Our people
Fiona joined BDO Stoy Hayward in 1996 and, soon after completing her ACA, joined our Corporate Finance team. She is now a Director within the corporate finance investigations division and is almost as likely to be found at a client’s office in Cape Town or San Francisco as she is at her desk in London.
“If there’s one piece of career advice I’d offer to someone joining BDO Stoy Hayward it’s that, if you’re interested in a particular team or type of work, all you have to do is ask.”
That’s how I came to join the Corporate Finance team soon after finishing my ACA exams. I’d had some contact with Corporate Finance through some assurance work and enjoyed the project-based nature of the work. I’d also had positive feedback from friends who’d been on secondments there.
Looking back, I’d say it’s been even more varied than I’d hoped. I’ve worked all over the world, been on a six-month secondment to one of our clients and worked on a huge range of transactions along the way.
I started out with lots of small IPOs and flotation work and spent my first year as an Executive learning the ropes. As I’ve progressed through Manager to Assistant Director and now Director, I’ve tended to work on bigger clients and the transactions have become more complex and high value.
They’re much more international too. I enjoy the travel aspect and I’ve had the chance to take on assignments in South Africa, the US and all over Europe. It usually involves a trip of two or three weeks and could either be a UK company making acquisitions abroad or an international company looking to invest in the UK.
You also get the chance to use your knowledge outside the core areas of our work. The firm now gives everyone six days off a year to use for volunteering if they want to help a community project or charity. This gave me the chance recently to go to Ghana and advise a Fairtrade project on raising funds for their work. It’s a good example of how the firm is big enough and flexible enough to accommodate you as you pursue the career path that’s right for you.