Vital - ICAEW.com

STUDY
WORK
LIFE
ISSUE 59
JANUARY
2014
icaew.com/vital
VITAL
“THE CHIMP IS AN EMOTIONAL MACHINE THAT WILL HIJACK YOU IF YOU ALLOW IT TO” PAGE 25
Exam technique
Guide to passing
the e-assessments
Happy new (tax) year
Everything you need
to know about the
Finance Act 2013
How to network
Transform yourself into a
proficient networker
Knock, knock...
What ACA students can
learn from comedians
Direct to
the top
Julie Richings on
how she became
a finance director
when she was
just 28 years old
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STUDY
WORK
LIFE
Contents
ISSUE 59
JANUARY
2014
icaew.com/vital
VITAL
“THE CHIMP IS AN EMOTIONAL MACHINE THAT WILL HIJACK YOU IF YOU ALLOW IT TO” PAGE 25
Exam technique
Guide to passing
the e-assessments
Happy new (tax) year
Everything you need
to know about the
Finance Act 2013
How to network
Transform yourself into a
proficient networker
Knock, knock...
What ACA students can
learn from comedians
Issue 59
January 2014
Direct to
the top
Julie Richings on
how she became
a finance director
when she was
just 28 years old
THE
RELUCTANT
NETWORKER
22
THE
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDER
“Being the only
female in a high
level role can be
a challenge,
particularly
when it comes
to networking”
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: FELICITY MCCABE
THE
CONSUMMATE
COMMUNICATOR
Sarah Case, the first
female equity partner
at Broomfield &
Alexander
04
Viewpoint
06
Update
ICAEW news and events
08
Technology
Three of the best finance apps
09
Q&A
Andrea Dunhill, ICAEW London
and South East regional director
10
Comment
Kam Takhar, social
entrepreneur
VITAL JANUARY 2014
STUDY
WORK
11
18
Revise well
Cover story
Why practising past papers is
the secret to exam success
Julie Richings, RMG Networks
13
Happy new tax year
Key changes and updates to
the Finance Act 2013
22
How to network
Master the art of networking
25
Career self-help
14
Our pick of the best guides
ACA tutor Anna Henderson on
how to pass the e-assessments
26
Mind mapping
Recipe for success
16
How to make sense of big ideas
Sneak peak into how exam
papers are set and marked
Stand up
What next?
34
LIFE
30
Health & wellbeing
Does chocolate really give you
spots? The truth behind six
health myths
32
Student societies
Catch up with your local
student society
34
The last word
Sarah Case on being her firm’s
first female equity partner
28
When comedian Keith Palmer
met a group of Vital readers
3
EDITOR’S LETTER
Welcome to Vital
Happy new year from Vital. This issue is
crammed with tips that will help you revise
efficiently, become a dazzling networker
and pass your e-assessments with aplomb.
Whoever said that accountants aren’t funny was
wrong. In this issue, we sent a panel of ACA
students and newly-qualified accountants on a
stand-up comedy course. Laughs aside (and
believe us, there were many), the experience
equipped them with top-notch public speaking
and presenting skills. Best of all, organiser (and
comedian) Keith Palmer has rounded up some of
his most helpful tips for Vital readers on page 29.
This month, we also spoke to some of the most
groundbreaking women in the industry. Sarah
Case talks about how she became the only female
equity partner in her practice’s history (page 34) and Andrea Dunhill
explains how she helped build the profession in Russia (page 9). Plus our
cover star Julie Richings discusses on page 18 how she was made finance
director at just 28 years old (yes, really). And how, last year, she was
recognised by the Queen for her contributions to the industry.
But we’re also mindful that, with Christmas firmly behind us, now is the
season for work, work, work. To equip you well for your exams, we have
devised a revision action plan (page 11) and a behind-the-scenes sneak peek
into how the exam process works – from the moment the questions are
written to the second your marks are decided (page 16).
Finally, and to help you beat the January blues, we have included two
specialist articles. First, we have rounded up the best career self-help books
and pulled out the most useful tips that will help you tackle any workplace
dilemma (page 25). Plus we spoke to a panel of nutrition experts to answer
the big health questions of the year. For example, are new year detoxes
actually good for you? Turn to page 30 for the answer.
As ever, we love your feedback and suggestions so email us any time on
[email protected] or tweet us using #VitalMag. Can’t wait to hear from you.
THE TEAM
Marie Lake
Vital editor
Alex Collins
Vital assistant editor
CONTRIBUTORS
Guilhem Alandry
Peter Bartram
Sarah Case
Mark Channon
Alison Coleman
Claire Coleman
Francesca Cotton
Richard Cree
Amy Duff
Andrea Dunhill
Matt Dyson
Richard Eckersley
Anna Henderson
Sally Jones
Felicity McCabe
Dawn Needle
Tina Nielsen
Gareth Philips
Laura Powell
Hazel Rogers
Mark Shelton
Kam Takhar
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[email protected]
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Twitter: @ICAEW_Talk
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Marie Lake
Vital Editor
Vital is produced on behalf of ICAEW by Progressive Customer Publishing, No.7 Carmelite Street, London, EC4Y 0AN.
T: +44 (0)20 7936 6400. progressivecp.com. Contact: [email protected]
© ICAEW 2013. All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors; ICAEW
does not necessarily share their views. ICAEW and the author(s) will not be liable for any reliance you place on
information in this publication. If you want to reproduce or redistribute any of the material in this publication, you
should first get ICAEW’s permission in writing. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or
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author(s). Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy, ICAEW, the publishers and author(s) cannot accept liability
for errors or omissions. Details correct at time of going to press.
To comment on your magazine, please email [email protected]
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4
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
You and your views
Tell us what you’ve been up to by email,
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or icaew.com
WE LIKE!
Blogs
Right then,
revision: let’s get
to it. #ACA
@ICAEW
TED TALKS: MICHAEL PORTER
How businesses can help solve
social problems
The world today is full of problems: Access
to water. Climate change. Deforestation.
Pollution. Lack of skills. Lack of food and
healthcare. Michael Porter believes that
businesses should be part of the solution.
In other words, they should make it their
business to create profitable solutions
to societal problems. Here’s how.
Sooo what
happened to
the last 3.5hrs?!
#aca #nervous
Tweets
Three down,
twelve to go.
#aca #happy
Well that
didn’t quite go
to plan #icaew
#aca #finals
First exam: Passed!
#EYSchoolLeaver
#ICAEW
bit.ly/solving-socialproblems
WIN A TWO-NIGHT STAY
WITH INTERCONTINENTAL
HOTELS GROUP
twitter.com/economiamag
IN THE NEW ISSUE
OF ECONOMIA…
Naina Lal Kidwai, head
of HSBC India, talks
about the glass ceiling
Developing the
profession in Asia
South Korea at a glance
Japan’s PM, Shinzo
Abe, on Abenomics
Extract: The Thoughts
of Chairmen Now
Time management: the
rush to meet the online
return deadline
Martyn Jones discusses
the value of audit
Heidi Harris on social
enterprise clients
Asian vacations special
POLL RESULTS
InterContinental Hotels
Group is delighted to offer
one lucky ACA student the
opportunity to win a
two-night stay at any IHG
hotel in the world.
IHG is an international
hotel company with more
than 4,600 hotels across
nearly 100 countries. You can
depend on its nine great
brands for a hotel that suits
your travel needs or tastes.
For your chance to win free
accommodation for two
nights at any IHG hotel in the
world, answer the following
question: How many hotel
brands does InterContinental
Hotels Group have?
Email your answer and name
to [email protected] by 7
February 2014. The name of
one lucky winner will be
drawn at random. The prize
will be redeemed through
IHG’s Rewards Club Points.
70,000 Rewards Club Points
will be issued, which can be
used for the two free nights
at any IHG hotel, excluding
InterContinental Resorts.
There is no expiry date. To
request terms and conditions,
email [email protected]. For
IHG hotel discounts, visit
icaew.com/memberrewards
What profession is
most likely to be
replaced by advances
in technology and
artificial intelligence?
37%
Retail/
Salesperson
25%
Pilot
FERRARI TRACK DAY COMPETITION WINNER
After a new Vital magazine record for the number of entries to a
competition, Harriet Wileman of PwC in Birmingham was selected
at random as the winner. Have fun in the driving seat, Harriet.
17%
Doctor/Nurse
13%
Accountant
Follow ICAEW on
Twitter: @ICAEW_Talk
LinkedIn group:
ICAEW Students
Join Vital on Facebook:
Students@ICAEW
Visit: icaew.com/
studentcommunity
8%
Teacher
VITAL JANUARY 2014
5
In review: 10 highlights
1
FREE EXCEL
TRAINING
That famous financial blogger James
Kwak has called Microsoft Excel “one
of the greatest, most powerful, most
important software applications of all
time”. So, to make sure you’re getting
the most out of it, ICAEW’s IT Faculty
has devised a new Excel training aid
specifically for ACA students. Whether
you’re already a whizz at Excel or
an absolute beginner, the training
programme will be tailored to you and
help you improve your spreadsheet skills.
Register now and try it for yourself. You’ll
get free access until 31 December 2014
at icaew.com/students-excel
2
NEW YEAR,
NEW WEBINARS
They’re monthly, live and free. And with more
than 4,000 registrations to listen live in 2013,
they’re also popular. So sign up to the ICAEW
online seminars (webinars) for 2014. Designed
to help students develop skills. The following
subjects, among others, will be discussed.
