What is your role within RG?
I am a manager in the Outsourced | FD (“O|FD”) division. My role involves supporting the delivery of a fully outsourced finance function for a number of SMEs. This includes reviewing and presenting management information and annual financial statements to shareholders, providing corporate tax and VAT compliance and advisory support, managing my clients’ internal (and external) finance communications and forecasting cashflow. I help to manage the RG team and their workload whilst also reviewing how we can be more efficient by making use of the latest technology.
Tell me about your career to date…
My career in accountancy started with RG and 11 years later I am still here! Whilst studying for my degree in Maths at University, I joined RG as a placement student in my third year, which opened the door to return as a graduate in 2013 to train to become a Chartered Accountant.
I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2017 and was subsequently promoted to Manager in 2019 after growing and managing a portfolio of both audit and accounts clients.
I have since made the decision to work alongside Dan Cooper, our Head of Outsourced | FD, to support him with the growth of the division and to become a specialist in the sector of outsourced advice.
What makes RG different?
I believe what makes RG different for our clients is the range of services we offer and our advisory-based approach. We like to form strong professional relationships with our clients, and get to know them in detail, so that we can advise on every element of their financial affairs, as opposed to an annual conversation based on year-end financial statements.
From a staff perspective, the people I work with are super helpful and friendly and I have always felt supported by the partners and senior members of staff in my career progression.
My 3 most notable achievements to date would be….
My first would have to be qualifying with a first class degree in Maths! After achieving less than desirable results in first year (too many nights out, not enough study!) I was determined to achieve a 2:1 in order to come back for the graduate role here at RG, but I managed to surpass my own expectations!
Secondly, I am incredibly proud of qualifying as a chartered accountant, passing all my exams first time. Studying alongside working full time can be very challenging – which is why I decided I would do no more exams after obtaining my ACA qualification!
Finally, running the Great North Run a few years back has to be up there.
Tell us about your day so far…
I left the house at about 7:15am this morning in order to make it to the office around 7:30am. I like to get to the office early, not only to avoid rush hour traffic, but to also make a head start before the emails and phone calls start!
After a large coffee, I had a quick check of my “to-do” list and upcoming deadlines so I could prioritise my workload for the rest of the week.
This was followed by a review of our internal finance function emails, ensuring the inbox is clear and all emails responded to or dealt with. Next up I reviewed payment runs prepared by members of the team and sent these on to the client to request approval for payments to be set up.
The remainder of the day was largely spent reviewing 3 sets of connected company accounts with upcoming deadlines, interspersed with a few Teams calls with colleagues in the O|FD team and responding to emails from clients.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy cooking, walks with the dogs, and spending time with family and friends.
I am also very partial to a glass (or bottle) of wine!
And finally, leave us with one interesting fact about yourself…
Some people might be surprised to know I can be a little bit of an adrenaline junkie… having done two skydives, bungee jumps, white water rafting and most recently paragliding in the Swiss Alps!