How did you get into accountancy?
I did a physics degree at the University of Leeds. It’s pretty common for physics graduates to go into finance, and it interested me. I spent time working in the finance department of a London law firm and enjoyed it. PEM seemed right for me. It has a great reputation in the Cambridge region, which is where I’m from and wanted to return to. Working with SME owner-managed businesses really appealed, too – they’re businesses with a tangible story.
I joined the audit department at PEM in 2018. Double entry bookkeeping is like a second language and it was a steep learning curve, looking at everything behind a functioning business. Because PEM is sector-agnostic, I saw the nuances of different industry sectors.
How tough was training as an ACA?
It was different to any other study I had done. There’s no time to sit and work things out, so you have to be very methodical, and that’s applicable to the real world; it’s impossible to sweat the minute detail on every single task.
I got a lot of support from PEM through my studies and our intake worked together, helping each other. We all wanted to be in the same position at the end and to get everyone across the line, which says a lot about the culture of PEM.
Why the move to corporate finance?
I prefer working on project-type assignments, rather than on repetitive monthly cycles. Corporate finance is seen as a more exciting side of accounting and I wanted to know more. The opportunity to move across came as I was revising for my final ACA exams while I wasn’t actively looking to leave audit, I had to grasp that chance. I started a year ago, the first Monday after my exams, with the belief from PEM that I would pass them. That said, salary discussions didn’t happen until the results came out several weeks later.
What is your current role?
I was promoted to corporate finance assistant manager in August. I support the partners in transactions and valuations, taking responsibility for the financial modelling for deals and management buyouts (MBOs), which leans on my ACA training. I also produce valuation reports and information memoranda, and act as a communication channel for clients. We have three new joiners starting, so I’ll also be helping to get them up and running.
I’ve been involved in four deals that have completed since I joined the corporate finance team, and we have six we’re currently working on. I was told it was feast or famine, but it’s been one long feast so far. Although there hasn’t been much downtime, it’s given me the opportunity to learn so much and prove myself in the team. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. I want to stick at it and keep learning from the partners, who are incredibly experienced practitioners.
Which deals have stood out for you?
Advising Cambridge Bioscience on its sale to Nordic BioSite taught me lots. There was an overseas buyer and the simultaneous sale of Research Donors, sister company to Cambridge Bioscience. The clients were involved in COVID-19 testing and a proportion of sales was based on blood tests. My role was primarily financial analysis, understanding the implications of splitting out the business elements that were COVID-19-related. It was a good way of getting under the bonnet of the business to understand how it worked.
The MBO of Titan, a St Neots-based engineering company, also stood out. I came in halfway through; my predecessor had set up the financial model before leaving the firm and the bank wanted to change some of the fundamental assumptions. Trying to understand the rationale behind all the moving parts within the model, and therefore how to change it, wasn’t easy. I’ve carried that forward, trying to make my models more automated and more user-friendly.
I am progressively feeling more confident in what works and what doesn’t, and in my role .