Neuro linguistic programming
Networking
Writing and grammar
The power of PowerPoint
Principles of project management
Register at icaew.com/acawebinars
3 CONFIDENCE HITS
AN ALL-TIME HIGH
The business confidence index has hit its
highest level in 10 years, signalling a
significant rise in optimism. Q4 of the
ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business
Confidence Monitor (BCM) predicted
a fifth consecutive quarter of growth. The
BCM index stands at +31.7, up from +24.0
in Q3 2013, its highest level in the ten
years that the BCM has been running.
For more information visit icaew.com/bcm
or icaew.com/economicinsight
6
4
BRITISH ACCOUNTANCY AWARDS 2013:
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to all winners and nominees at the British Accountancy Awards 2013. Winners
were announced at a prizegiving ceremony at The Pavilion at the Tower of London on 20
November. The prize for global firm of the year was scooped by Grant Thornton, and national
firm of the year went to MHA Macintyre Hudson. ICAEW member Leslie Cole of BDO won New
Accountant of the Year. For a full list of winners, visit britishaccountancyawards.co.uk
5
TWO BIG DATES
FOR THE DIARY
19 March The UK Budget
Budget day puts months of
speculation about political
policy to rest when we hear
the Chancellor’s penultimate
speech to the House of
Commons before a general
election in May 2015.
12 June FIFA World Cup
The next World Cup will no
doubt leave a lasting
impression on the sporting
world. But what about the
economic legacy? As with
many major sporting
events, the impact will be
great. Just take the 2012
Olympic Games, which
gave the UK economy a
£9.9bn boost. The 2010
World Cup also boosted
South Africa’s economy by
a reported 3.6bn Rand
(£214m). Brazil might be
the world’s sixth largest
economy, but growth has
slowed since 2011 so bring
on FIFA – and that
much-needed economic
boost.
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
NEWS & EVENTS
ICAEW Students
6
Students@ICAEW
TAX FACULTY COMPETITION
Fancy winning £1,500 cash and a set of Tolley Yellow and Orange handbooks?
Then enter the ICAEW Tax Faculty essay competition, launched in conjunction
with Tolley. Simply write an essay of between 2,000 and 3,000 words about
some of the key issues facing those running the UK tax system. Visit
bit.ly/1eag103 for the list of prizes, rules and titles on which you can write.
The competition is open to anyone under 30. Deadline is 1 March 2014.
icaew.com/
studentcommunity
@ICAEW_Talk
DATES FOR
YOUR DIARY
24 January
Exam results released –
December Professional Stage
and Professional Level
12 February
8
TRAINING FILE
TIP
When you next log into your ICAEW
online training file, please avoid using
the navigation buttons for your internet
browser. For example using back or
forward buttons can delete content you
have not saved. icaew.com/trainingfile
Exam entry deadline – March
Professional Stage and
Professional Level
17–19 March
Exams – March Professional
Stage and Professional Level
Download the full set of dates
at icaew.com/acaplanner2014
ACA
TRAINING
WEBINARS
9
ACA STUDENTS
CELEBRATED AT
CYPRUS AWARDS
ICAEW president Martyn Jones
congratulated 150 ACA students and seven
prizewinners at the Cyprus annual graduation
and prize-giving ceremony in Nicosia on 6
November. It was a lively evening with family,
friends, employers and tutors celebrating the
students’ success.
13 February
MIND MAPPING MEMORY
MASTERCLASS
Learn techniques to create
highly-effective mind maps
4 March
MANAGING PEOPLE AND
CLIENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME
7
What is management? How
should I communicate with
clients? We’ll answer these
important career questions
WOULD YOU BUY
COUNTERFEITS?
CORBIS
A whopping 90% of us believe that
buying counterfeit goods is morally
wrong – but that doesn’t stop us. More
than 50% of those surveyed admitted to
having bought some form of fake
product, according to a study by PwC
that assessed attitudes and familiarity
with counterfeit goods in the UK. It
discovered that:
18% of respondents say they
sometimes buy fake alcohol
16% say they buy fake medicines
For the full report, visit
bit.ly/counterfeit-goods
VITAL JANUARY 2014
10
PLANET
START-UP
Interested in the issues surrounding
innovation? Then you might also be
interested to learn that BRICS economies
have seen start-up levels surge at seven
times the rate of those in the G7 since the
start of the 2008 crisis, according to a RSM
global survey. And despite the UK’s dismal
RSM showing (+0.7% since the beginning
of the financial meltdown), it also remains
a hotspot for EU venture capital. To read
the full article, visit bit.ly/vital-startups
8 April
NETWORKING – HOW TO
WORK A ROOM
How to network confidently
27 May
INTRODUCTING NEUROLINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING
Learn about NLP and how it
can improve your
communication skills
To find out more, visit
icaew.com/acawebinars
7
TECHNOLOGY
Wealth of technology
SAVVY TRADING
MILLIONAIRE CLUB
BRAIN TICKLING
ALPHATRADER, £350
IVIP BLACK, £699.99
DEDUCE GRANDMASTER, £100
There are so many trading apps on
the market, it’s difficult to know
which to download. What makes
this one special is that it allows you
to track stocks and shares using a
maths model based on Modern
Portfolio Theory, a Nobel Prizewinning system that maximises
profit and reduces risk by cleverly
clustering investments. Perfect for
serious investors, it determines if a
portfolio is worth the effort by
calculating its ‘Alpha’ value. Got
£350 lying around, (plus spare
change for trading)? Then download
it at wisdomone.com.hk
It calls itself a lifestyle management
service. In plain English? It’s a cross
between a personal butler and a
private member’s club. Once inside
this exclusive app club, you will be
able to make reservations at
guest-list-only restaurants and have
chauffeured limousines and chilled
sushi on tap. It also promises VIP
treatment at hotels; think free
upgrades, surprise gifts and
welcome packs. There’s just one
catch. Before downloading it, you
must first prove that your income
or assets exceed £1m…
ivipworld.com
This eight-move economics game is
a cross between chess and a jigsaw
puzzle – and is perfect for anyone
with a maths-tuned brain. The board
is divided into squares, much like a
chessboard. Each player takes it in
turns to place their pieces (known
as queens) on the squares but not in
the same row, column or diagonal.
The aim is to make sure you’re not
the last player to fill the board.
There is also an international
leaderboard where you can
compare your score with other
players around the world.
sadtoy.com
BUT IF YOU DON’T HAVE MONEY TO BURN…
Vital rounds up the specs of five of the best budget tablets
TESCO
HUDL
PRICE**: £119
SCREEN SIZE: 7 inches
PPI*: 242
STORAGE: 16GB
BATTERY LIFE: 9 hours
8
ASUS GOOGLE
NEXUS 7
PRICE: £199
SCREEN SIZE: 7 inches
PPI: 323
STORAGE: 16GB
BATTERY LIFE: 9 hours
APPLE IPAD
MINI 16GB
PRICE: £249
SCREEN SIZE: 7.9 inches
PPI: 163
STORAGE: 16GB
BATTERY LIFE: 10 hours
ARGOS BUSH
MYTABLET
PRICE: £99.99
SCREEN SIZE: 7 inches
PPI: 169
STORAGE: 8GB
BATTERY LIFE: 5 hours
AMAZON KINDLE
FIRE HDX
PRICE: From £199
SCREEN SIZE: 7 inches
PPI: 323
STORAGE: 16GB
BATTERY LIFE: 11 hours
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
*PPI – PIXELS PER INCH **PRICES CORRECT IN NOVEMBER 2013
Three of the most innovative (not to mention priciest)
economics and finance apps on the market
Q&A
The Q&A
Andrea Dunhill, ICAEW London
& South East regional director,
speaks to Vital magazine about
her career in teaching and
accountancy’s role in the world
Q
A
What was your first role in
accountancy?
I started out in a four-partner
practice in Leeds. I loved the
variety of going from one firm to
another and seeing different
situations. I worked with a lot of local
traders. In nearby Bradford, there was
still a wool industry and consequently
wool-related suppliers and services,
and a lot of engineering firms.
Q
A
Why did you decide to go
into teaching?
After gaining the ACA, I joined
PwC in London and stayed for
three years. I then spent three years at
the Audit Commission, where I was
involved in education audits of the
Inner London Education Authority.
That sparked my interest in education.
In total, I spent 22 years teaching —
first at Nescot College and later at
Kingston Business School. I liked
engaging with young people and
sharing ideas about accountancy.
DAN MURRELL
Q
A
Why did you decide to teach
in Russia?
Margaret Thatcher established a
foundation for engaging Russian
society with business skills when I was
working at Kingston University in
London. The University was involved
from the early stages, which
eventually led to Kingston Business
School delivering the MBA to Russian
students.
VITAL JANUARY 2014
Q
A
What was your experience of
working in Russia?
I worked there for 13 years and
really enjoyed it – the students
are first rate. When I arrived in 2000,
Moscow was coming out of a difficult
recession and, on weekends, the
shops were all closed so there was
nowhere to buy food.
Q
A
What did you learn from
teaching overseas?
The importance of working
across cultures; it can benefit
many people and there is always
something to learn.
Q
A
What role does accountancy
play in the world?
Accountancy is not just a passive
recording of past events – it
plays a part in changing the course of
history because it enables processes,
such as the industrial revolution, to
happen. Accounting also helps people
feel confident that activities are being
regulated and accounted for.
Q
A
How can accountants be
more sustainable?
Accountants are experts in
reporting organisational
financial activities and so are well
placed to use these skills in other
ways. The Global Reporting Initiative
encourages organisations to report
not only their economic activity but
also their social and environmental
activities. The International Integrated
Reporting framework takes a similar
view that an organisation’s other
activities should be reported.
