Can you tell us about your career journey? 

It’s been unconventional! My first degree was in Accounting and Finance and I became a professionally qualified accountant in 2002. My life’s ambition was to be a Finance Director, which I was working towards whilst working as an accountant doing statutory accounts and tax returns for the university I was working at. In 2010, I was studying an Executive MBA part-time, planning a wedding, and all set for world domination in the world of higher education finance. However, whilst doing all of that, a stint teaching professional accounting in the evenings (when I wasn’t studying) to pay for the wedding, put paid to that. I found that I loved teaching more than doing statutory accounts and tax returns, and the rest is history!

So, I worked in a range of finance/accounting roles for about 10 years before I crossed over to the ‘dark side’ and became an academic, teaching accounting! I was always very interested in student transition from higher education to the graduate labour market (having trained graduate trainees in my accounting roles); I took that interest into doing a PhD, which I did part-time over five years and had two babies during (not recommended if you can help it!). I have since been very lucky to be involved in interesting research projects in the fields of employability, education and race that have had some positive impact on different student groups’ experience and graduate success.

I am very fortunate to be able to constantly learn and take that learning into the classroom, approaches to supporting students through their learning and my teaching practice.

 Tell us about your current role at Manchester Met… 

I am a Reader in Accounting, Finance and Banking Department. This essentially means I have an academic role where I get to do all the things I love: some teaching, some research, and some leadership. It now means I can now try and influence policy and practice in important areas that impact on the student experience. For example, I am lead for PG Employability. It is important to note that employability is not solely about jobs, it is much broader than that, incorporating, for example, lifelong learning and transferable skills, career management, and so on. I will be spending some time looking at key priorities to improve postgraduate student experience and their outcomes, and how we are going to measure and evaluate that.

What are your greatest achievements so far?   

If we’re talking work, I would have to say my biggest achievement is getting to a position where I can play a part in influencing policy and actions that could enhance the life opportunities of our students, particularly marginalised students. 

My greatest achievement is using the privilege that I have in the position that I now hold (which I have worked hard through study and accessing opportunities), to try and make the lives of students better.

What advice would you give to students who aspire to a career in Accounting, Finance and Banking?   

I have come into my career through a very unconventional route. I did not work in a ‘Big Four’ firm, I did not even work in practice, and found myself en route to becoming a Finance Director. It is possible! 

Your career is made up of ‘squiggly lines,’ there is no linear path into the careers. Have aspiration and self-belief but be prepared to make compromises and accept that you may need to take an alternative route to get to where you want to be in the longer term. 

What I would say, is seek out opportunities and put yourself forward for things. University is absolutely the right place to take measured risks and get things wrong – you are not going to get sacked! It is how you learn and grow. You are looking to go into a very competitive industry where technical competence is expected – it is not value adding. You must develop your skills, your networks. There are so many different, exciting, and growing sectors that cut across these industries – lots of amazing opportunities! However, having a degree is a brilliant achievement, but not enough for you to gain that competitive advantage over your peers. You can achieve amazing things, so do not restrict your opportunities by not engaging with the fantastic schemes and initiatives, networks, societies, and communities that Manchester Met has to offer.

What does diversity in Accounting, Finance & Banking mean to you?

Diversity is about recognising and celebrating difference. It is not about tolerance, tokenism or platitudes. It is about ensuring that the lived experience of each and every individual is valued and if that is not being lived, that we are doing something about it. 

Diversity in Accounting, Finance and Banking means that we create an inclusive culture in which everyone thrives, feels safe in being their authentic self, and a lived sense of belonging. Diversity means a shared empowerment. It means that voices, views, practices that are not normalised or centred, are not perceived as inferior. This does not just mean students and staff, this also means in our curriculum. 

How can experiences of students not from the UK be brought into our teaching? How are business issues outside of the UK, US, and Australia problematised? What business practices are prevalent in the Global South? How do we critique these? Is it always the case that Western approaches are the only way to address business issues? Why are businesses in South Africa committed to integrated reporting (a type of reporting on societal value rather than just financial value, but not US or UK companies) which is absolutely what we need in the context of wider global sustainable development goals, yet our international accounting standards are based on UK and US generally accepted accounting principles…

For me diversity is not just about people in our learning community, but what we learn and how we learn it.