Never Give Up: From AAT to Associate Partner.
An interview with Ormerod Rutter’s Rachel Smith about her accountancy career journey.
Q: Tell us about your career with Ormerod Rutter:
A: I started with Ormerod Rutter 19 years ago, so I’ve been here a few years now! I was a fresh faced 18-year-old, having just finished my A-levels and was lucky enough to get an interview at Ormerod Rutter’s Bromsgrove office with one of their senior partners, Julian.
I had always liked maths and problem solving, so I thought this position would be right for me.
It was my first ever interview, except for my Saturday job at the time, and I thought that it had gone really well. Julian even said when I took the role that I was the best candidate that he had interviewed that day. It only came to light when I’d been there a while that I had been the only candidate to interview that day! Luckily for Julian, I’m still here 19 years later!
My first thought about my new job was:
‘This is amazing. I’ve got a great job; I’m earning my money and I don’t have to do any more exams!’.
I soon realised that there were another 7 years of exams to go!
I started at Ormerod Rutter and went down the path of an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) qualification. I’d achieved quite good A-Level results and decided to take this path, I’ve never been to university.
Taking the AAT qualification whilst working helped me to learn on the job, and to put what I was learning into practise. I was given down time from work to study which was good. I loved the support that I got from the team around me. Ormerod Rutter put me through my exams and the time and care from them was second to none.
I passed my AAT and decided to do my ACCA qualification (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). I had been working at Ormerod Rutter for 3 years by this point and was dealing with a lot of clients’ accounts from scratch. Progressing to do the ACCA was the next step for me. This took me 4 years to complete and become qualified.
Once I started ACCA, I found this shift tough and had to really work on dedicating time to my studies, especially with my responsibility in the office increasing, which meant I had to be focussed and determined both in and out of work.
However, when it’s for a career that will give you amazing rewards, you have to persevere, invest your time and become quite self-motivated. You have to understand that it’s ok to get things wrong sometimes. My colleague and I were completing the course at together, so it was nice to have someone to study with.
I had never failed anything in my life before, I had got used to doing well with my studies. However, during my ACCA qualification, I failed two of my papers. I was really upset but Julian spoke to me and said:
‘There will be times when you fail. But the important thing is, you have to learn how to get back up and keep going.’
This is something that has stayed with me. Sometimes you have to fail, or do something wrong, to learn how to get it right. That has been massive for me in my career.
One of the things that I love about my job is to help people to develop and do well with their careers. Because I’ve grown through the practice and been here so long, I like to reinvest what I have learnt into the new people moving through the business.
That’s a big thing for me: it’s not just the external training that’s important. How I’ve progressed internally at Ormerod Rutter isn’t just down to what I’ve done in terms of qualifications. The attitude, habits, and work ethic that you learn from your team will shape your career.
Once I’d finished my ACCA, my experience matched my qualification. I was at a senior level within the accounts team which meant that I was preparing accounts and sending them on to a partner who would deal with our clients.
I had always thought that once you’re qualified, you’ve done it: you’ve learnt everything you need to learn. It was Pete Ormerod who told me that actually, this was just the start of my career and the real learning started from this point.
I became a manager within the accounts team. at this point, I was reviewing sets of accounts that had been prepared for clients, beginning to look at larger clients’ accounts, and managing a team of people.
During this time, I had my first child so took some time out for maternity leave. After returning to work from maternity leave, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to oversee the whole accounts team which I really enjoyed.
I then took some further time out for my second child and upon returning from maternity leave I found myself at a crossroads, not knowing what direction to take next. The partners at Ormerod Rutter have always been so supportive and encouraging. They listened to my thoughts and considered what I wanted out of my role, what my skills were, and what I might need support with. With their support, I decided to keep pushing forward with my career and to go into an associate role.
This meant that I started to advise my own clients. In addition to that, I started to look at the commercial side of OR; what we do well and what might need improving. Because I’ve been in the business so long, I can use that knowledge to make it the best place possible. We have a lot of clients coming through the doors and I want to make sure that we serve them in the best and most effective way possible.
I’ve now become an associate partner in the practice. I look after the majority of our production departments and have my own client base as well.
The past couple of years has been an unprecedented time for me and the rest of the practice. Covid has highlighted the determination needed by all businesses, not just us, to overcome challenges. The past two years has been challenging but it has made us as a business stronger and has made me individually have more fight to get back up.
I have loved helping our clients through the pandemic. Of course, some have managed quite easily but many more have found it difficult.
I love my job, every day. It’s a very varied role and no day is ever the same. I could be advising a client, helping a staff member with something they’re struggling with, or working on strategy with the partners. There’s not a day when I don’t learn something new, not a day I go home and have not enjoyed what I’ve done. Yes, of course there are challenging days, but there’s never a day that I don’t love what I do.
Having a team around you who have the same mindset drives you forward which is a big thing at Ormerod Rutter. No matter what level, from apprentice to partner, we work as one team.
Q: What will surprise people about accountants and accountancy?
A: I think we all have a certain perception of an accountant, which is very different to reality. I know that we all like to help people and to drive our clients’ businesses. We will do anything we can to help and love to see them succeed. The great thing about us here at Ormerod Rutter is that we can learn from how we’ve grown our own business and use these skills and knowledge to advise our clients.
A lot of people might think that all accountancy work is the same but there are so many different paths to follow with this career. There’s practice and industry accounting. You can specialise in personal tax, corporation tax, audit and many other even more specialist areas. I cover accounts generally but have worked across all of these areas during my career.
There will be a role in accounting to suit anyone who’s interested. There’s client facing work or more technically specific work. You don’t have to be fully qualified to have a successful career in accounting, there are opportunities at all levels.
Q: What advice would you give someone who’s looking to start a career in accounting?
A: I’d say that if you’re someone who likes problem solving, and you’re not scared to try and find a solution; it’s for you. That’s what accountancy is; it’s not just crunching numbers on a calculator. You must have a lot of self-drive and self-motivation.
I went into this career because I like numbers and I like people; you get a lot of opportunity in practice work to speak to a lot of people. I’m a people person so this worked for me but there are a lot of different routes for different personalities.
This is a career, not just a job. It’s a great career with lots of opportunities and I love every part of it. You need to be open minded and give yourself time to adapt from your previous work or study. What I’ve loved about being at Ormerod Rutter is that you never have to go through anything on your own.
Have a look at different qualifications, AAT, ACCA, ACA. See what’s out there, don’t be scared to have a look.
At Ormerod Rutter, we have opportunities for people at any stage in their career. From apprentices, to graduates, to those already in the profession who are looking for a change.
Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers; you can start any time. We offer apprenticeships up to a Level 7, which is the equivalent of a master’s degree. You can study and build a career at any point in your life, no matter what you’ve been doing previously.
I’d say that in this career of accountancy, tax, audit; you really can’t give up. Never be afraid to make a decision and get it wrong. It’s so easy to give up on something you find difficult. If I’d have done that when I started out, I wouldn’t have the career that I love and enjoy today.
You never know where you’ll end up. If someone had told me 19 years ago that I’d still be here, and in the role I’m in, I wouldn’t have believed it. To get to the point where I am has taken a lot of hard work and sacrifice, we learn from our own successes and failures.
Give it a go, you might enjoy it!
Visit our careers page to start your Ormerod Rutter journey: https://ormerodrutter.co.uk/careers/
