A proud Melbournian, Alice attended Sheffield High School for 14 years, joining in Reception and leaving in Year 13 in 1999.

She has lived in West Yorkshire for 18 years, where she enjoys being a member of the Women’s Institute (both a face to face and a virtual WI), crafting, cinema and singing with a local choir. She has also taken part in amateur dramatics in recent years – something she never tried during her school days!

What was your most memorable moment as a pupil at Sheffield Girls’?

I was invited to join the cross GDST choir for the Trust’s 125th birthday celebration at the Royal Albert Hall in 1997. I enjoyed the rehearsals at other schools and staying with families in Putney and Kingston.  During the dress rehearsal I got told off for running round the gallery in the Albert Hall, but it was worth it! I had no idea how I was going to pick my parents out in the audience until my lovely mum arrived wearing a brightly coloured scarf.  That did the job…Every time I watch the proms now I can say I have sung there.  A very special moment.

Can you share with us a bit about your career journey after leaving Sheffield Girls’?

I had pretty much decided before I went to university that I wanted to train as an accountant afterwards, but I was advised to take a subject I enjoyed and then do the accountancy qualification as a graduate. I did work experience at Hawsons and KPMG and then secured a summer internship at PwC in Sheffield at the end of my second year, in 2001. From that I was offered a graduate job in assurance (audit) in Sheffield and I took the ACA alongside full time work.  I qualified in 2005 and became a fellow of the ICAEW in 2015.

What influenced you to take the career path you did and can you tell us about what you’re doing now?

I didn’t have a firm plan about what I wanted to do after I qualified as an accountant.  I attended a training course on some new technical requirements which were relevant to one of my audit clients, and through that I met a Senior Manager in Audit Technical at PwC. She was looking for a secondee to work for her, and I joined her team for 16 months, travelling to London for 2-3 days a week. This was before Microsoft Teams, and so I spent lots of time when I wasn’t in London on conference calls.  I was promoted to Manager much earlier than my peers. I turned down a role in the US, and returned to the regions, working in Risk Assurance in Leeds. 

However, I had developed and led lots of training courses while I worked in technical, and so my next move was to join Kaplan, to train students for all the major accountancy qualifications, specialising in teaching financial reporting.  After a while I decided I wanted more freedom about how to teach and so I applied for a role at the University of Manchester, as a Teaching Fellow at Manchester Business School. 

Two bad snowy winters and a long commute, and I wanted to move back to working east of the Pennines.  So, I rejoined PwC in Risk Assurance in Leeds in 2012, where I specialised in financial services regulatory consulting and internal audit. However, missing teaching, I joined Leeds University Business School as a Senior Teaching Fellow in 2013. I taught a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, led a massive open online course, finished my MA at the Open University in Online and Distance Education, and pursued educational research and accounting and business history research.  I was promoted to Associate Professor (what used to be called a Senior Lecturer) in 2018. Covid then came, and reflecting on my career to that point, it was the technical role I missed. 

I was aware that the UK Endorsement Board had been established within the Financial Reporting Council (one of the UK’s financial regulators) in 2021, and saw a vacancy for a Project Manager. I applied, got the job and joined the team in January 2024, working in London 2 days a week.

The UKEB is the UK’s national standard-setter for international accounting standards, which are used by listed and some other companies. We technically analyse and conduct stakeholder outreach about forthcoming requirements from the International Accounting Standards Board, and our board has responsibility for deciding if we adopt them in the UK, on behalf of the government. A lot of my job is about breaking down complex information and presenting it clearly, either in writing or verbally. I also get to do applied research, which is a lovely extension of what I did as an academic.

What have been the biggest challenges in your career? And the most rewarding parts of your job?

Working full time in audit while doing my accounting exams was challenging, but I had colleagues doing the same and am still friends with them, because it was a bonding experience. Doing my master’s while teaching full time was also quite a stretch!

I’ve had some steep learning curves at various points in my career, but positive feedback from clients, students and colleagues is always rewarding.  I keep track of many former students and it’s lovely to hear what they are doing and when they tell me I influenced their career choices. I have also benefitted from some wonderful managers and mentors in my various roles, many of whom I’m friends with. One of my former managers at PwC refers to me as the little sister he never had and has been a wonderful advocate and support in my career.

Did your education at the High School influence your career?

People with a STEM background are in demand in accountancy, and my rigorous education at school has been so helpful in many ways, even though I work in an area I didn’t study at school.  Every time I sit down to write a board paper, things I learnt at school in terms of structure, logical flow, good English style etc help me.

What advice would you give your younger self (when you were at school)?

The same advice I gave to lots of my former students. It’s good to have a career plan, but some things happen by chance if you’re in the right place at the right time.  Don’t narrow down too soon as you may close some doors. Don’t be too influenced by what others are doing and comparing with them.  Follow your own path.

What advice would you give sixth form pupils at Sheffield Girls’ today?

Take advantage of everything school has to offer both academically and outside the academic arena.  You won’t always have the time and freedom later on!

If you had to sum up in a couple of sentences, how would you define what Sheffield Girls’ did for you?

The idea that nothing could hold me back, least of all my gender. Confidence and poise under pressure.