“I was interviewed by the most inspiring partner for my first job. It was down to her persuading me that accountancy was the right career for me to follow,” says Louise Hallsworth. That was with Touche Ross (now Deloitte) in Birmingham, where she worked for a short while following her accountancy and finance degree. 

Next came a move to Southampton, where Hallsworth completed her ACA with KPMG; she remained with them for a couple of years post-qualifying, then worked as a lecturer for Financial Training, but that came to a rather abrupt end. She explains: “When the recession of the 90s hit, student intake reduced by 50%. My boss said, ‘We’ve got to make one person redundant; it’s between you and someone else. You’re female, married and have a husband who works, the other guy’s married and got kids, sorry.”

When Hallsworth returned to work after having a family, she started in industry, but soon realised that “monthly management accounts definitely weren’t for me”, so moved to a small practice in Salisbury, where she remained for 16 years, rising to partner in the process. A chance call from a headhunter led to four years with James Cowper Kreston, then the same recruiter invited her to apply for a remote role for a firm closer to London that specialises in the not-for-profit and education sector. “That definitely suited my new way of life,” says Hallsworth. “At the beginning of lockdown I’d thought: ‘How are we going to survive three weeks not going to the office?’, but by this point it was a different scenario.” So, since August 2021, Hallsworth has been Audit Partner at Baxter & Co, heading up the not-for-profit sector, going to the firm’s Orpington office about once every two weeks.

Not-for-profit and education audits are something of a speciality for Hallsworth. “It’s one of those career choices that came into my lap really. One of the first audits I ever did was for a college, then I did a very large charity, and it ended up being something I was known for doing. I then married a head teacher so education naturally followed.

“I enjoy the personal aspect of it. When you’re auditing those organisations, even if they just get some VAT back or you find they haven’t had payment for something, they’re really thankful. The not-for-profit sector has a totally different approach to their auditors. I think we’re much more that trusted adviser.”

Having worked at firms of all sizes, and at different levels of seniority, Hallsworth is well placed to offer advice to those who have recently qualified. She says: “I think people need to be careful not to jump ship as soon as they qualify. There’s a tendency to get the qualification and feel the need to do something different. My advice would be just bide your time; get your feet under the table and see what you really do and don’t want to do.”

And for those that decide that audit is the right route, she advises not to be too hung up on the size of the firm or the sector you’re working in. “There’s a lot of good audit work in mid-tier and small firms. I’d say, think carefully and don’t be scared to move from a big firm to a small firm. It’s not a downward move, it’s just a change.”

One of the good things that came out of COVID-19, believes Hallsworth, is the rapid advancement of technology, particularly for small firms. “I think it gave people choices over their work-life balance. Younger people don’t want to work seven days a week, 15 hours a day. And I think the flexibility you can now have by combining working at home, at the office and with clients will improve the future of auditors going forwards.”

Given the varied trajectory of her own career, Hallsworth has mixed feelings about the idea of a rigid career plan. “I think when we start out in life, we have this square box and think this is what it’s going to be, and we gradually rub the lines out and suddenly the square box becomes a round box. And if you’re too set in what you think you should do, it can be damaging to your career. You’re only ever going to excel in something that you enjoy. My redundancy was a prime example of that. I say don’t look backwards; only look forwards and take the positive.”

Hallsworth admits her proudest moment was getting the RI (responsible individual) status and signing her first audit report. “I hate to think how many hours I spent reviewing my first quite small audit, going through all the fine details, but I felt I had achieved something.

“I think it’s good to be nervous about signing the report because it means you’re taking it seriously. If you’re not passionate about audit, then you shouldn’t be signing audit reports. At the end of the day we sign in our own names. It’s our opinion on behalf of the firm.

As for the future, Hallsworth says: “I’m definitely in my twilight years, but I’m happy where I am. My department is building, I’m growing our stake in the market. And as long as we’re always thought of as a leader in the sector, then I’ll feel that I’m fulfilling my responsibilities. I was told a while ago that auditors are guardians of financial truth, and that’s something that ties in very strongly to my beliefs.”

And the future of audit? “I think the audit profession will get stronger. I can see a split into types of audit potentially; having different audits for really large entities and smaller ones. I imagine there will be fewer people and fewer visits to clients – though I think it’s really important to have some presence. Looking the client between the eyes and asking the question – if they twitch when you’re asking it, it’s usually a good sign there’s something you don’t know about.”