I joined haysmacintyre as a Graduate Trainee Chartered Accountant in 2013, and nine years later I became Partner and Co-head of haysmacintyre’s Property sector. I have grown both professionally and personally since joining the firm and some key milestones during my time at haysmacintyre include being named in the Accountancy Age UK Top 35 under 35 back in 2019 and being admitted to the partnership in 2023.
I came from a maths background, and whilst it was always clear that I wanted to pursue a career where I could use numbers, I have seen many people succeed from a huge range of degrees, both numeric and non-numeric.
When searching for a graduate role, I knew I wanted to join a firm where I could make an impact, and a mid-size firm like haysmacintyre was the perfect fit. From the get-go I felt the people around me genuinely cared about my career, and I want to ensure that culture continues at the firm in the future.
Working toward the ACA qualification was – and is – challenging. My main piece of advice is to stick with it. Give the exams your all, as once you’ve got your qualification, nobody can take that away from you, and it will open so many doors.
Post-qualification, I was empowered to immerse myself into the property sector – attending events, building my network and reading into the subject to deepen my technical and sector knowledge. This allowed me to build my credibility with clients and shape my portfolio. haysmacintyre gave me ownership of my career trajectory, allowed me to craft my own niche and select my industry and area of specialisation.
My advice to anyone joining the industry now would be to follow your interests, but at the same time stay flexible to the opportunities put in front of you.
I’m excited to see the property sector grow and see how we can help our clients further, whilst recruiting the right talent into the business to help us to achieve this.
haysmacintyre is a home for entrepreneurial and innovative minds. If you want to be a part of our story, we’ll ensure you’re equipped with the right tools, opportunities and mentors to become a well-rounded chartered accountant. My progression to Partner is a proof point of this.