Accounting helps
people feel confident
that activities are
being regulated and
accounted for
Q
A
What role has ICAEW played
in your career?
Quite a big one. I have always
been very engaged and I
volunteered before I joined the staff
six months ago. I was also a district
society president; a Council member;
a member of the Learning and
Professional Development Board; and
I liaised with the Student Council.
Q
A
What advice would you give
to students who want to
progress in their careers?
Networking is important, as is
being engaged with a
professional body, even when you
are focused on passing exams.
Developing and maintaining
relationships are also key skills;
traditional accounting skills need to be
well-practised and applied alongside
scepticism and objectivity.
9
COMMENT
Intelligent optimism
fter graduating with a degree in
business and marketing from
City University Business School
in 1990, I joined Coopers & Lybrand (now
PwC), where I qualified as an ICAEW
Chartered Accountant. I knew it would
open a range of opportunities and, like
most people who take this route, I have
never regretted it for a moment.
I enjoyed the camaraderie of those first
few years of work. With my degree it
made sense for me to specialise in
working for financial services clients. One
client was Goldman Sachs and, not long
after qualifying, I joined the firm on
secondment, based in London. That led to
a permanent position and, eventually,
stints in New York, Hong Kong and Japan.
I thoroughly enjoyed working and living
in these exciting places and doing lots of
travelling. But after a decade I started to
find it unfulfilling. Goldmans was a great
place to work, I was doing well and was
being very well rewarded, but there is
more to life than being well paid.
Having returned to London with
Goldman Sachs, I knew that I needed a
new challenge. Around this time my
brother, a qualified doctor who had left
the NHS and was working in the private
sector, was also looking to start something
new. He kept talking about an incident
that had stayed with him from his time in
the NHS: he encountered a patient with
such severe learning difficulties, he
seemed to only be able to communicate
with the help of a carer. But when my
brother visited the patient a few days later
A
10
when the carer wasn’t there, he realised
that the patient was perfectly able to
think and talk for himself.
This led us to launch Noble Care, a
company offering individualised care to
those with learning disabilities. We now
run five services across the West
Midlands. They are all purpose-built
homes and we work really hard to create
a homely atmosphere. Many of the people
we support have spent much of their lives
in hospitals or far from their families. We
believe they deserve the opportunity to
make the same choices and lead the same
types of lives as us and our aim is to
ensure they achieve some independence.
The simple truth is that long spells in
hospital are not good for anyone in the
long term.
Of course, this sort of care requires
substantial investment to recruit staff that
really care, to equip them with the skills
to perform their jobs well and then to
develop and retain them. The trouble we
face in a fragmented sector is that some
providers lower their prices to win
contracts, then cut corners.
We approach it in a different way and
focus on the outcomes for a person. We
know that if we can equip a person with
I enjoyed working in
these exciting places
but, after a decade,
I started to find
banking unfulfilling
independent living skills, such as
managing their money and cooking for
themselves, the amount of care that
person will require will reduce and the
costs to the public purse decrease.
The combination of my accountancy
training and my brother’s medical
background means we have the perfect
blend of skills to provide great care in a
cost-effective way. Over time we have
both become more comfortable crossing
into each other’s territory, but it’s always
clear that I’m the one with the business
and accountancy background. There’s a
certain discipline in terms of how you
approach a business issue that the
training instills in you that you never lose.
The last few years have been testing for
everyone in the health sector as budgets
have come under increased pressure. We
have still managed to grow and we are
looking to develop new services. As an
entrepreneur you have to find the
opportunities in any situation; businesses
that have survived the last few years will
be in a strong place to move on and grow
as recovery gathers speed.
I firmly believe that entrepreneurial
businesses run by accountants with a
strong social compass do well because
there’s a blend of skills and attitude that
lead to intelligent optimism and cautious
risk-taking. You need to be brave enough
to seize the moment, but cautious enough
to weigh up the data and analyse the
situation. That analytical prowess is
something the ACA drills into you, even if
optimism is something you can’t teach.
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
MARTYN CROOKSTON
After qualifying, Kam Takhar
pursued an international career
in investment banking, then
returned to the UK to launch a
chain of specialist care homes.
He explains why accountants
make good social entrepreneurs
STUDY PAST PAPERS
Preparing for exams?
ICAEW provides
resources for all ACA
exams. Visit the exam
resources link at
icaew.com/dashboard
for:
PAST EXAM PAPERS
SAMPLE MARK SCHEMES
EXAM WEBINARS
SYLLABUSES
TUTOR ARTICLES
EXAMINER FEEDBACK
STUDY GUIDES
CORBIS
HOW TO NEVER
FAIL AN EXAM
…Or why practising past papers
will help you improve your marks
and perfect your time-planning
VITAL JANUARY 2014
11
W
hen it comes to exams, trainee
chartered accountants tend to
make the same mistake. They
assume that accountancy exams are similar
to university exams - and that they can be
passed with a dollop of effort and a
modicum of original thought.
What many fail to realise is that the level of
commitment and the necessity of acquiring
such a wide range of practical knowledge will
have a huge impact on their lifestyle. With
that in mind, the purpose of this article is not
to tell you how to pass an exam, but how to
avoid failing it. Admittedly this can seem like
a fine distinction. But while there are many
ways in which to pass exams, there is only
one method that has consistently proven to
be successful in avoiding failure.
The key is an understanding of revision
efficiency. Efficiency can be defined as
minimising the quantity of inputs for a given
output. The output, in this case, is achieving
first-time passes. Although the quantity of
inputs does vary between students
depending on overtime commitments (and
the propensity to visit the gym/pub/insert
your own vice), the good news is that the
quantity of inputs, above a certain threshold,
is not the key determinant of success.
Consistently successful students have
learned (usually for themselves, often by a
process of trial and error) that the real key to
exam success is in the quality of revision
inputs. They know that different types of
revision input produce different returns. Put
simply, they have worked out that they get
the best return on their investment of time
if they develop a revision technique that is
more intense.
Instead of spending hours reading and
summarising notes, and turning them into
mnemonics, they use every available minute
testing themselves with as many past papers
and practice questions as they can lay their
hands on. Crucially, under conditions that
resemble as closely as possible those in the
exam room.
This is a technique upon which Kumon, a
literacy and numeracy study programme
developed in Japan, has built a global
business. More than 4.5 million students
around the world take a timed daily test in
maths or English. Through constant
repetition and self-challenge, they learn both
the syllabus and familiarity with exam
technique until it becomes second-nature.
We may philosophise about the distinction
between acquiring knowledge to pass an
exam and the joy of learning for its own sake,
but, until examiners truly find a way to
distinguish between the two, you won’t fail
12
Be as self critical as
possible when marking
your papers. Then
actively seek out help
with areas where you
have identified you need
to improve
an exam by repetitive practice. There are
also some important collateral benefits
derived from investing time in sitting as
many past papers as you can under exam
conditions. One of the hardest aspects of
revising is judging whether you are putting
your scarcest resource (time) to best use.
Once you decide to focus exclusively on
practising past papers, you will never again
question how you are using your time.
Because, logically, there can be no more
efficient use of your time than committing
yourself to sit for three hours without
interruption to complete a past paper as if you
were in the exam hall, then spending an hour
marking it and prioritising areas for selfimprovement. Finally, your confidence in this
efficiency will increase as you observe others
using their time less efficiently.
So how should one put this into practice?
First, get hold of as many past papers and
sample papers as you possibly can. You can
download these from the exam resources area
of your dashboard at icaew.com/dashboard.
Start sitting past papers under exam
conditions as soon as you can, but certainly no
later than a few months before the actual
exams. Be as self-critical as possible when
marking your papers. Then actively seek out
help with those areas where you have
identified a need to improve.
If you have followed this advice, when the
day of the exam comes you can be supremely
confident that you have used your time in the
most efficient manner possible. You won’t
waste any time thinking whether you did
enough work. You certainly won’t be nervous
about how to tackle the questions. You can
walk out of that exam hall knowing that you
haven’t failed. And, best of all, you will know
the reason why.
Mark Shelton is an
Associate of Kaplan
Hawksmere specialising in
Business Partnering.
For further information
contact mark.shelton@
purposefulpractice.co.uk
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
STUDY TAX EXAMS
Happy new (tax) year
A thorough understanding of the
changes in the Finance Act 2013 is
essential to passing your tax exams
transferred to its shareholder(s),
assets are now transferred at the
lower of cost (or TWDV in the case
of goodwill) and MV. This helps
alleviate the problem of “double
taxation,” that occurs on the
distribution of assets.
R&D
o you’ve passed a tax
exam in 2013 and you are
preparing to move onto a
higher-level exam this year. To help
you succeed, Matt Dyson of First
Intuition summarises some of the
main changes in the Finance Act
2013 – and in particular, those
changes that are likely to have
caught the examiner’s eye.
CASH BASIS FOR SMALL
BUSINESSES
OVERSEAS ASPECTS
FIXED RATE DEDUCTION
FOR EXPENSES
S
HMRC has been teasing us for years
with proposed changes to these
rules. So now they have finally
been implemented, watch out.
These rules are highly likely to be
tested in the Tax Compliance,
Business Planning: Taxation and
Advanced Stage/Level
examinations. In particular, make
sure you are aware of the new
legislation that replaces the old
residency tests. See the ICAEW
learning materials for more detail.
An unincorporated business with a
turnover below the VAT registration
limit can calculate taxable profits on
a cash, rather than accruals, basis.
Even capital expenditure is
deductible. Cash deficits (ie, losses)
are carried forward against future
cash surpluses (ie, profits).
