Graduating in geography from Durham University, Tim Rush didn’t know what he wanted to do, so he took the path followed by many other indecisive graduates and went travelling. On his return, he says: “I sort of fell into accountancy. I started at a small firm called Winters, which was based near St Paul’s in London. So although it was by accident, I think it was probably the best grounding I could have, because I learned accounting and auditing at the same time.”

Once qualified, Rush moved to KPMG, “just to get more breadth of experience”. Again, it was London-based, and this is where he discovered his passion, working with owner-managed businesses: “You can really speak to the owners all the time, and get to know what they’re thinking; you feel at the heart of it.”

Fast forward 20-plus years, and Rush is still at KPMG, currently as Audit Partner in the firm’s Gatwick office. Not that he’s spent all that time doing the same thing: he has enjoyed two secondments, one to New Zealand that should have been for 18 months, but lasted four years; another as Deputy FD at a FTSE 250 business – “That brought home to me that I wanted to stay in public practice.” 

Rush says: “In some ways I’ve been at KPMG too long, but over that time I’ve had 10 to 12 jobs. I’ve taken every opportunity that has been put in front of me. I just look ahead at what I can do to improve me, to be better at the job, but also give me options beyond that. What are my next steps? What can I learn? As long as I’m continuously learning, I’m having fun. I think that’s really important.

“But what I’m most proud of, personally, is getting over some adversity,” he continues. “Things are changing, but when I first started, it was difficult. I’m heavily dyslexic. I also came from a state school background, and I felt a bit of imposter syndrome. Now, I can use it to my advantage. I think dyslexia helps you be yourself; for me, it makes me much more personable. I can build relationships. But it took me a while to realise that.” 

Throughout your career, support is vital, believes Rush, inside and outside the firm, formal and informal. “Being able to speak to your peers is really important,” he says. “It’s drilled into you from an early stage, but it’s absolutely paramount. So when I’m doing an audit, I’m signing my name, but I’m signing with a lot of people around it supporting me. You’ve got to trust everyone. You can’t look at everything. But that comes down to good training, the right people and the right methodology.”

He has also had mentors within KPMG who have kept in touch since leaving the firm. “Having a mentor outside of work, where you can just chew over things, is important. You can speak to them and they just reset things. We work in a high-pressure job; it’s important to get perspective on things.” 

Rush argues that working for a large firm such as KPMG doesn’t need to feel like you’re a small part of a large firm. “In reality, you work in much smaller departments, so you get a family feel. I don’t feel like I’m working for a firm of over 13,000 in this country alone. You feel part of a smaller group, but it’s like having your immediate family and then having all your relatives around.” 

And no matter what area of audit you want to work in, a firm like KPMG can play to everybody’s strengths, especially as the nature of the work changes. “The skill sets we need bring in a wealth of different people,” says Rush. “People early in their career need to think about the direction they’re going – what’s my strength and how can I get better? If it’s something you enjoy, you’ll be a lot better at it.” 

The pandemic, and with it the advent of increased hybrid working, has moved the dial, but this isn’t always easy for auditors and audited entities, not least because remote auditing takes a lot longer. “I still think it’s really important for teams to be together,” he says. “Our junior people: yes, they have training; yes, they do exams, but osmosis on the job is absolutely vital, and you learn that by sitting next to someone. It’s important to see the more senior people, how they interact, the conversations they’re having. I still think there is a role for hybrid working, it’s just getting the balance right.”

Audit is a profession that’s changing, says Rush. “The pandemic has made us use technology more, but if you’re asking really intelligent people to do manual tasks; it doesn’t really motivate them. If we can take that part out, we get them doing the exciting things, the problem solving. 

“I think technology is there to help but the people bit is really important. The skill sets will change; I think we’re going to see more forward-looking statements. The audit profession is going to be using people’s high skill sets, reporting on more things, and that’s got to give more experiences for our people.” 

Rush also points towards the changing expectations of investors and stakeholders: “They don’t just value the client on the financials, they’re looking at the planet. I can see the remit widening, and I think that’s fascinating for auditors.” 

He’s keen that newcomers to audit aren’t put off by negative press surrounding a few high-profile cases. “I think we need to recognise some of the faults we’ve had in the past across the whole industry. But there is a lot of work, by firms as well as ICAEW, to up the bar and continue upping the bar. Going forward, we’re going to be important to even more stakeholders.” 

And, true to his principle of moving on at regular intervals, Rush is now taking on a new role, looking at private equity portfolio audits. He says: “It’s a market we’re strong in, but it’s one where a lot of investment is. It’s high growth – a company’s changing its complexity, its acquisitions – it’s fascinating. It’s a growth opportunity.”