From studying Accountancy & Finance at RGU solely due to their respected 3^rd year placement opportunity, I completed that year with a local CA practice who offered me a training role after graduating. Despite being a small firm I also undertook two secondment opportunities in my time with them; 4 months in San Francisco followed by 6 months in Guernsey. These experiences gave me the time to reflect that auditing was the same no matter whether you did it in the cold of Aberdeen or with warmer sand and sea on your doorstep so on my return I made my first move into an industry role, joining Stewart Milne Group in 2009 before moving onto manage the finance function of a smaller pre-revenue R&D company, in 2013.

Unfortunately the downturn in the oil price led to the funders withdrawing their support and my position was made redundant. During this time I met with the outsourced finance team at Johnston Carmichael with a view to handing over the role to them to manage until the company was fully wound up – this meeting didn’t quite achieve that objective, instead I was offered a role to join the JC team as assistant manager!

Whilst returning to practice hadn’t been my initial intention, I progressed to manager level and focused more on developing my Cloud accounting and software skills. This role also allowed me to make contacts in a variety of industries and this is how I first met the team at Norco as they considered options to change the provider of their outsourced finance function.

Shortly after this the pandemic hit and as life changed to working from home the role at JC changed significantly. Browsing LinkedIn one evening I came across a post from Andrew promoting a role that sounded very similar to one I’d helped JC quote for not long before…a few private messages followed and I found myself applying for the Finance Manager role at Norco.

I joined Norco in 2020 allowing them to bring the finance function back in house and ultimately improve many financial processes for the company. This led to my promotion to Director in August where I have been able to contribute more to the decision making of the management team and commit myself to being a part of Norco’s success going forward as we enter an exciting era for the company.

I am responsible for the full finance function at Norco so I enjoy the variety within the role and the ability to see the fuller picture of what is going on in the company. I’ve always thrived more in being able to understand all functions from a higher perspective in a business as opposed to feeling like a small cog in a large wheel.

I always expected to follow my Mum’s footsteps into Primary teaching. It was only in my 5^th year of Academy having elected to do a peer tutoring module supporting younger students, I realised my patience levels probably wouldn’t withstand the demands of 30+ children every day!

In the same year I needed another subject to fill my timetable and the accounting class had a space. Initially they weren’t going to let me jump straight into the higher class without having done the standard grade but fortunately a teacher spoke up for me – I ended that year with the best-in-class award and an unconditional offer to join the Accountancy & Finance course at RGU.

With advancements in technology, I believe the job of an accountant will shift to a more strategic and analytical focus.

While the core responsibilities of managing financial records and preparing reports will remain important, the use of automation and data analytics will become more prevalent.

Accountants will still require to have strong technical skills, but also the ability to analyse and interpret data to provide valuable insights and recommendations to their employer.

For me the pandemic was my first chance to work from home, having always been part of the office environment on a fairly strict 9-5 routine. With a toddler at home, this forced change offered me the opportunity to spend more time with my family and the flexibility to change the times I was sat at my desk to better suit their needs and be more present in their life.

Since lockdown I think the increased support of hybrid working has become the main advantage for many like me juggling a full-time role with raising a young family. I believe companies who embrace this will be the most successful in retaining good employees.

Firstly to think about your reasons for considering a job change. Be objective in listing out your pros and cons of your current position and avoid making decisions based on temporary emotions or frustrations.

If you do decide that changing jobs is the right move, my advice would be to assess what you actually enjoy doing but ultimately to trust your instincts and not just try to chase the dreams others around you may portray.

Don’t just assume higher education and qualifications are the only path into a professional career. An opportunity to get into the workplace, learn whilst working and benefit from the mentorship of experienced colleagues can be invaluable and 20+ years into my working life those certificates become a lot less important compared to the experience you can offer an employer.

I still want to achieve even greater financial growth and profitability for Norco by continuing to improve and optimise financial processes and procedures, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in financial reporting and forecasting.

Ultimately, my goal is to leave a positive and lasting impact on the company's financial performance and contribute to its overall success.

Family life is my main focus. With a six year old daughter and two year old son at home, myself and my partner Richie, like to get outside with them when the weather allows to burn off their energy in a park or go on a bear hunt in the forest.

Baking has also become an interest of mine in recent years, particularly for family events decorating birthday cakes in the theme of their latest interest.

In 2007 I was lucky enough to win 5 numbers plus the bonus ball on the National Lottery.

Whilst I did eventually treat myself to the new car and the nice holiday, my first purchase was a new Dyson hoover!