How I became... (From Worcester News)

How I became...

11:03am Wednesday 29th April 2009

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Describe your working day.
I get into the office for 8.40am where I open and attempt to respond to between 20 and 50 emails. I attend about 10 client meetings per week. I service a range of clients from the medical sector, which is my specialism. This can involve face-to-face contact with surgeons, GPs, consultants, anaesthetists and even nursing and care homes.

What skills do you have that makes you good at what you do?
I have a wealth of experience in the medical sector and am an empathetic listener with a “can-do” attitude.

Where did you study to do your job, and did you need any specific qualifications?
I studied as an article clerk at a practice in Leicester for three years where I qualified as a chartered accountant (ACA) and then I joined the family firm WW Watson. I attained a degree at the University of Worcester in history and economics, and I’m a Chartered Tax Adviser. I’ve been a partner in WW Watson since 1993 and we merged with Ballard Dale Syree in 2005 What is the best part of your job? I get to meet some of the most distinguished medical professionals in the world. Many of them have invented pioneering treatments and procedures.

What is the worst part?
I don’t think I have a worst part, but I do have to help my clients be more commercially aware.

What advice would you give someone wanting to do something similar?
In today’s employment market you really need a second degree, and I also think I’d like to dispel the myth that accountancy is boring. It is a very dynamic and much needed profession.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
Marketing or advertising.

What did you want to be when you were younger and why?
I’ve always wanted to be an accountant like my father. He is such an inspiring character and the best accountant I have ever known.

What other jobs have you done?
A Christmas postman; at Harris Brush for a while; and in a warehouse as a fork lift truck driver when I was a student.

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