All unincorporated businesses can
take advantage of these. In a similar
way to the well-known business
mileage limits, there are now
statutory limits for using part of a
home for business purposes, or for
working from home.
Large companies can now choose a
new relief called above-the-line
R&D relief instead of the 30%
enhanced relief. Under this regime
the company deducts R&D costs as
normal but then adds a 10% credit
to their profits (above the line) and
deducts the same 10% credit from
their tax liability (below the line).
For a 23% company the net impact
is an overall 7.7% saving (23% of
10% minus 10%). This compares
favourably to the 6.9% saving for
the enhanced relief (23% of 30%).
Confused? See your learning
materials for an example.
ALSO…
DISINCORPORATION RELIEF
Don’t forget to review your rates
and allowances. Look out for a new
top rate of IT; reduced main rate of
CT; and new CO2 car limits.
Students have been talking about
this in their answers for years – but
it didn’t exist until now. Where an
incorporated business is
For information on ACA courses
offered by First Intuition visit
fi.co.uk/icaew
ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT
INCENTIVE (EMI) SCHEME
Good news for those with EMI
shares – they are more likely to be
eligible for entrepreneurs’ relief.
The ownership period (at least one
year) runs from the date of grant,
not exercise. In addition, there is
no 5% ownership requirement.
IHT SPOUSE EXEMPTION
You may be aware that, where a
UK-domiciled spouse makes a
transfer to a non-UK domiciled
spouse, there has been a historic
limit on the intra-spouse exemption
of £55,000. This has increased to
£325,000 to match the nil rate
band. There is a new election
available for the non-domiciled
spouse to elect to be
UK domiciled for IHT (not IT or
CGT) so that the limit no longer
applies. But this means the
person concerned is liable to
IHT on worldwide assets and
so will need careful consideration.
VITAL JANUARY 2014
13
Guide to passing
the e-assessments
An understanding of timing, strategy and
question wording is crucial, says Anna
Henderson of Kaplan Financial
14
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
STUDY E-ASSESSMENTS
uestion practice is the most
important thing when it
comes to passing the
e-assessments. Even if you have
studied subjects such as tax, law,
business or finance for your
undergraduate degree, examiners
have a particular way of posing their
questions that you need to tune
yourself into.
There is a high recognition rate
between the question banks and the
exams so, although you may not get
exactly the same question in your
e-assessment, you will spot certain
similarities to the practice questions.
Q
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Calculating your timings is as crucial
as revising the subject matter. Certain
modules, such as Assurance, give
students time to contemplate their
options. Others, such as Management
Information, are more time pressured
and it’s important that you do not
spend more than the allocated time
practising each question. It is also
advisable to sit a mock exam to time.
For sample papers, visit the exam
resources area of the ICAEW website.
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
When practising your questions,
make sure you carefully debrief each
question that does not go as planned.
Often students make mistakes by
misreading or misunderstanding the
question. The Principles of Taxation
module is one where the question
content could generate a number of
different answers. For example, an
income tax question might be asking
for taxable income, income tax
liability or income tax payable – read
the question carefully to get it right.
TANG YAU HOONG/IKON
STRATEGY
When it comes to the e-assessments,
you can flag questions for review. The
navigator screen will show incomplete
or flagged questions, allowing you to
tackle the exam in a way that makes
you feel most confident. No questions
should be left incomplete and, even if
you run out of time, put something
for each question as there will usually
be a 25% chance it is right.
THE WORDS
Although you are training to be
a chartered accountant and a
calculator is a mandatory part of the
VITAL JANUARY 2014
uniform, you will be surprised by
how many written questions appear
in the e-assessments. In calculationheavy modules such as Management
Information and Accounting, a
significant proportion of the marks
will be awarded for conceptual
knowledge. In the exam these
questions can be answered quickly
giving you extra time on trickier
calculation questions.
ACCOUNTING E-ASSESSMENT
For many students, the most
challenging e-assessment is
Accounting. The exam comprises 24
objective test questions worth 60%
and a case study-style question worth
40%, which will be either a trial
balance to income statement and
statement of financial position or a
statement of cashflows.
As Accounting is usually the first
e-assessment attempted, ICAEW has
“No questions should
be left incomplete.
Even if you run out of
time, put something
for each question as
there will usually be a
25% chance it is right”
put together two sample e-assessments.
Find them in the Accounting section
of the exam resources section at
icaew.com/dashboard
If you attempt all the questions
on the sample e-assessments, you
will receive a result and instant
feedback. This is an excellent way of
familiarising yourself with completing
the exam on a computer screen and
also testing your knowledge across
the Accounting syllabus.
THE CASE STUDY-STYLE
QUESTION
There are a few admin points you
may want to consider when
completing this question:
You may use commas to signify
thousands but this is not mandatory
Negative numbers must be
indicated using brackets or a
preceding minus sign
Some of the lines on the blank
statement may be unnecessary and
you should put a zero in the box to
show that you recognise this
There is an equal chance of a trial
balance or cashflow question being
selected as part of your exam so
make sure you get lots of practice
at both. The examiner is looking for
you to use as many numbers
provided in the question as possible.
Therefore, make sure you go through
all the figures and allocate them to
the relevant box on the blank
statement first. You can use the
onscreen highlight or strikethrough
functions to help make sure no
number is missed.
Always make sure you read the
additional information carefully and
prioritise easier points. In the trial
balance question, many students
forget that every time an adjustment
is made, it will affect two balances.
In other words, it is a double entry.
The key calculation for the
statement of cashflows is cash
generated from operations using the
indirect method, as this is where
most of the marks will be located.
A good tip to remember is if the
depreciation charge for the year is
not given and requires a calculation,
it is most efficient to wait until you
deal with property, plant and equipment
for investing activities and then you
can calculate everything together.
You should also try to focus on the
common cashflow items the
examiner will often include such as
interest/tax paid, repayment of
borrowings and proceeds from share
issues. Don’t forget, you can get lots
of practice of the e-assessments using
the study manual and question bank.
Anna Henderson
is an ACA tutor at
Kaplan Financial.
For information
on Kaplan’s ACA
courses, visit
kaplanfinancial.
co.uk/ICAEW
15
From
PENS DOWN
to results
What happens after your exam paper is
handed in? Richard Eckersley, senior
assessment manager at ICAEW, reveals
how your exams are set and scored
Before exam
DESIGNING EXAMS IS AN ALL-YEAR-ROUND CYCLE
Did you know that it takes between nine and 12 months to produce a
written exam paper? Or that examination development is a continuous
exam cycle for ICAEW staff and examiners? In fact, examiners work on as
many as three exams at any one time.
Step by step: How paper-based exams are set
1. First the topic is discussed in an iterative process within the
team for that particular paper.
2. It is then moderated to ensure technical accuracy. This stage is
completed by high-calibre, newly-qualified volunteer students
and an independent technical expert.
3. Next, it is ‘worked’ by examiners to ensure questions are testing
the skills that chartered accountants need to demonstrate.
4. The paper is then reviewed at an all-day exam review board by
a group of senior examiners representing all areas of the
profession. The board is chaired by the senior moderator.
5. Finally, the paper is proof read by the exam development team
at ICAEW.
6. Each stage is then approved by the senior moderator.
Advanced Level exams go through even more development
The exam-writing process is different for the Advanced Level papers,
with additional iterations of these quality assurance mechanisms. The
examiners come from a variety of disciplines and also work as a
development team and informal review board prior to the more formal
review processes, which are applied to all papers.
So the paper has been written, what next?
Every paper undergoes at least three trial sittings by moderators; a
combination of technical experts and student volunteers who sit the
paper under exam conditions. During this time the papers are proofed
and revised to ensure they meet our standards before they’re ready
for you to sit.
16
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
STUDY MARKING EXAMS
After exam
WHERE DOES YOUR EXAM
PAPER GO NEXT?
With the exception of the Case Study,
all exam papers are marked remotely
on computers. Once you’ve completed
the exam, your script will be sent to a
scanning house, input into our
e-marking system, then accessed by
our human markers.
Who are the markers?
They are all experienced experts in
their field, as well as being trained in
the marking process by the examiners
who write the papers and the marking
schemes. All candidate names and hall
details are removed before they are
entered into the system.
How we mark your paper
First the exam team reads and marks a
range of scripts chosen at random.
They then hold a team meeting, which
generally lasts all day. The markers will
have familiarised themselves with each
question and marked sample scripts.
The exam team checks the sample
marking and discusses the scripts and
the mark scheme in detail with markers.
Once markers have shown an accurate
application of the mark scheme, they
will be approved for ‘live’ marking.
Markers complete the marking at
home using the e-marking system.
They keep in regular contact with the
examiner (and each other) to ensure
consistency. The e-marking system also
assigns them ‘seeding’ scripts, which
have been pre-marked by an examiner.
All markers mark the seeding
scripts, and these marks are compared
with the examiner’s mark to confirm
the consistency of marking across the
team. Borderline scripts are always
re-marked by one of the examiners for
VITAL JANUARY 2014
additional assurance. Accuracy and
reliability are crucial to the process, as
are the tight deadlines to ensure results
are ready for final approval by the
Assessment Committee at ICAEW. It is
responsible for oversight of all
qualifications and assessments, and
comprises leading academics, senior
ICAEW staff and members, and senior
representatives from employers and
tuition providers.
What about Case Study
scripts?
These are delivered to the residential
marking venue where we check and
sort them ready for marker training,
which takes place over a weekend.
Initially, the supervisors (highlyexperienced markers, who will each
lead a team of six markers) meet with
the examiners and familiarise
themselves with the marking scheme.
They all read sample scripts and refine
the scheme after further discussion.
