How has your career developed since joining the
firm?
I started with the firm in the summer of 2002. Although formally
assigned to assurance, I was fortunate enough to have a number of
secondments in my early years. This gave me the chance to
experience life in personal tax, forensics and risk management
solutions. It was a fantastic learning experience. By the time I
qualified as a chartered accountant in 2005, I had a much better
idea about what I wanted from my career.
My progress since then has been pretty rapid. I transferred to
Corporate Finance Lead Advisory in the summer of 2006 and was
promoted to a management position after 18 months. More recently, I
became a mother and took a year out for maternity leave. With the
support of the company, I’m now working a four-day week.
What’s been your best experience?
Coming back to work after maternity leave has been really
enjoyable. After a year of changing nappies, it’s nice to be back
in the professional world! I was also really heartened by the
support I received from everyone in the company. Not only did they
accept my request for a for a four-day week, gave me a return to
work bonus and have made sure that my career hasn’t suffered as a
result. Despite working reduced hours, I’ve been able to work on
high-profile transactions since returning.
How would you describe the training and development
here?
I'd say it was second to none. The firm offers a wide range
of courses to broaden and deepen your expertise and I’ve also
received funding for my Corporate Finance qualification. There’s an
excellent e-learning network here that helps you to continually
learn and develop. Perhaps the most important development, though,
is the constant learning you get on the job. Every new deal I work
on teaches me something I didn’t know before, especially when I
work with a different group of colleagues.
How does Grant Thornton make a difference to the wider
community?
We’ve been involved in numerous projects here in the Southampton
office, from renovating a nature trail at a local school to
redecorating the church hall. Many of these have been coordinated
through CARES – a volunteering network that enables businesses to
help their local communities. We’ve also considered how to lessen
our impact on the environment by implementing a recycling policy
and saving paper and energy wherever possible.
Tell us something surprising about the
firm.
When my first child was born, the firm paid me for me to go to
Rome. It was a weekend trip for the Corporate Finance team, and
although I was on maternity leave at the time, they didn’t want me
to miss out. Believe it or not, I actually took my seven-week old
baby with me! My mother came along too, and looked after the baby
while I took part in the evening entertainment.