SOPHIA DICKENS
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT - FUSE ACCOUNTANTS LLP
Sophia is an accountant at London accountancy firm FUSE. She is responsible for looking after a variety of clients with their year-end and management accounts.
Sophia, please tell us about what you do, how you ended up doing this and why you are passionate about your work.
I work as a company accountant on a freelance basis, preparing annual company accounts and helping clients throughout the year with their bookkeeping and management accounts.
It's the perfect role for me because I love tidying things up, which is essentially what you are doing with people's finances!
It's great when a client feeds back that you have helped them to feel confident about their numbers.
Tell us about your greatest achievement.
Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with one of the Big Four accountancy firms, and more recently, becoming a Fellow Chartered Accountant.
What would your advice be to someone thinking of entering finance as a profession?
Definitely go for it, once you are qualified there are so many different roles you can go for, within accountancy or in industry. There is the option to work flexibly if you need it, and the skills are very transferable.
What is your experience of the finance industry from a woman's point of view? Would you say it is a good career choice for a woman?
It's a fantastic career choice for a woman, the sky is the limit. You could end up as a partner in an accountancy firm, or a finance director in industry.
If you have family commitments you can maintain a work life balance by working part-time for a while. There are so many opportunities in Finance with such a varied choice of roles and the chance to gain respected professional qualifications which give you a huge step up.
What's your best financial advice for any woman?
Start saving as soon as you start earning, and maintain your financial independence.
Thank you, Sophia!
Faye Watts is a Strategic Business Coach and founder of London accountancy firm, FUSE Accountants. Sharing business development skills with business owners like you through planning, coaching and advisory. She is also the co-founder of Audrey an online platform for women who know there’s more to life and sits on the board of various organisations, including as a trustee for the charity Neuroblastoma UK