Did you know… the process for
marking a single paper takes around
three weeks?
What if I’m borderline?
Scripts around the borderline are
marked twice or even three times by
different members of the team. As all
marks given by each marker are
referenced to where those points were
gained in the script, a second marker
can identify areas for improvement
and consider carefully the previous
marker’s decisions, (with the
supervisor’s help where needed). The
senior examiners then reread scripts
close to the borderline for an additional
check and come to an agreement on
whether or not they are passes.
17
18
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
COVER STORY
Direct
to the top
Julie Richings was shocked to be
made finance director, aged just
28. She talks to Alison Coleman
about how she coped, adapted
and flourished – and how, 15 years
later, she was honoured for her
achievements by the Queen
A
PHOTOGRAPHY: FELICITY MCCABE
sked why she decided to become a chartered
accountant, Julie Richings lists three reasons. First, her
flair for numbers and logic rather than creative
processes. Second, her desire for career stability. But above all
the fact that her older sister, who had a three-year head start,
made the profession look so appealing. Richings recalls: “When I
was at university, my sister was doing her ACA training at Ernst &
Young (EY). I knew that she had to work hard, but she also had a
lot of fun. By the time I graduated she was qualified and earning
good money, so that influenced my own career choices.”
Following her sister into the accountancy profession proved to
be the right move for Richings, finance director at Hemel
Hempstead-based, Nasdaq-quoted digital signage company RMG
Networks. For the last 15 years, she has played a major role in
helping it to grow. But back in 1993, after graduating with a
degree in European Business Studies, a four-year programme
split between Middlesex University in London and Reutlingen
University in Germany, she was only just beginning her
accountancy training at EY in Leeds.
She says: “I did my first year of training there and thoroughly
enjoyed it. I met lots of new people and gained a breadth of
industry experience; it was a real insight into how companies
worked. That experience was very much of a manufacturing
nature, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I moved to EY in
Luton to continue my training, one of my favourite audits was at
the Whitbread Brewery company, which involved visiting
breweries all over the country.”
VITAL JANUARY 2014
19
“I see the ACA as a
foundation on which to
develop and grow technical
capability; that gives you
greater confidence and
credibility. So many things
I do today still hark back
to that training”
20
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
COVER STORY
TOP TIPS FOR TRAINEE
ACCOUNTANTS
Yet she also acknowledges that the work was
knowledge I’d gained from my
challenging and that, as a trainee, you have to be
accountancy training into practice.
very dedicated and make sacrifices. “It involves
So I accepted.”
working very hard all week, then committing your
Just six months later, Richings was
“The good thing about accountancy
entire weekend to study,” says Richings. “There was
made finance director, a move she
in practice is that everyone who is
a time, towards the end of my training, when it
describes as a “leap of faith” for both
supervising you or managing you
struck me that I was 26 and had been studying
the MD and US owners. She says: “I
has been through the same process.
voluntarily for the past 10 years. That felt quite
was 28 and I didn’t have a lot of
If you are finding anything difficult,
experience. But I had good
overwhelming but by then, the finishing post was in
(for example, time management or
accountancy skills and I knew that
sight. That helped me keep going.”
finding time to study), speak to your
She was also lucky in having block release study
I could make a big impact in a
manager or supervisor and be open
as an option, which allowed her to completely
small company.”
with them. They have all been there,
separate work and study for periods of between
She quickly became involved in
and they all want you to succeed in
eight and 10 weeks. “I had a very good support
growing the company’s footprint
your exams.
network around me with my fellow students, who
geographically and today it has offices
“Also remember that when you are
were also my colleagues, providing encouragement,
in Dubai, Singapore and India. It also
going out on audits, you should be
camaraderie, and a degree of competition.”
works with clients in many sectors,
experiencing a good breadth of
It was around this time that Richings also got
from retail banking to educational
companies in terms of size and sector.
married. “My husband took on a lot of the domestic
institutions, providing them with
If that is not the case, and you feel
responsibilities – he is an excellent cook – which
digital signage.
you are being pigeonholed, don’t be
enabled me to focus on what I needed to do,” she
In July 2013, after 15 years in the
afraid to raise your hand and ask for
explains. In 1996, the year after she qualified as an
job, Richings and her team at RMG
a broader range of audit experience
ICAEW Chartered Accountant, she gave birth to her
Networks were recognised for their
across different types of businesses.”
son. But upon returning to EY after a period of
efforts and awarded the Queen’s
maternity leave, she found her role less fulfilling.
Award for Enterprise in International
She says: “The one thing I didn’t really enjoy about practice
Trade, one of the UK’s highest business accolades.
was the fact that your role involves going in after the event. In
Richings says: “I had spotted a government website about the
audit you are reporting on accounts that have already been
awards and felt it offered a good opportunity to celebrate our
compiled. While you can make recommendations to improve
success at growth through exports. I put together the application
processes, you never felt that you were able to make a real
and submitted it. Although we missed out the first year, we
impact. I think it was then that I realised I had more of an
re-applied the following year and were delighted to learn we
entrepreneurial flair.”
had won.
“The MD and I went to London to receive the award, which
was an incredible experience. More importantly, winning the
round that time, a new opportunity was presented to
award has raised the profile of the business and brand at a time
her by one of her audit clients, RMG Networks, a
when British exports are riding high on the back of the London
company that develops digital signage, or large screens
Olympic Games and Diamond Jubilee. It has also brought a real
that can be used as interactive adverts, digital message boards or
sense of pride and recognition to every member of our team.”
for other types of communication.
This is incredibly important to Richings. A keen proponent of
“Their financial controller had taken extended sick leave, and
“employee engagement”, she has been actively involved in the
the company needed someone to look after that side of the
government-backed Engage-For-Success scheme. “The aim is to
business,” explains Richings. “I had hit it off with the MD but I
look at how companies can change the way they do business to
was still surprised when he approached me directly to say that if
keep their employees engaged,” she explains.
I was to consider a move from practice into industry, they would
So what of her rapid rise to company director and subsequent
love to have me on board.”
successes? Richings humbly puts those achievements down to
Though RMG Networks was then a small business with just 35
working in a smaller firm, where one’s influence has a faremployees, it was owned by a larger US company. The managing
reaching effect on the organisation as a whole. Yet she also cites
director was also a pioneer of flexible working which, in 1998,
her ACA training as another key to her success. “Throughout my
was far less common than today but was ideal for Richings and
career I have continued to build on that training,” she says. “I see
her young family. That flexible approach still suits her well today,
it as the foundation on which to develop and grow your technical
allowing her to enjoy her pastimes (she supports Liverpool FC
capability; and that gives you greater confidence and credibility.”
and is a regular theatre-goer), and help her son, 16, and
She adds: “So many of the things I do on a day-to-day basis still
daughters, 13 and 10, with their homework.
hark back to my accountancy training – from the financials of
She adds: “The other big draw about RMG was being able to
business to planning. It is just as relevant today.”
get involved in the decision-making, and put the skills and
A
VITAL JANUARY 2014
21
Master the art
of networking
Shy? Introverted? Better with numbers
than network building? Convinced that
everyone else is more articulate and
experienced than you? Whatever your
concerns, Peter Bartram explains how
to overcome them and transform
yourself into an effective networker
THE
RELUCTANT
NETWORKER
THE
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDER
CORBIS
THE
CONSUMMATE
COMMUNICATOR
22
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
WORK NETWORKING
THE SHY
ACCOUNTANT’S
GUIDE TO
WORKING
A ROOM
aura Capindale is about to embark on the
greatest challenge of her accountancy
career. Her mouth is dry. Butterflies are
performing acrobatics in her stomach. And in a few
minutes, she will have to stand before a crowd of
70 accountants, managers and business owners,
and make a 30-second pitch about her firm.
A bell will ring to time her out if she overruns,
even by one second, so she has spent the last few
weeks worrying about how to reduce her pitch to
fewer than 80 words. But there is no time left to
worry because the chairman is introducing her. She
rises and starts to speak…
And as she sits down, the bell rings. She has
timed her words to perfection. But something else
also happens: everyone in the room cheers. Laura’s
‘elevator pitch’ has been a triumph.
Welcome to the world of networking where the
tough challenges are matched by rich rewards for
those brave enough to seize them.
Laura, 30, a manager in the Lincoln office of
Duncan & Toplis, an East Midlands accountancy
practice, decided early on in her career that she
needed as much skill in networking as in numbercrunching, which is why she attended this
fortnightly networking event organised by The
Business Club in Lincolnshire. “I thought it would
get me ahead faster than sitting at a desk,” she says.
However, this also meant overcoming her natural
shyness. “At my first events, I was daunted by
meeting more experienced business professionals,”
she explains. “I would take a deep breath before I
stepped into the room, put on my best smile, try to
relax and just be myself.”
Laura has trained herself to become a
consummate networker – the kind others love to
meet. Yet not everyone succeeds.
Researching this feature, I was regaled with
horror stories of disastrous networking attempts
and crass behaviour. There is the accountant who
stood at the door, handing out his business cards to
everyone who came in – and then left; another who
became a little too familiar with the free
champagne; and a number of others who carved
into chatting groups by freezing out an existing
member – only to be cold-shouldered by the rest.
These mistakes all boil down to one problem,
says Mark Rhodes, author of How to Talk to
Absolutely Anyone – young accountants often fail to
take networking seriously.
“Many of them consider networking a waste
of time because they don’t like [doing] it,” he says.
“They see business relationships being developed
by the partners, and wonder why they should
bother to network when the partners take all
the glory.”
L
VITAL JANUARY 2014
You’re at your first
networking event.
