Life After Qualification - Explore the different paths your finance career can take…

We recently held the 9th instalment of our Life After Qualification series.

It was incredible to be back at an in-person event after so long behind the screens of webinars and virtual meet-ups!

Our London office played host to 40 enthusiastic attendees as they listened to our panel of experts discussing the variety of avenues a career can take once you are qualified, and then they all stayed on afterwards for a drink and some much-missed networking. 

The speakers, from a range of sectors and professional backgrounds, spoke about how they have progressed since qualification and provided useful tips on how you can take your career from strength to strength. In addition to the technical aspects of the role that you should consider, they also covered other cultural matters to consider before joining a new organisation.

The current employment landscape for accountants

• Hiring for accountants in the UK experienced a buoyant start to 2022 following a slight dip at the end of 2021
• London increases share of total recruitment to nearly half of all new vacancies
• The South East is gathering momentum as the second-largest region for accounting vacancies
• As the market improves, we would also like to showcase how many of our candidates use temporary work to both build their project skills and work flexibly
• In industry, tech firms surpass consumer goods for most accountant vacancies

A bit about the speakers…

Zoe Rudling
Audit and Business Advisory Partner and Board member of RSM UK

Zoe provides audit and business advisory services to owner-managed businesses, private equity backed businesses, large private groups and international groups. Over 15 years with the firm, she has built up experience in a range of sectors.

Her specialism is in providing advice to owner managed and PE backed businesses, particularly at times of growth or change, by getting to know the individuals involved, understanding their aspirations and goals as well as the business opportunities and challenges. She stays in regular contact with her clients to act as a sounding board or for ad-hoc advice.

Philippa Carter
Director, Accounts and Business Advisory at RSM UK

Philippa is Head of Accounts and Business Advisory in RSM's Bromley office. She works with business owners and finance directors throughout the Kent and London regions, focusing on helping clients to develop their business and on providing financial reporting services.

After training within audit at Baker Tilly, Philippa took a step away from Practice in 2013 and moved into a Law firm where she worked as a Financial Controller. With this experience behind her, Philippa made the decision to move back into a top 100 practice and then returned to RSM in 2019.

Ben Norton
SVP, Corporate Finance at Kobalt Music

Ben is currently working at Kobalt Music, he started his finance career at EY in assurance and qualified (ACA) in 2014. Ben then stayed at EY for a further 4.5 years and during that time was given the opportunity to work abroad in New York. 

After leaving EY in 2018, he worked in an M&A role for 7 months before finding his feet at Kobalt, where he has now been working for almost 4 years. Ben has been promoted almost every year and now runs several teams in their corporate finance division.

Chris Knott
Manager, Film and TV at Saffery Champness

Chris is currently working at Saffery Champness, within the Film and TV team, which specialises in the creative sector tax reliefs. Chris trained at Hazlewoods in Cheltenham, and stayed for 1 year post qualification, before making the move to London.

Since moving to London he has worked at Saffery Champness, and has enjoyed working with a wide range of Film and TV producers, from the big US studios to smaller UK independent production houses.

Ameya Shah
Head of Finance, Business Partnering at A+E Networks UK

Ameya joins us with a wealth of commercial experience largely within the media (production and music) industry, from businesses like Warner to A&E Networks where she is now, Ameya has worked her way up through a variety of commercial roles. 

Ameya is now a Head of Finance - Business Partnering at A&E Networks and looks after a team based out of London. Ameya became chartered (CIMA) during her time at Warner music where she was involved in financial planning and the investment side of the business.