Ashleigh joined George Hay in September 2016, after graduating from university with a degree in Psychology.
As our Marketing Manager, she takes care of all promotional activity across our three offices, in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
Her work ranges from making sure our clients are kept up to date with the latest news and issues affecting their businesses, keeping our website in good shape and managing our social media channels, to organising events and assisting with business development.
Q1. As one of the members of the team who is not an accountant, what three words would you use to describe George Hay?
Respected, client-centric and convivial.
Q2. Your role is quite varied, from content writing to event organisation, and from website co-ordination to database management. Do you have a favourite element of your work?
Every day is different and I’m fortunate to be able to do all the things you mention above. I have always loved writing, since I was very young, and so there’s nothing I love more than to be challenged to write about some new tax legislation or business-related query – since I’m not a qualified accountant myself, I think I manage to bring an outsiders perspective to our content and ensure it’s accessible for the person on the street.
That being said, I do enjoy cleaning and managing data; there’s something satisfying about keeping things up to date and doing something more ‘process-driven’.
Q3. Your profile tells us that you have a degree in Psychology. How does that help you in your marketing role?
Contrary to popular belief, my degree in Psychology doesn’t mean I automatically know what you’re thinking!
Having an understanding of how people think and what motivates certain human behaviours is, of course, very helpful when it comes to marketing – whether appealing to a customer, engaging them or compelling them to purchase, marketing and psychology often go hand-in-hand.
Q4. The accounting profession has been and is still going through significant change, how does this impact your work?
Even in the 5 years that I’ve been with George Hay, there has been huge change within the accounting profession, not least the ongoing digital transformation and introduction of Making Tax Digital.
With this kind of transformation comes a requirement to continue to meet the needs of the businesses and individuals we work with as they too evolve, without hesitation. Where once it was all about numbers and data, advisory and strategic input is now equally important. Where some practices are just beginning to explore this avenue, I think George Hay set themselves apart in that we have always had a two-pronged approach to supporting our clients and so are already equipped to meet this demand.
Q5. You joined in 2016, which compared to many at George Hay is relatively recently, but what would you say has been your biggest achievement during this time?
Identifying your own achievements can be difficult, but I like to believe that our approach to marketing ourselves has become more consistent in the time that I’ve been with the firm, that people know more about the people who make George Hay what it is and that we market more proactively now, as opposed to reactively. The revamping of the George Hay website was a big project for us, and I’m still really proud of what we achieved with that.
Q6. We know you have a creative side, if you had a whole day free to be artistic, what would you do?
I love portraiture, and watercolour painting, so I’d probably spend a day with my paints and pencils out, leaf through some fashion magazines and find something to recreate! I’ve always wanted to go on something like ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’, but I’d need more than a day for that!
Q7. The George Hay team seem to be a little bit obsessed with food and drink! What’s your go-to meal?
I am a total sucker for pasta, or potato… especially in Winter, when all you crave is something warm and comforting! So, probably Lasagne or home-made Pie & Mash!
Q8. What is your favourite film or theatre show?
My favourite film has to be Finding Neverland (with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet)… and my favourite theatre show is definitely The Lion King. I’d love to go to the theatre more often!
Q9. So, you recently got married, congratulations! Where did you choose for your honeymoon, and why?
Thank you! We kind of ended up having two… a pre-wedding honeymoon in Cornwall and a post-wedding mini-moon in Kirkby Lonsdale. With Covid still a bit of an issue, we weren’t keen on going too far afield, and there’s so many beautiful places to see right on our doorstep. We love being by the sea and walking together and the UK is actually a great place to do both of those things!
Q10. Now that all the wedding plans have been realised, what’s next on your “to-do” list?
Other than to lie down in a dark room and recover from it all, actually do some Christmas shopping and long-term, to make a start on redecorating the next room in our house; having moved in back in January we only managed a couple of rooms before wedding madness ensued!