The room is crowded.
You know no one.
You’re psyching
yourself up to walk
in… What should you
do next? Jack
Downton, who runs
executive training
company The
Influence Business,
suggests this
three-step approach.
1. Take a good look
around the room.
Note the people who
are talking in groups,
those in pairs and
those standing alone.
A natural impulse is
to join another
singleton. Beware.
There may be a good
reason why they’re
on their own.
2. Next, consider the
pairs. The body
language is the key
here. If they’re
standing face to face
with their feet
parallel to one
another, their body
language is saying:
don’t interrupt –
we’re having a
private conversation.
If they’re standing as
though they were
two sides of a
triangle, they’re
receptive to others
and you may
consider moving
forward to make the
third side of the
triangle.
3. Finally, study the
groups. These may
be your best option.
Spot the person who
seems to be the
leader. (This is usually
the one doing the
most talking). Move
into their eyeline,
catch their eye and
smile. Finally, move
forward and say: “Hi,
may I join you?”
What they’re forgetting is that the route
to a partner’s chair or a senior accountancy
post is often through a network of valued
business contacts.
Yet some of the most effective networkers are
“reluctant networkers”, according to Neil MunzJones, author of The Reluctant Networker. “There
are lots of different ways to network and one of the
most effective is to deepen existing relationships
rather than starting new ones,” he says.
He points out that many people who go to
networking events come away with a stack of
business cards but do nothing with them. However,
effective networking is all about following up useful
contacts after the first meeting.
“Networking is a lasting approach to doing
business with people,” he explains. “It should be a
life-long [relationship] – not something done just
because you need something.”
Andy Lopata, who has coached scores of
accountants in networking skills, agrees that
networking is not about selling. As he puts it: “It’s
about finding people you have a rapport with and
developing relationships.”
Listening rather than talking is one of the most
effective skills a good networker possesses, he
advises. But the best networkers also use some
gamesmanship. For example, nervous people
often turn up late at an event when the room is
already crowded. “It’s better to come before
others arrive,” advises Rhodes.
“That gives you time to speak to the organiser
and find out who else is coming. It’s also a good
idea to ask for the organiser’s help in introducing
you to the people you really want to meet. Not only
will it take the awkwardness out of the situation,
you’ll also get straight to the people who matter.”
In other words, it’s a great way to have a head
start over everyone else in the room. Laura is in no
doubt that, for young accountants, networking is
more important than ever.
“I’ve found that, as an accountant in modern
times, you need more than just technical skills,”
she says. “You need to understand the issues
affecting the businesses you deal with from
day to day. The best way is to get out and speak
to people.”
But is networking really a route to career
success? Yes, says Laura. “It gives you a lot more
confidence and skills that you don’t necessarily
learn by being in an office.”
Learn how to work a room
Register for our networking webinar at
icaew.com/acawebinars
23
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WORK BOOK REVIEWS
CAREER
SELF HELP
Whatever your problem, there are plenty of
professional self-help books that claim to have the
solution. Tina Nielsen rounds up six of the best
TO MASTER THE ART OF
TIME MANAGEMENT
TO IMPROVE YOUR
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to
Stop Procrastinating and Get
More Done in Less Time
The Snowball Effect:
Communication Techniques to
Make You Unstoppable
Brian Tracy
Andy Bounds
Tackle the most challenging task
of your day first – the one you
are most likely to procrastinate
on. This will set you up for
success. Successful people don’t
try to do everything, but instead
focus on the most important
tasks. Brian Tracy explains how
to do that in 21 steps.
Communication is meant to
trigger something. So why give
a presentation if people nod off?
And why send an email if the
recipient doesn’t read it?
Bounds shares techniques that
will help you hold the attention
of your audience and get things
done through improved
communication.
Best quote: “The ability to
concentrate single-mindedly
on the most important task, to
do it well and to finish it
completely, is the key to great
success, achievement, respect,
status and happiness in life.”
Digested read: Just do it.
Best quote: “It isn’t simple to
communicate brilliantly. If it
was, your diary wouldn’t be
full of presentations where
you watch someone read out
their slides.”
Digested read: Smooth
communication gets results.
TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF
FOR SUCCESS
Start Where You Are: Life
Lessons in Getting From Where
You Are to Where You Want to Be
Chris Gardner
Having gone from homeless to
CEO of multi-million pound
stockbroking firm, Chris Gardner
knows first hand that, with a
plan for the future and a
willingness to face the past, you
can overcome the hardest
challenges. But you’ll have to
see through the clichés to learn
from his experiences.
Best quote: “Accepting
responsibility is accepting that
your dreams can come true.”
Digested read: Anything is
possible.
VITAL JANUARY 2014
TO FOCUS YOUR MIND
TO IMPROVE YOUR
CONFIDENCE
TO DEAL WITH STRESS
Confidence: Transform the Way
You Feel so You Can Achieve the
Things You want
Success Under Stress: Powerful
Tools for Staying Calm,
Confident, and Productive
When The Pressure’s On
Dr Rob Yeung
Sharon Melnick
Packed with tips, techniques
and practical methods, the third
edition of this bestseller will
help you build the confidence
and perform better in every
situation, from job interviews
and presentations to networking.
When you’re juggling work
with studies, it’s easy to feel
overwhelmed and stressed.
Melnick has received rave
reviews for her advice on how
to deal with multitasking under
pressure – and how to stay
level-headed in a crisis.
Best quote: “Confidence is
about allowing people to
achieve their goals.”
Digested read: Get what you
want.
Best quote: “You have more
control than you think.”
Digested read: Keep calm to
get results.
The Chimp Paradox: The Mind
Management Programme to
Help you Achieve Success,
Confidence, and Happiness
Steve Peters
Discard this book at your peril.
Psychologist Steve Peters used
his powerful programme to
transform cyclists Bradley
Wiggins, Chris Hoy and Victoria
Pendleton into champions. He
explains how to master the
chimp (or the emotional part of
your brain), in order to focus
your mind on what’s important.
Best quote: “The chimp is an
emotional machine that will
hijack you if you allow it to.”
Digested read: Control your
mind.
25
MAP IT OUT
Ever struggled to see how a series of perfectly
logical facts fit together in the bigger picture?
Mind mapping is the best way to make sense
of big ideas, says Mark Channon
26
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
WORK MIND MAPPING
ow many times have you attended
a presentation or conference and,
as the audience starts to disperse,
heard phrases like, “I didn’t get that” or “I
drifted off”?
It’s a common problem. Yet one way of
getting around it is by taking notes using a
mind map, rather than bullet points or
linear sentences.
Put simply, a mind map helps achieve
four things. First, it captures the essence of
a talk in a logical and organic structure.
Second, while others daydream and drift, it
helps create daydreams that focus on real
cases. Third, it acts as a perfect memory tool
to consume the information by activating
both left brain skills (logic, linearity,
sequence) and right brain skills
(imagination, colour, daydreaming). The
map itself can be visually and emotionally
stimulating, increasing attention and
elevating motivation levels. And fourth,
after leaving the talk, the mind map acts as
a simple and effective tool to communicate
the core concepts to others.
Which all begs the question; if mind
maps are so valuable, why aren’t they
used more regularly?
Typical arguments against the use of
mind maps include “I can’t draw”, “my
brain doesn’t work that way”, “I’m more
logical than artistic” or simply “I prefer
lists”. Others mistake it for a spider graph.
But you don’t have to be able to draw to
mind map. All you need is a series of simple
symbols that are more logical than they are
artistic. Better still, graphics such as these
activate many areas of your brain and assist
you in capturing a huge amount of detail — if
constructed in the right way. It’s all a matter
of following a few simple rules and then
bending them to a style that suits.
MIND MAP CREATED USING THINKBUZAN’S IMINDMAP THINKBUZAN.COM
H
HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE
MIND MAP
One of the most engaging elements of a
mind map happens as you create your
central idea. From there, you get to see your
thoughts radiate out in front of you, almost
like having a view on the inner workings of
your brain as one thought connects to the
next. As the detail of the picture builds, the
wider view starts to form.
One of the challenges people experience
is not being able to fit everything on one
page. But by only making the branch as long
as the word or image that sits on it, you
allow yourself to capture more ideas and
VITAL JANUARY 2014
thoughts. Once you have decided on that,
there are three other key elements that are
worth considering to make your mind map
as effective as possible:
USE IMAGES
Whether you are aware of it or not, most
people have a great memory for images and,
while you don’t have to be able to draw to
mind map, incorporating 3D writing and
simple shapes (squares, rectangles,
triangles, circles, lines and dots etc) to
represent ideas will bring your maps to life
and make them instantly more memorable.
Consider the following statement: “Over
the previous two years there has been an
increase in traffic on our company’s website
with PCs, mobiles and tablets. However in
the current year this has dropped
considerably on PCs, with tablets staying the
same and mobiles still on the rise.”
This is a lot of information to write in note
form, whereas you could simply have a
picture of a line graph depicting PCs,
mobiles and TV over the last three years. A
simple graph like this instantly conveys big
picture understanding and detail.
CONSIDER COLOUR
With large amounts of information, you need
an effective way to classify. Colour is a simple
way of attracting attention to information
with similar qualities. There can also be
emotional connections to colour. So, blue
feels cool or cold, whereas yellow feels
Most people have a
great memory for
images, so using simple
shapes will help bring
your mind map to life
warm and sunny. This can help to stimulate
your imagination and inspire imagery.
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS
CAREFULLY
While images and colours bring your maps
to life, words deliver meaning and detail.
