It was fantastic to hear from Anna and how she has had numerous roles at Deloitte since leaving University - here is her story.

I am a Director at Deloitte, in London – although currently I am working from home in a pretty agile way as my husband and I have an almost 2 year old that’s been home full time with us since mid March… I’ve only worked at the one company since I graduated, but I’ve had many jobs and roles along the way! I definitely made the right choice picking Deloitte and to train as an accountant after I left university as it is such a varied career and gives you a sound business understanding.

I left SWPS in ’99 and for my degree I studied Geography and Oceanography at Southampton University. In my final year I wanted to find a job with a reputable company in Southampton as I sailed and didn’t want to move to London. Deloitte had a small office there and I fancied the idea of learning some business skills. I qualified as a chartered accountant with them and whilst it’s hard work taking exams at the same time as working full time, I haven’t looked back.

I joined Deloitte in audit, and whilst I’ve spent some time in transaction services and consulting, audit has always been a good fit for me. From day one you spend your time with clients, asking questions and challenging them on judgements or controls. It’s interesting and different each day and you have to learn fast. Clearly it is hard work too, but I think worth it.

These days I work in our firm’s national office, in audit quality and risk management. This means that I am responsible for the quality of some of our biggest and riskiest audits across our European firm, ensuring the audit partner and team reach appropriate conclusions. I spend my days dealing with difficult questions from partners and directors and until recently travelled extensively.

I have been back from maternity leave for a year now and have been able to find good balance in my role as well as being able to take a day off each work without it impacting my role or career.