What attracted you to join William Buck?
About five years ago, as a young university student, I was unaware of the differences between accounting firms outside of the big four and at that early stages of your career, as someone looking to pursue accounting, you either know that you want to work for one of the big four, or you want to find a firm that resonated with you and your beliefs, which was to the situation I was in. I was familiar with William Buck because throughout university I used their app that simplifies accounting calculations. As a tech enthusiast, I appreciated that the firm was modern and aligned with current trends. During the interview process, I was able to discuss relevant projects like dashboarding and Power BI, which impressed the interviewers and compared to my experiences with other firms.
What have you gotten out of your role with William Buck since joining?
I’ve been able to drive change and see it in action at William Buck. Being given the chance to drive change is of value, as few firms allow you that freedom. Throughout my journey with William Buck, I have been able to see the how my ideas and intellectual property being used, which is something I would not have believed was possible back when I started five years ago, especially within five years. I would have thought that it would either be too big of a project or I would have to be further along in my career to implement ideas and projects and have that kind of positive impact on the firm.
What are some of the highlights you’ve experienced at William Buck?
Being given the opportunity to create and set up intellectual property and actually being able to see change happen have been amongst my top highlights as William Buck. This firm has given me the opportunity to actually drive change, not only within the firm but also with clients. I’m able to recommend strategies to clients and more often than not, they take it onboard and implement these to improve their own operations, showcasing our firm’s capabilities and growth potential.
How has your career progressed at William Buck?
I progressed from a graduate to intermediate accountant, then to senior accountant, where I then made a pivot to optimisation analyst, with the goal of becoming a Virtual CFO in the near future.
Progression for graduates typically follows a structured path: you complete your work, achieve chartered accountancy and gradually take on more complex tasks. As you gain confidence and understanding, new opportunities arise. I chose to specialise in technology, which gave me a chance to work on implementing our Active Work Paper Suite. With support from our partner group, I developed my role as an optimisation analyst, which was tailored to my strengths. This proved to me that I had chosen a firm that is actually willing to work with its staff members to help them develop and expand their role. Having the partners take an interest in my role and skill set meant they could support and mentor me on a path to find a more fitting role, which has allowed me to work on new projects in my preferred Virtual CFO space.
Where do you see your career going in the next five years?
The same place I see the accounting industry. I foresee that there will be less and less compliance dominance, which means it opens up both myself and the firm for more of an advisory approach. It’s an area I have been trying to get into, because not only is there good money, but also good value to the individual that can get a business to the level where they can actually start leveraging AI or those kinds of technologies. We’re in an evolving business and we work with individuals and businesses, some of which understand innovative technology and would utilise AI, while there are still some businesses out there that find an automatic email groundbreaking. This means there are plenty of opportunities for us to invoke real change with our clients and get them up to speed with new technologies.
I see the accounting industry shifting away from compliance and towards an advisory approach. This transition presents opportunities for both me and the firm to add value, especially as businesses begin to leverage AI and innovative technologies. While some clients understand these advancements, others still view basic technology like automated emails as groundbreaking. This gap creates ample opportunity for us to drive real change and help clients adopt new technologies.
What’s the best thing about working at William Buck?
The fact that the job is never done, at some firms there isn’t much opportunity to change or have any influence on their practices because they’re all pre-established. Whereas here at William Buck, I have been given a unique opportunity to influence decisions and the direction our firm takes. For example, I can be in meetings or pulled into conversations where I am able to add value to that conversation and my views or my comments can directly change the outcome.
Working at William Buck allows me to impact decisions and the firm’s direction. My past experience enables me to participate in meetings and discussions where I can add value, and my input can directly influence outcomes.