The biggest challenge with words is to
adhere to a very simple rule. “Only use one
word per branch”. This means that you have
to condense your thoughts into a trigger
word that will spark off the relevant
information. Whilst this is the ideal in some
circumstances, it may not be the most
beneficial thing to do when highlighting a
phrase or powerful concept.
As with any form of note taking, mind
maps will not solve all your problems. But, if
you give them a chance and are willing to
put in some practice, they can help bring
your inner thoughts to life.
Join Mark Channon on 13 February
for a webinar about mind mapping.
Register at icaew.com/acawebinars
Mark is the author of How to Remember
Anything, (Teach Yourself, 2011)
27
STAND UP AND
BE NOTICED
Businesses are increasingly sending their employees on
stand-up comedy courses to teach them public speaking
and presenting skills. Vital sent a group of ACA students
to do just that, and Claire Coleman went along to
document their side-splitting (and educational) adventure
H
alf past seven on a Wednesday evening
and, in a classroom in central London,
accountant Chris Blunn is crawling around
on his hands and knees under a table. Watching him
and cheering wildly are six other members of the
Chartered Accountants’ Student Societies of London
and Thames Valley.
Contrary to first impressions, this isn’t an alcoholfuelled, post-exam celebration but a stand-up
comedy workshop that has been designed to improve
ACA students’ public speaking and presenting skills.
It might sound like an unconventional classroom
but, according to Keith Palmer who founded The
Comedy School in 1998, the accountancy world can
learn a lot from comedy. “Comedy unleashes an
individual’s confidence,” he explains. It also helps
students become more “aware of their own persona
and find common ground through shared experience”.
So why was Blunn, audit manager at Frank Hirth,
under that table? It was all part of an exercise in
which the group had decided on a series of tasks for
him to do, one of which was to crawl under a table
and out the other side. The catch was, no one was
allowed to tell him what those tasks were. Instead, he
had to move around the room trying to elicit from
their responses, (booing and applauding), when he
got them right.
“It’s a very simple exercise but it teaches you a lot,”
says Palmer. “You have to make mistakes and learn
from them but crucially you have to listen to the
audience to work out what they want you to do.”
It quickly becomes clear that this is the golden rule
when it comes to public speaking and presenting.
The second rule is that, like comedy, presentations
are a two-way exchange rather than a one-way
delivery. “Speaking in public isn’t just about talking
at people,” advises Palmer. Rather, the best public
speakers approach it as a conversation. “You need
to see how the audience is reacting to you and adapt
to keep them engaged.”
Palmer is also adamant that audiences, on the
whole, want the speaker to do well – and that the
only thing holding you back is yourself. To
28
demonstrate the point he asks Sheereen Pakoo, an
accountant formerly of Kingswood Chartered
Accountants, to share an embarrassing story
about herself.
Midway through her anecdote, she pauses and says
it is too silly to continue – to which Palmer asks
audience members to raise their hands if they had
enjoyed her story so far. Every one of them
raises their hands. “Audiences generally want to
hear what you have to say and they’re willing you
to succeed,” says Palmer.
He adds: “You need to talk back to the inner voice
that puts fear into you and holds you back.” And with
a little more confidence, Pakoo continues with her
anecdote about the time she used a staple gun to
repair the seam of her skirt.
But one of the group members still isn’t convinced.
“Often the audience doesn’t want you to succeed. You
might be tendering for a job and your competitors
are there and want you to fail,” argues Jon Dawson,
trainee chartered accountant at Haysmacintyre. In
such cases, Palmer urges presenters to focus on
those audience members who want them to
succeed, rather than the negative few.
Two hours later, he rounds up the
presentation with a final nugget of wisdom:
“Ignore anyone who tells you ‘when you
step on that stage, you should be
someone else’ because if you can’t be
yourself, who on earth are you going
to be?” The students certainly agree.
As Ingrid Morantes, audit assistant
at KPMG, puts it: “Ultimately, it
taught me that everyone is their
own worst enemy and, until
you address that, you can’t
reach your full potential.”
Which may not be the
funniest punchline but,
as Palmer’s audience
learned, sometimes it’s
the unexpected that
makes comedy gold.
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
WORK PUBLIC SPEAKING
10 TOP TIPS
MASTERING THE
ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Prepare well and give yourself plenty
of time, rather than throwing together
a few PowerPoint slides the night before.
Research who is going to be in the
audience to ensure you’re pitching with
the right level of expertise.
Investigate your audience’s
expectations. If you’re aware of what
information they’ve been given about you,
you’ll know how to deliver what they expect
of you.
Be yourself. The best way of engaging
your audience is by being authentic
from the start.
If there’s an elephant in the room,
acknowledge it. Whether you trip on
your way to the stage or your PowerPoint
stops working, addressing it will keep
attention fully on you.
Be clear about which messages
you’re trying to communicate. This
will help you structure the presentation and
stay on track.
Emotionally connect with your subject
matter where possible. If you can find a
way of investing fully in what you’re talking
about, you’ll automatically present it better.
Check over the technology before
the presentation. This will minimise
the likelihood of glitches when you’re
mid-speech.
Be honest. Whether it’s answering
questions or admitting you don’t
know, always tell the truth. Integrity goes
a long way.
The Comedy School is a not-for-profit
organisation. All proceeds from work with
corporate clients go to funding social
programmes. For more information visit
thecomedyschool.com
GUILHEM ALANDRY
PICTU
RE CR
E
XXXX
XX/X
XXXX
DIT X
X, XX
XXXX
XXX
Try to understand how others perceive
you; it will help you communicate with
them more effectively.
29
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU
Does chocolate give you spots? Is orange
juice the best cold remedy? As thoughts
turn to detox, Francesca Cotton puts six
health myths to the test – with a little help
from Vital’s panel of nutrition experts
MYTH 1: CHOCOLATE GIVES
YOU SPOTS
VERDICT: FALSE
It’s the ultimate deterrent for
chocaholics, but is it true? No, argues
dermatologist Dr Ava Shamban.
“There’s little evidence that chocolate
will cause acne,” she has previously
said. But she also warned that a diet
high in fat and sugar can increase the
production of sebum, the skin’s
natural moisturiser. Excess sebum
can clog pores and cause breakouts.
So a little chocolate is fine – but if you
scoff your bodyweight in it, you
might need to invest in a good
concealer.
MYTH 2: ORANGE JUICE
CURES COLDS
VERDICT: FALSE
GALLERY STOCK, GETTY
Reaching for the Tropicana whenever
you feel a cold coming on certainly
isn’t a bad thing, as it’s packed with
immune system-boosting vitamin C,
which isn’t naturally stored in the
body. But neither will it keep the
cold at bay. As nutritionist Sue Baic
explains: “A study conducted on
more than 11,000 people in 2007
concluded that regular ingestion of
vitamin C has no effect on common
cold incidence.” But don’t bin
those oranges just yet as the study
also found that a daily dose of
vitamin C slightly reduces the length
and severity of colds.
MYTH 3: AN APPLE A DAY
KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY
VERDICT: TRUE
This saying originated during the
Second World War to encourage
troops to eat their five-a-day. And
there’s plenty of truth in it. “Apples
30
are a great source of soluble fibre,
which can help reduce cholesterol
and the risk of heart disease,” says
Baic. What’s more, the skin contains
six times more flavanoids (the
chemical compound good for the
heart), than the flesh. So stop peeling
– and get crunching.
MYTH 4: NEW YEAR DETOXES
ARE GOOD FOR YOU
VERDICT: TRUE
Those green juices might feel like
they’re doing you the world of good,
but just how beneficial is your new
year detox? “Organs such as the
liver and lungs can remove toxins
naturally, so restrictive and
unbalanced detox diets are
unnecessary and potentially
harmful,” warns Baic. However,
fellow nutritionist Yvonne Wake adds:
“If you follow a detox regime
prepared by a professional, it can be
very good for you.”
MYTH 5: YOU MUST DRINK
EIGHT GLASSES OF WATER
A DAY TO STAY HYDRATED
VERDICT: FALSE
Staying hydrated is important for
flushing out toxins and ensuring that
nutrients are carried around our
cells, which is why the European
Food Safety Authority recommends
that we drink eight to 10 glasses of
fluids each day. But the crucial word
here is ‘fluids’. And tea, coffee,
juices, squash and milk do the job
just as well as water. As nutritionist
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
LIFE HEALTH AND WELLBEING
CABA
supporting chartered
accountants since 1886
DETOX YOUR
BANK BALANCE
BATTLING A
WINTER COLD?
Your mum’s chicken soup could
really be the best remedy. Not only
do hot fluids help move mucus,
which, in turn, can help relieve
congestion, but they also inhibit
the movement of neutrophils (the
white blood cells that defend
against infection) and so reduce
inflammation. “Anti-inflammatory
agents will help you breathe more
easily,” explains Dr Heather
Hartwell, associate professor of
food and nutrition at Bournemouth
University. Which is exactly what
you need when you’re blocked up
and sniffley.
Bread crusts are
packed full of
cancer-fighting
antioxidants that
are released
during the crust
browning process
Gaynor Bussell puts it: “You need to
drink about eight glasses of fluid each
day, but it doesn’t need to be water.”
MYTH 6: BREAD CRUSTS ARE
GOOD FOR YOU
VERDICT: TRUE
Bread crusts might not make your
hair curly but they have real health
benefits. Scientists at the German
Research Center for Food Chemistry
discovered that crusts are packed full
of cancer-fighting antioxidants,
released during the Maillard reaction,
or the browning process. “This
antioxidant is seven or eight times
more plentiful in the crust than any
other part of the loaf,” explains Wake.
So next time you think of chopping
off your crusts, think again.
