants for. And I think that’s a shame. Finance can be scary for someone who doesn’t understand it. Businesses don’t necessarily know the difference between bookkeeping, accounting and financial planning – they just know they need help.’
It’s early days, but dozens of firms have signed up so far. In the meantime, Levell is continuing with interim work. ‘I’m in a very lucky position, having a strong background in finance. I always have a Plan B. But life is about taking risks – I’d rather lose everything 10 times over than never live at all.’
CV
2025
Founder, Numiii
2024
Interim CFO roles
2022
FD, Love Finance
2013–22
Various roles as management accountant, finance manager and interim FD
