Embracing opportunities when they come along is something that Brodie Cook has done throughout her career, from her first foray into accountancy at the age of 17. She was midway through her A levels when a friend mentioned applying for a job at a local firm. “I've always been the sort of person who just wants to get stuck in,” she explains. “I wasn’t sure A levels were for me, and it looked really good, so I decided to apply myself.” 

While that first opportunity didn’t work out, it inspired Brodie to contact other firms – and she was soon offered a position as an accounting trainee at Albert Goodman in Weymouth. It quickly proved to be the right fit. “Accountancy is not about maths, it’s a people business. It’s about talking to clients and knowing how to communicate. I really thrive on that side of it,” she says.

Brodie spent a year completing AAT Level 2, then Level 3, under an apprenticeship. “At that point, I was given the choice between continuing on to AAT Level 4, or starting the ACA. Again, wanting to just get on with it, I opted for the ACA.” That proved more challenging, especially juggling work, studying and buying her first home at the same time. One of the advantages, though, was meeting fellow students at college, something she hadn’t had before. 

“Our office is quite small and I was the only trainee for a good few years, so I didn’t really have anyone I could talk to,” she explains. “Once I got on to the ACA and we had courses for a couple of weeks at a time, that really helped. But it was hard to balance it all. As I always say to the newer trainees here, you have to really commit to it.”

After passing her final ACA exams in November 2021, Brodie continued to challenge herself, spending the next year taking on her own portfolio of clients and completing various secondments within the firm. It was then that she started considering a more adventurous opportunity – on the other side of the world. 

“I was going through a few changes in my personal life; I’d sold my house and a relationship had ended,” she explains. “I’d heard from a colleague about his secondment in Australia, and realised that there was really nothing stopping me from doing something similar.”

Taking the leap

As part of the Praxity alliance, Albert Goodman was able to arrange a six-month secondment for Brodie at a fellow member firm, William Buck in Sydney. “I had never lived in a city, but I thought if I’m going to go to the other side of the world, I may as well go all in and take myself completely out of my comfort zone!” she says. 

Part of her motivation was to put her skills to the test somewhere else, she adds. “I wanted to see if I was actually any good. I had been at the firm since I was 17, and I’ve always had imposter syndrome – am I just good because I’ve been here so long, and I know the policies and procedures? It was about testing the water for myself.”

The plan was for her to spend six months in Sydney from June to December 2023 – and be back at work in the UK in time for busy season. Travelling to the other side of the world was a daunting prospect, but her new firm took care of all the practicalities, including arranging somewhere for her to live. 

“William Buck have a lot of secondees from places like the UK and Canada, so they’ve got everything really well set up,” she explains. “They use an apartment hotel a few minutes’ walk from the office, and they gave me a whole information pack with things like local supermarkets, how to open a bank account and where to get a SIM card. They even picked me up from the airport.”

Getting settled

Brodie was given a week to settle in before starting work, and was encouraged to go along to a social event beforehand to meet her new colleagues. The team was so welcoming, she says, not just at the start but throughout her time there. “Everyone really embraced me, taking me out to lunch and to things like Australian Football League games so I could get the full Sydney experience.” 

She was given plenty of varied experience within her role, too. “I dabbled in a bit of everything, from internal audit to helping a new CFO,” she says. “The exposure to different types and sizes of companies was something that my own firm just couldn’t give me because we’re not of that size and scale. I really enjoyed being more involved in the business and feeling like I was adding value.”

There were a few cultural differences that she didn’t necessarily expect – particularly having to explain expressions like ‘going round the houses’ and ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’. “From what I knew of Australia, I was expecting it to be very relaxed, very casual,” she says. “The main difference for me in the workplace was needing to cover up my tattoos, not just when meeting clients but all the time. At our firm we have a ‘dress for your day’ policy, whereas in Sydney it was very much corporate dress – even on ‘casual Fridays’!”

How did she spend her time outside work? “Mainly eating! There are so many amazing food places to try. I also went for a lot of walks. The beaches along the east coast are beautiful, and the sunsets and sunrises are just amazing.” Though she used Facebook groups to meet other UK travellers, Brodie admits there were times when she felt lonely. “You’re on your own for long periods of time, so you do feel alone,” she says. 

“You have to really make an effort to stay in contact with people back home because of the time difference, and at the same time you’re trying to meet new people and make friends. I found it hard – but I also think it was something I needed. I very much forced myself to go out and meet new people, otherwise you can just sit in your apartment all day and waste the opportunities of being in this amazing city.”

Looking ahead

Friends back in the UK joked that she would meet an Aussie surfer and never want to come home – and their predictions weren’t far off. “I met an Irish chef!” she says. As time, and her new relationship, progressed, Brodie started to realise how much she was loving Australia. 

“I’ve always had a really good relationship with my line manager, and I think he noticed the change in me even before I did. On one of our regular catch-ups he said, ‘You love it out there, don’t you? You seem happier, more relaxed, more bubbly.’ And he was right. I started thinking, what if I did stay? And the more I thought about it, the more pros there were.”

Brodie asked her manager about the possibility of a sabbatical so that she could stay and enjoy the Australian summer. “He was very supportive,” she says. “Obviously I wanted to do what was best for the firm, so he went away and had a conversation with HR and the partners, and came back and said they could make it work.” She spent a further six months travelling – and looking for a more permanent role. “It sort of happened the same way this first job did: I got in touch with a few firms in the Byron Bay area, two came back to me and interviewed me – and both made me an offer.”

Her ACA qualification undoubtedly helped, she adds, especially as it gave her reciprocal membership with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) under the Global Accounting Alliance. “It was a very easy process,” she says. “I didn’t have to do any exams, I just needed my CV to show my experience, two CA ANZ-qualified referees, and verification of my ICAEW membership. ICAEW makes it even easier because you just go onto the website, put in what you need, and then you can get that confirmation letter.”

Brodie is now back in the UK before heading back to New South Wales for the start of her new life. “My firm have offered me a skilled sponsored visa, so I’ll be tied to the Byron Bay area for the next two years – which is fine, I love it there. We’re looking at houses at the moment, so it’s very much all systems go. I’m so excited to get over there and get stuck in!”

Learn more about reciprocal membership as part of the Global Accounting Alliance.