What it’s like working for a charity as an accountant

Studying AAT helped Harriet Foxon MAAT change her career path and step up into her role as commercial and finance manager at Wigan-based charity The Brick.

Harriet Foxon MAAT says that she “fell” into accounting after returning from maternity leave, but AAT gave her the confidence and skills she needed to change direction and grow her career. 

While working as an administrator and studying beauty therapy, Harriet realised she wasn’t particularly enjoying either. An opportunity arose for her to cover a colleague’s role doing bookkeeping, so she jumped at the chance to try something new. 

“I had been doing cash receipts manually and a bit of reconciling using Excel, which was then passed onto the accountants for month-end, but in the period I’d been off, the accountants had onboarded the company with Xero,” Harriet says. “Using Xero was amazing – being able to download payables and receivables reports (as I also had been doing the payment runs and chasing debts for years too, but manually which took a lot of time).” 

Learning how to use Xero piqued Harriet’s interest in bookkeeping

“I spoke to my colleague, as I was conflicted about going back to beauty therapy/make-up or studying to become a bookkeeper, and she gave me the best advice: ‘Study bookkeeping, learn it properly, as you can always do make-up as a hobby – I know you Harriet, and you’ll get bored of make-up!’ I spoke to my husband, and he said: ‘Well, you might as well go the whole hog and become an accountant.’ So I did.” 

Harriet found a reception job in an accountancy practice and began studying AAT Level 3. 

“The hardest challenge for me while studying was working full-time and also having two very young children to look after. I would study during my lunch breaks, and on the bus, anywhere I could find a bit of time. I had never been any good at maths in school, and that really worried me. However, I’ve since learnt from studying AAT that I actually love maths, I was just never shown how to do it properly.” 

Switching to the charity sector 

Harriet felt as if she wasn’t learning enough at the practice, so she decided to apply for an accounts assistant role at The Brick, a Wigan-based charity that offers services to people who are homeless, in poverty or facing debt crisis. 

“Working in practice felt a bit stale,” she explains. “I was just churning out accounts after accounts – a bit like a robot. I also spent a lot of time completing company sec work for clients, which, although was useful to learn, isn’t what I wanted to do every week. Moving to the charity sector was very overwhelming at first, after only working for family firms. I had to get to know how each department worked individually but also collaboratively.” 

Becoming a full AAT member

In 2020, Harriet completed her AAT Level 4 qualification and became a full AAT member. 

“The day I got to put MAAT after my name was a really proud moment for me,” she says. “I finally felt like everything was coming together in my life and that my hard work was starting to pay off after several years of struggling financially after having children and feeling stuck at work. There were moments where I felt like giving up, but I kept visualising those letters and having a real career – that kept me going.” 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, The Brick needed to restructure, and Harriet was encouraged to step up into her current role as commercial and finance manager. 

“The role required someone who had completed AAT, so I thought: ‘Why not?’ I have also become a CIMA apprentice since starting this role and have been studying this for over a year now.” Harriet says it’s hard to describe a typical day in her role, as no two days are the same. 

“As it’s a charity, there’s a lot of ‘mucking in’,” she explains. “I have found myself delivering food parcels some days or serving lunch to people we support, which is far away from my finance role, but I think it’s equally important to do these things. It’s very humbling, but also reminds me of what The Brick is all about. 

“I work closely with our retail staff, as that’s the commercial aspect of my role, and I work closely with the finance director (my manager) and the admin team too. I like taking part in the year-end finance audit – with a charity it’s quite different as we’re not profit-generating, so it’s not just the financial side that’s audited, but the social impact and environmental impact from operating too.” 

A fulfilling sector to work in

Harriet says working in the charity sector is “like Marmite – you either love it or hate it”. 

“I love working for a charity,” she says. “You meet all sorts of people from all walks of life, and I find that really interesting. I do also enjoy the additional accounting skills that I might not have learnt elsewhere, like VAT for charities, which is an experience in itself. The part I enjoy most is that we’re all working towards the same goal to support people in our community. I love my colleagues, and I don’t feel you would build such close, empathetic relationships in profit-generating businesses.” 

Be prepared to do all sorts of tasks outside your finance role, Harriet advises anyone wanting to work in the charity sector. 

“There is no such thing as ‘it’s not my job’. If something needs doing, you get on with it. Charities don’t have huge budgets for staff (especially local ones rather than national), so you can end up doing some random stuff, as mentioned previously, like delivering food parcels or serving food. I would say anyone who’s outgoing and open-minded would fit well within the charity sector. It has opened me up to a huge wealth of experience. I have had so many opportunities to learn other skills on top of my accountancy training as well, such as first aid for both physical and mental health safeguarding and fire marshal training. 

“I really love that I get to be myself – I can wear my own style and have crazy hair colours. The senior management team, through to the trustees, understand that if we are to support people from all walks of life in the community and be non-judgmental, then they must also treat staff the same way. They just want you to be able to carry out your role professionally and with kindness – it doesn’t matter what you look like.” 

An ever-changing role 

“In the charity sector, I think the accounting function will change a lot,” Harriet says. “Already, my role is not a stereotypical accountant and bookkeeping-type role – I’m involved with ensuring the retail department is meeting revenue targets, maximising gift aid in our shops, supporting budgeting, and learning about HR issues, too. 

“It’s sad to think in the not-for-profit industry that I will probably always have a role, as there will always be a need for charity. The ultimate goal would be to eradicate poverty and it would put me out of this role, but unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen. The role of the finance function in charity is ever-changing and you’re expected to evolve to become much more flexible and learn additional skills that aren’t just the usual accounting skills.” 

Harriet points out that it can be challenging when you come up against people who like to stick to “how we’ve always done it”. “Having the stomach to challenge this can be a bit daunting,” she says. “But sometimes you might just be right. Sometimes traditional accountants struggle to change or get left behind. It’s worthwhile getting advice from other accountants, HMRC or AAT themselves if you feel really conflicted – there’s a wealth of support out there.” 

Going back to basics 

“Without AAT, I wouldn’t have secured this role, so I think technical skills are extremely important,” Harriet notes. “It’s important accountants don’t lose the ability to do the basics, even when you are promoted. Going back to basics and being able to do T-accounts has saved us on several occasions. I also think it’s important to be comfortable with technology, as more and more processes are becoming streamlined in finance. Leadership and people skills are a must-have skill too. Being able to show empathy to the people we support, as well as customers and colleagues. I think the days of the old-fashioned number-cruncher cooped up in a room are gone, and people in finance are expected to be more front-facing. Collaborating with colleagues, people skills, and relationship-building skills are a must-have skill for this role.”   

Harriet’s advice

“Be prepared to start from the bottom if it’s a change of career, but also be prepared that things can change very quickly and climbing the ladder can happen quickly too! Do an apprenticeship – it’s a fantastic way to learn skills and apply them to real life. A lot of people think you can only do them when you’re a certain age, but it’s not true. You can still complete apprenticeships while on a proper salary – an apprenticeship doesn’t necessarily mean you will be on minimum wage; just shop around to try and find a good employer who values your worth and actually wants you to succeed.” 

Further reading:

• From AAT student to Chief Financial Officer – Marina Chase’s meteoric rise
• Starting your career in finance
• Is finance right for you?
• What’s it like being an accountant or a bookkeeper?

Hannah Dolan is AAT Comment’s Content Editor.