VITAL JANUARY 2014
Dawn Needle, debt support officer of
Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent
Association, explains why January is a
good time to detox your bank account,
as well as your diet.
However careful you are, Christmas is
inevitably a time that has a major impact
on your finances – something that often
only becomes fully apparent when your
January credit card bill arrives. For this
reason, it is a good time of year for
student accountants to think about their
debt, their income and their spending
patterns. Here are our top five tips to
organise your personal finances for the
year ahead:
1. Understand your debt
Nearly all student accountants qualify
with some debt, often an amount that
seems quite large. Knowing the structure
of your debt – how much is owed and
when it becomes due – is important to
planning your financial future.
2. Use your professional skills
Few people enjoy budgeting but it is
perhaps the single most important thing
you can do to take control of your
finances. Calculate your income and
expenditure regularly, and try to identify
areas where savings can be made.
3. Construct a safety net
As a rule of thumb, you should have six
months of income set aside to act as a
buffer against unexpected events. This is
an unrealistic proposition for most
student accountants but even if you can
put aside a little every month, it may
prove crucial in the future.
4. Make the most of free money
For example, ensure that you are making
the maximum employer-matched pension
contribution, otherwise you are essentially
giving away income. Also, look at state
benefits for which you may be eligible,
especially if you are a parent or carer.
5. Feel comfortable talking about
your finances
Finally, feeling confident when talking to
your employer, family and others about
money is a big step towards better
finances. If you can be open, it makes it
easier to tackle tricky issues.
For more detailed advice and guidance,
there is a new, free guide available from
the CABA website called Money Matters.
For CABA’s guide to financial wellbeing
and a range of informative videos and
other resources, visit caba.org.uk
31
THE MEETING
PLACE
?
ACCOUNTANCY
GIRL
If, like me, you’re part of the 38% of
the UK workforce that travels to work
by train or tube, you’ll know how to
commute like a pro. To those less
regular commuters, this survival
guide will help you avoid the pitfalls.
Pitfall one: Losing things. Last
year I lost two expensive jackets and
an umbrella. So when, last month, I
took a busy train home after a few too
many festive drinks, I could easily
have forgetten something. I stored my
coat (1); scarf (2); and umbrella (3) in
the rack above my seat. I kept my
mobile (4) on the table and my bag (5)
under my seat. I remembered
everything. The trick? Assigning a
number to each item. (As you can
probably tell, I work in audit and
risk assurance.)
Pitfall two: Standing in the wrong
place. Knowing where to stand is an
art. Next time you’re on a platform,
make a mental note of something
next to the doors. Perhaps an advert.
Trust me, it’s worth the effort for the
smug feeling you get when you get on
the squashed train ahead of your
rivals. (Yes, other passengers are
rivals when seating is limited).
Pitfall three: Listening. Always
carry headphones. They’re the best
way of drowning out most of the
inane background conversations. Call
me anti-social but do you really want
someone being sociable when you’re
on the 07:15 train, prior to putting
make-up on? It buys you some peace
when you don’t want to be disturbed.
I hope my tips serve you well. Until
next time, happy new year.
32
ACA STUDENTS
IN MAURITIUS
SEVENTY ACA STUDENTS
FROM A RANGE OF
EMPLOYERS RECENTLY
GATHERED IN EBENE CITY,
THE FINANCIAL HEART OF
MAURITIUS, FOR A
SPECIAL SEMINAR ABOUT
IT TRENDS. KIRSTIN
GILLON FROM ICAEW’S IT
FACULTY INTRODUCED
GLOBAL IT TRENDS AND
ASKED STUDENTS TO
PRESENT A BUSINESS
CASE FOR A LOCAL
START-UP, COVERING
ISSUES SUCH AS CLOUD,
MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
S&DCASS NEW
STARTERS QUIZ
?
??
Sheffield & District Chartered
Accountants’ Student Society
(S&DCASS) presented their annual
new starters quiz in Sheffield this
month. It was a perfect opportunity to
welcome all new students to the fold, and
congratulate them on securing a place to
begin their career as a chartered accountant.
The society welcomes new members. To get
involved, visit icaew.com/studentgroups
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
LIFE NETWORKING AND EVENTS
It’s not all work, work, work. Here’s what your student societies have
planned for the year ahead. Plus we introduce our new student
columnists who will tackle the big issues that affect trainees outside
the workplace... Meet Accountancy Girl and Accountancy Boy
CURRY WITH
SWECASS
Forget canapes and champagne.
The annual curry evening is one of
the most popular events organised
by the South West of England
Chartered Accountants’ Student
Society (SWECASS). Held in Exeter,
Taunton, Truro and Plymouth
throughout September, the events
attracted 54 students – roughly
one third of all ACA students in
the area.
Not only was it an excellent
opportunity to meet other students,
find out about SWECASS events
and how the society can help
throughout training, it was
also an invaluable
way of speaking
to qualified
members
about their
experiences
of the ACA
and beyond.
CYPRUS ACA STUDENTS AWARDED
CORBIS, GALLERYSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK
New ACA students in Cyprus were
commended at a ceremony in Nicosia
on 6 November (see page 7). Of the
150, seven outstanding students were
given special awards for exam
success. First place of the
VITAL JANUARY 2014
Professional Stage Annual Order of
Merit was awarded to Marina Vakana
(PwC). Andri Hadjiyerou (KPMG),
Christina Telemachou (PwC) and
Kyriaki Christoforou (KPMG) scooped
second, fourth and fifth.
?
ACCOUNTANCY
BOY
The purpose of LinkedIn is to help
you find a new job, right? Wrong!
Far from simply being a way of
pushing yourself to potential
employers, LinkedIn has many
other helpful uses.
First, it’s a speedy way of
reacquainting yourself with people
you’ve lost touch with. At a recent
student society event, I met a group
of ACA students who I got on well
with in college; but at the time I had
forgotten a few names. Finding each
other and arranging group revision
sessions through LinkedIn was easy.
And those who were ‘LinkedOut’,
missed out.
Second, it’s an excellent way of
targeting professionals, businesses
and groups you value.
And third, it takes a bit of effort but
LinkedIn really can work for you. Set
aside a little time to complete your
profile and scout out relevant
connections. Think of connections as
a favour bank; who would I do a
favour for? Who might I need to do a
favour for me? You could have 1,000
connections but if they don’t know
you well enough to introduce you to
someone, invite you to an event, or
join your discussion point, you’re no
better off.
Finally, consider your privacy
settings. LinkedIn doesn’t require the
same proactive privacy setup as
Facebook, so you can easily protect
your profile from snoopy people.
So next time you bypass LinkedIn
because you are not job-hunting,
think again.
33
LIFE
The last word
Sarah Case, equity partner at
Broomfield & Alexander, talks
to Vital about the challenges
of being the only female
partner in an all-male team
– and why she decided to
specialise in charity accounts
I always wanted to be
a partner, glass ceiling
or no glass ceiling
34
The recession took a while to hit Wales
and even longer to reach the third sector.
The full effect has yet to hit Welsh
charities, so part of my role is helping
clients prepare for further cuts by looking
at other ways of generating income. I
recently ran a seminar about how to look
for income outside traditional streams.
My childhood dream was to become a
librarian because I loved the sound of the
book stamp. But as soon as I started my
accountancy A-level, I knew it was the
profession for me. Instead of going to
university, I had a four-year training
agreement at Arthur Gait & Company. It
was a no-brainer; I earned the same
qualification without racking up debt.
I work better in competition. When I went
on the ACA revision course, I was one of
few trainees from a small firm. I saw the
bigger firm trainees as competitors. That
really spurred me on and I passed first
time. It’s a brilliant qualification that sets
you up well, but what you do afterwards
is down to your own drive and ambition.
I always knew I wanted to become a
partner, glass ceiling or no glass ceiling.
Twelve years after joining Broomfield &
Alexander, the largest independent
accountancy firm in Wales, I achieved
that. In fact I am the first female equity
partner in the firm’s 100-year history,
which shows that if you’re hard-working,
thick-skinned and determined, you can
achieve most things.
Being the only female in a high-level role
is a challenge, particularly when
networking. It often takes place at
sporting events and lends itself better to
men. If I acted like one of the boys,
people would see straight through me.
Instead, I find my own way of doing
things and never compromise who I am.
The best part of my job is that no two
days look the same. I could be presenting
a set of accounts to the trustees of an arts
organisation at 10am; dealing with a staff
matter (as I’m also HR director) at 11am;
and, by midday, I could be seeing a
farmer about their accounts.
Juggling that with raising my two children
can be difficult, just as it is for any parent
with a full-time job, but I have the luxury
of being able to organise my schedule
around personal commitments, such as
attending school concerts. And I have
come to appreciate what a fantasticallyflexible career accountancy is.
JANUARY 2014 VITAL
GARETH PHILIPS
Six years ago I became one of the first
accountants in Wales to hold the
ICAEW Diploma in Charity Accounting.
Now I work with some exciting
organisations, including Shelter Cymru
and Tenovus. They are so passionate
about what they do, it makes my job
even more interesting.
Charity finance directors are often the
only finance employee within an
organisation so it can be a very lonely
place. I see myself as their sounding
board; that means making them feel
comfortable enough to call me and say: “I
was going to do it like this, do you agree?”
I adapt the way I communicate for charity
clients. Instead of dealing with a solo FD,
I often have to explain accounts and audit
findings to a board of 10 people with
varying levels of financial understanding.
If you don’t engage them, they tend to
switch off so I’ve had to find new ways of
explaining things in plain English without
using jargon or complicated terms.
Free support
for Vital readers
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185 13/
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