Calling the tune

LIZ CUTHBERTSON TALKS TO ALLISON PLAGER ABOUT HER CAREER SO FAR


Even in the enlightened time that we live in, it is extraordinary to see how few partners in large firms of accountants are women. So it is both surprising and encouraging to hear about a firm that really is bucking that trend.

The firm in question is Mercer & Hole, and it can boast that of its 20 partners, six are women, a proportion of about 30%. Liz Cuthbertson is the latest woman to have been made partner, and she joined the firm as a senior manager in 2006.

But how has Liz made her way to partner?

That rare person

After completing a degree in German and Italian at the University of Reading, Liz took up a training contract with KPMG. She had been going to London originally, but then the offer of KPMG Hamburg came up. Liz grabbed the chance. Not only would she be able to keep up her German, but she would be living in the country and really be subsumed in the culture there.

In all, she spent three years in Hamburg, training and working as an auditor on a number of large quoted businesses, often German subsidiaries of UK companies. She worked to German accounting standards, as well as UK GAAP.

All the work was done in German and Liz says it was a ‘fantastic experience’.

Her accountancy qualification is with the Scottish institute, ICAS. It was helpful therefore that her principal, Morag Mclean, is Scottish and had also done the ICAS qualification.

While in Hamburg, Liz says she was on a pretty steep learning curve. She was ‘propelled into situations quicker’ than she might have been in the UK, as she had not previously studied accounting (her degree being in languages) as her German peers had done.

Although Liz had to return to the UK to gain some work experience to qualify as an accountant, she was otherwise completely immersed in the German lifestyle. She says that Morag was ‘a great support and inspirational from day one’ – and it is important to have encouragement, especially when you are effectively doing the training on your own.

Doing the accountancy exams in KPMG London would have been different as many others would have also been going through the process with her, providing the camaraderie and mutual encouragement which can be so helpful.

Back to the UK

In 1996, Liz decided it was the right moment to return to the UK. She subsequently joined the Coopers & Lybrand tax department which saw her transfer into the private client arena. She says that she felt she had not done much tax work and thought it would be interesting and beneficial to work in this area.

She went to the expat department, and also spent some time dealing with internationally mobile employees.

This was enjoyable but Liz found it rather ‘narrowly focused’ and, after a while, made the move to Doughty Hanson & Co a private equity firm, where she advised on tax implications of the co-investment scheme and the remuneration for key executives, many of whom were non-UK domiciled.

This was a ‘really fast-paced and exciting environment’ says Liz, but while career progression was available to her, it was not in areas that she wished to pursue.

However, she did complete the tax exams, becoming a chartered tax adviser in 2000. She describes these as ‘invaluable’. The training is ‘intensive and CIOT students learn a lot about tax very quickly’.

As a professional tax adviser, the CTA is a particularly important qualification to possess, says Liz, as it signals to clients that you have the ‘premium qualification to give tax advice’. Being a chartered accountant is of course very useful, she adds, giving advisers ‘great understanding about business and commerciality’ but for tax advisers, she feels the CTA is crucial.

Therefore, 2001 saw her return to practice with Rawlinson & Hunter, where Liz advised a portfolio of high net worth individuals on a range of advisory matters and continued to work with both UK and non-UK domiciled clients.

Eventually, after an interesting stint with Tenon, Liz was recruited by Mercer & Hole in a senior manager role in 2006.

Ideal place

It is at Mercer & Hole where Liz feels she has found her niche. She is ‘very happy’ with the firm, and has been able to develop her focus on non-domiciled clients.

As Morag had been a mentor for Liz at KPMG Hamburg, at Mercer & Hole, Gill Tallon has also been inspirational. She interviewed Liz for the position and Liz says she liked ‘everything she heard’, and indeed she is doing the job that she wants: providing a personal tax service to clients.

Liz has a young daughter and loves spending time with her, but equally wants to have a fulfilling career. This she has found possible at Mercer & Hole, a firm which rewards talent and hard work, but is friendly and also ‘takes the work-life balance’ seriously.

Overall, Liz really enjoys her job. ‘No two days are the same. There is a diverse range of clients and if you have the expertise and the commitment, you can succeed.’

Biography

Liz Cuthbertson, private client partner at Mercer & Hole. She trained as a chartered accountant with KPMG Hamburg, and then returned to the UK to join Coopers & Lybrand.

After periods working with Doughty Hanson & Co, where she qualified as a chartered tax adviser, Rawlinson & Hunter and Tenon, she joined Mercer & Hole in 2006 in a senior manager role before being promoted to partner.

Liz is married with a young daughter and, when she can, also enjoys playing the piano, skiing, and travelling.