MP: Hello Anna, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. As Boult’s Finance Director you have a lot of responsibilities! What do you most enjoy about your work?
AE: I love that it is so challenging and changeable. My work is never the same, with so many things happening in the world, the markets and legislation. I really enjoy that aspect of it. I also enjoy looking at the different sides of our business, understanding how they work and assisting with the strategic direction of the firm as much as I can from a finance point of view.
There are so many challenges in the economy and markets at the moment: the most recent NI increase; inflation; tariffs affecting our clients; and uncertainty around currency just to name a few. All of that needs to be taken into account when the firm is making operational and strategic decisions.
Another big thing for me is that I enjoy collaborating with the people in the firm. Boult has a real family feel and I’ve always found it to be a very approachable environment. Everyone here is extremely intelligent, with incredible qualifications – so you might be forgiven for being nervous speaking to some people at first. I certainly wondered, “how do I even talk to them?” when I started here. But in reality, it never feels that way. Everyone is lovely and willing to make time for you.
It’s true… I really enjoy coming to work!
MP: That’s a great way to feel about coming into work. The Boult finance team is quite a big group nowadays.
AE: Yes, the Accounts consists of billing, financial accounts, credit control and finance teams. We’ve grown as a team to reflect how much we’ve grown as a firm not just in the number of people we have in the team, but also the skills required to do our job. Since we became a LLP in 2018, Boult’s turnover has grown by around 20% – we’ve had to upscale to keep pace.
Managing quite a large team can be challenging, but it’s also so exciting. I think we’re very good at learning from each other as a firm and as a team. In addition to that, most of our Accounts team have worked for Boult for a long time – some even longer than even me. There’s lots of funny stories about their time here – but maybe those are for another time…
I really would like to highlight that my team is fantastic. Everyone does their part in making our work a success. We work together as a team – that’s what I’m most proud of. “One team, one dream”.
MP: What was your background prior to joining Boult?
AE: I studied Professional Accounting at university before becoming ACCA qualified. Well, before that I studied engineering at school and started with economics before moving to the Professional Accounting degree. I worked elsewhere before I joined Boult. During this time, I also did my studies. I would be up at six am, at work by eight until five pm, then on to my classes at university before, finishing at 10pm! That was certainly full on. I joined Boult as an Accounts Assistant. When I joined Boult, I never really planned to stay that long in one firm; typically, you need to move companies in order to progress in finance. But I was lucky and have been able to build my career and grow with Boult as the company did. I’ve just passed my 16th anniversary at Boult!
MP: Congratulations! Boult has certainly changed quite a lot during that time.
AE: Yes! We went through the LLP conversion – which was something I was heavily involved with. Then came Brexit, the opening of our new European offices, in Germany and Spain, the firm reaching £50m in turnover – all of that changed my role a lot.
MP: It’s just as well you like challenges!
AE: Definitely!
MP: Do you have any advice you would impart for your younger self?
AE: Be confident. Keep going: everything will be ok in the end. Appreciate and take the credit for what you do. When I started at university, I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to follow everything in the lectures, but I quickly realised that I could – I should have backed myself and my skills. In the end, I achieved a first, so that self-confidence might have been lacking where it shouldn’t have been.
It’s something I sometimes see amongst our newer recruits too and always want to encourage them to value themselves and their worth.
MP: Some good advice for everyone! What are the biggest challenges you see for your role at the moment?
AE: It’s the uncertainty. Just like so many businesses, we’re navigating a changeable world and economy at the moment. Whenever markets are unpredictable, people and companies have difficult decisions to make. But you have to adapt to changes and navigate through challenges. We strive hard to make sure that Boult continues to be a great place to work in order to attract and retain the best minds in our industry.
MP: You’ve also been involved with IP Inclusive and Women in IP.
AE: Yes – I’ve attended their events in the past, including being one of the panellists at “Mind the Gap”. This was inspired by Mary Ann Sieghart’s book The Authority Gap: Why women are taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it. The discussion was about diversity, unseen biases and women’s roles and how it can be challenging. I’ve been extremely lucky in my own career and never felt like I couldn’t be myself at Boult. Being true to yourself and others in a professional capacity is very important. However, I’ve seen many others face challenges in top roles as a woman. Overcoming the challenges you might face as a woman in a leadership role can be really hard. That isn’t something I see at Boult and we have amazing women like yourself, Michelle, across our leadership positions, which is a real strength of the firm.
MP: Thanks Anna. That’s very kind of you to say. I’m proud that there have been, and continue to be, many incredible female role models in senior positions within our firm.
AE: Absolutely.
MP: To finish on a personal question – do you bring your expertise with spreadsheets home with you?
AE: Haha! I do – I manage quite a lot of spreadsheets for the family! … But I don’t look at it as a chore – I enjoy it.
And for those getting into finance – I promise that a career in finance doesn’t have to be as boring as it sometimes gets made out to be!
MP: It’s amazing if you’re lucky enough to enjoy what you do as a career. Although I think I’m better suited to being a patent attorney…
AE: A role in finance can of course be stressful, but you can develop resilience, learn how to manage stress and challenges. Sometimes, you’ve got to get on and do it. But at the same time, it can be a very satisfying and rewarding career; particularly if you’ve got a good team around you, which I certainly do.
MP: Thank you so much for your time, Anna.
AE: Thank you Michelle!
If you would like to read more about Anna her profile can be found here. To find out more about a career at Boult, visit our careers page.
View the full series here.
