Caroline joined George Hay back in 1999 and will celebrate her 20th year with us next month!
She was first based at our Biggleswade office, before transferring to the Letchworth office in 2008. Now, following her maternity leave after the birth of her youngest son, Fletcher, Caroline has returned to work at our Biggleswade branch.
Day-to-day, she is responsible for completing accounts and corporation tax returns for businesses of all sizes.
Q1. On the 4 October, you will celebrate your 20th anniversary at George Hay! How have things changed in that time (your role, accounting and the way in which we work with businesses), and is there a moment in your career that you can pinpoint being particularly proud of?
Things have changed a lot since 1999 – when I first started at George Hay, we didn’t have email and I actually had the only computer with the internet on it! Records were all kept manually at the time, whereas now so much more is computerised.
The moment I can recall being most proud of is when I passed my final ACCA exam.
Q2. Describe yourself in three words?
Cheerful, chatty & organised.
Q3. What is your food heaven and food hell?
I wouldn’t call myself a ‘fussy’ eater… I really love seafood but, perhaps ironically, I would say that my food hell is Salmon. There’s logic in there somewhere!
Q4. Describe George Hay in one word?
Meticulous – the devil is always in the detail which is why we work as we do!
Q5. Tell us one interesting fact about yourself that we wouldn’t already know?
When I was younger, I used to take circus skills classes. I learned trapeze, stilt-walking and juggling (just don’t ask me to prove it!)
Q6. As one of our Sage Business Cloud Advisers, you’ve been quite involved with helping our clients prepare for and comply with the requirements of Making Tax Digital. What do you think has been the biggest challenge for many businesses, and what has been the biggest benefit?
The introduction of Making Tax Digital has proven challenging for many businesses, and perhaps even more so for those who have previously been so used to keeping their records manually. Despite this, the new regime has also proven to be a good opportunity for businesses; simply by revisiting their current practices and processes, in preparation to comply, many have recognised the benefits that digitisation can offer going forward.
Q7. If you could start up a new hobby or learn a new skill, what would it be?
I would love to learn a foreign language – specifically, Italian. With my new found fluency, I’d then love to buy a camper van and travel the country from top to bottom.
Q8. Back in 2008, you took on the 3 Peaks Challenge alongside some of your George Hay colleagues! Are there any other big sporting feats that you’d like to tackle?
2008 was definitely my year for fitness; I scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro and ran the London Marathon as well as participating in the 3 Peaks Challenge. Having now had 2 children, I’d love to get back into fitness and hopefully tackle some big sporting feats alongside my sons, in the future.
Q9. Given that your 20th anniversary coincides with George Hay’s 80th year in business… what do you think is the secret to the firms longevity?
I’d have to say the people! Without people, there is no business.
Q10. Autumn officially started on 23rd September. What is your favourite thing about this time of year?
The colours of the trees, wrapping up warm and the lead up to Christmas! I used to work in our Letchworth branch and, being a garden city, when travelling to work at this time of year some of the roads lined with trees looked like they were on fire!
