Karen joined The Orange Partnership just under a year ago as a Senior Consultant. As a qualified accounting professional Karen spent her earlier career in Internal Audit within Local Government. This was very much to our benefit as she joined TOP with a good understanding of risk based audit and was able to pick up our bespoke methodology very quickly.
Here’s an insight into Karen’s perspective on a career in audit as a woman and how it’s changed over the years:
Q: What drew you to a career in audit and finance when you were starting out?
Maths was my favourite subject at school so it seemed a natural thing to do to be working with numbers. I started in a financial accounts office covering purchase ledger, sales ledger, cashiering and control accounts. I was then offered an audit role which then enabled me to carry on working in a finance environment without the month end routines to contend with, which at the time was very appealing. It is from that initial move to auditing that has seen me undertaking financial, qualitative and risk based audits in a number of different roles within the public sector and has led me to my role within TOP today.
Q: You joined TOP relatively recently. How do you find it as a woman working predominantly on major construction contracts and is it very different to Local Government where you worked previously?
Whilst it is a male dominated industry, I have found all people I have dealt with very accommodating and helpful. Yes, it is very different to Local Government, however, that did require me to work in similar environments at times as my audit role covered highways, transport and greenspaces which are very similar in several ways.
Q: Which women have inspired you throughout your career?
I couldn’t name individuals, however, I have worked with a number of inspirational women over the years, all very different in the way they undertake their role and in their ways of working. I think I have taken snippets from each of them, be that learning how to relate to people across different fields of work, how to interact with others to get the best out of them and to ensure you get the information you need, how to stay calm when under pressure and learnt from their knowledge of the role being undertaken. They have all helped me a lot over the years and helped me to develop as an individual too.
Q: What advice would you give to young women starting out today?
Have confidence in yourself, without being afraid to ask questions as this is how you learn. Never shy away from admitting you don’t know something as in my experience people are always willing to help you develop where needed and welcome your honesty as we can’t all know everything. Also, don’t worry about taking a change in direction as you never know what it could lead to.
