Sometimes when we experience our most challenging moments in life, it can be both the belief in our ability to pull through along with the help we receive from others that changes our lives for the better. You wouldn't perhaps normally associate starting a career as an accountant with such circumstances but in some ways that proved to be the case for our latest trainee to qualify, Victoria Callaghan-Smith.
Her experience starting at Wellers was both unusual and very personal. In many ways her time working here as a trainee is possibly evidence of the famous phrase by Steve Jobs, "the reward is the journey." It's evidenced that in her work advising clients, studying, training, assisting and receiving help from colleagues, Victoria has realised true purpose. This is her journey.
I graduated from University in the summer of 2012 and didn't know what I wanted to do. So I followed that up with volunteering at the London 2012 Paralympics. My aim was to search for a job that would suit me once the Paralympics were over.
Coming out of the volunteering at such a special event, I felt ready to start the job hunt but then my Dad passed away unexpectedly which left me grieving and at even more of a loss as to what I wanted to do. I really had no idea so eventually I applied for a receptionist role at Wellers in Banbury. Looking back my thinking was to just get myself into a working environment and start moving on with my life.
I knew my Dad wouldn’t want me to waste my years of hard work in education by not finding a fulfilling job. So I went to the interview for the receptionist role and I remember the partner I met with asked, “Have you ever thought about being an accountant?”
I was shocked, my response was no, I had never thought of it as a profession, especially after studying Earth Sciences! I always had a preconception that you needed to be highly mathematical for such a career and I didn't think I was sufficiently proficient in that area.
I have since learned that preconception was incorrect, and accountancy is not all maths! Anyway I left the interview to have a think and decided that yes I could become an accountant and wouldn't that make my Dad proud.
I’ve always felt that Wellers chose me by offering me that trainee position instead of receptionist, and I am so glad they did. I will be eternally thankful that they saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself at that low point in my life.
They recognised my potential and in doing so they helped me embark on a perfect career. I can’t imagine any other career that I could enjoy as much as I enjoy this one. That’s what I like here - Managers and Partners can see what people are capable of and they will help you get there, I feel like I’m a living example of that.
I also personally relate to Wellers' mission statement, to help our people and our clients to understand and achieve their true potential, so much because of that. Even partners I have yet to directly work with have congratulated me on qualifying. I feel like they really care about staff and our progression.
You don’t need to be a maths whizz to be an accountant. Don’t get me wrong, there is still maths involved in the daily work, but there’s also a lot of problem solving and using your logic.
Another key lesson would be it’s important to ask for help and use your support network. I’m a very independent person and always like to get something done myself but there are times when you do need help. The managers here who have trained me have always been so helpful and supportive.
The variety of work I am exposed to. Not just in terms of the different types of areas of accountancy (accounts, tax, audit) but the variety of work in those areas. It’s anything but just methodical preparation of accounts and tax returns.
There’s thinking about businesses as a whole and the tax planning exercises, and the management of clients and their expectations. I particularly enjoy this interaction with clients. I love to help people, so when I can do something for anyone that eases their workload, be that a client or a colleague, I enjoy what I do even more.
For me ultimately, interpersonal skills. At the end of the day, and whatever our role (be it accountant, client, etc.), we are all human and experience emotion. Emotions influence our decisions and being able to interact with people and experiencing emotions together is what I think builds a relationship.
Sure technical skills are obviously still very important to do the job, however it’s the people and your interactions with them that you remember over any single piece of work they did for you.
My time management was definitely tested during study periods. Sometimes there were long periods out of the office which meant getting as much done as possible in the time I was in the office.
There’s also lots to think about and a lot of information to take on board as a trainee – I’m always coming across new scenarios at work and learning how to deal with them, then trying to process things learned at college that don’t always have a context because I haven’t yet done it in my daily role.
There were times when I felt like my brain just couldn’t take any more information in, but the breaks in between study are good for this. As a trainee I’m also thinking about my personal objectives to work towards to make sure I’m keeping on track with my development.
Then there’s the ACCA objectives too that need to be kept on top of and making sure I’m getting exposed to the right experience I need to be able to fulfil those objectives. Plenty to think about.
I went to University at UEA in Norwich which included a study year abroad in Canada. That time at university, both home and away, definitely helped my confidence with interacting with people, without which I think I would struggle today to deal with clients as I do.
I think the self study aspect of University also put me in good stead for managing my responsibilities and tasks that come with my work. No more being ‘spoon-fed’ like you did at school made me learn to take ownership of things.
To keep doing what I am doing. I love learning so for now I just want to continue learning and building on my knowledge with real life experience. I want to work towards promotion to Supervisor and beyond.
I once prepared a corporation tax return for a company for the wrong period. Unfortunately this then got submitted to HMRC. I was so frustrated at myself for making such a silly mistake as I pride myself on having attention to detail.
I suppose I learned that whilst it felt like I’d made such a terrible mistake, it wasn’t the end of the world and these things can be fixed, and to also double check date periods for everything I’m drafting and reviewing!
Winning the first Employee of the Year award for the Banbury office last summer at our staff day. Someone pointed out to me, of the four office awards I was the only non-manager to have won the award which made me extremely proud of everything I had achieved in those years since starting at Wellers.
It really made me think about what I could achieve in the next four years, and the years to come after that.
The content of this post is up to date and relevant as at 20/07/2018.
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