What’s your background?

I grew up in the East Devon area, attending Honiton Community College then moving to Exeter College for my A Levels – Maths, Psychology and Biology, with Chemistry A/S.

Did you always want to be an accountant?

Funnily enough, I was planning to become a midwife! But I realised it was not for me. I had a think and realised I really enjoyed maths and working with numbers, and that accounting was a career with a future.

What was your career path?

I went to Plymouth University and got a first in Accounting and Finance. After that, I joined a large corporate firm. I moved offices three times, and I felt there wasn’t a clear career path for me there, so when Griffin offered me a position, I was really pleased to join the company. That was in May 2017. It was a little scary to move to such a young company, but the opportunities were there from the start.

What is your role now?

Having started at Griffin as an Accounts Senior in 2017, I have been an Audit and Accounts Manager in our Exeter office for about 3 years now and I have the full support of Misty, the other managers and the assistant managers. In the office, I’m an approachable person and I’m happy for any of my team to ask for my help and advice. Over the last couple of years we have seen huge growth in our team, as well as our client base, so it has given me plenty of opportunity to enhance my management skills in all areas.

What does your own work involve?

As a manager, I need to keep track of junior staff and my own work is more of a reviewing role. I’m no longer doing audit work or accounts preparation work but instead I oversee the process and undertake the review of the audit and accounts and am heavily involved with client communication and managing those relationships.

My ongoing CPD covers audit and accounting updates, tax updates and other training, such as a presentation course to develop skills in presenting to both staff and clients. I really enjoy the academy work, as it goes on throughout the year and covers many elements such as teachers’ pensions, internal audits and AAR. I also like working with charities and my charity portfolio continues to grow.

What is it that you particularly appreciate about working at Griffin?

Griffin has a smaller (although ever growing) team which is very tight-knit – everyone is supportive and we interact well. It’s a very sociable company, but efficient at the same time. The business model works well with the level of staff that we have (trainees, assistant managers and managers for example). There is plenty of opportunity for growth at Griffin and there are clear career paths set out for everyone.

Would you recommend working at Griffin?

The best way to answer is to say I now actually like getting up in the morning to come to work! Griffin has a fresh approach to accounting; some more established companies are still using
traditional processes, but at Griffin everything is cloud-based which really improves efficiency. The business is growing and we’re winning new clients all the time. It’s great to be part of Griffin right now, as the company expands and develops.

What do you get up to outside of work?

I’m a keen runner – I’m a member of Honiton Running Club (as well as the Treasurer and Membership Secretary) and I run about three or four times a week. I have just ran a 22 mile race along the coast path from Exmouth to Seaton and am planning to run a marathon next month (not my first!). I have a young cocker spaniel who I enjoy walking around the countryside and I have recently become a mum, which keeps me very busy!