In Your Shoes - Michelle Murray

Monday

The diary was busy with meetings, with the first being a trip out to Blairgowrie to meet with a prospective client. We spoke about the changes in the business and how EQ could help support them going forward. Once I got back to the office I caught up on some emails and confirmed plans with a colleague for a year end stocktake that they are attending for one of my clients.

The afternoon started with an audit planning meeting as the team are commencing work later this week before heading out onsite next week.  Ahead of any audit work starting the team involved discuss various topics that will impact on the audit, with a key focus on the audit risks identified, and the work we plan to do to address these.

I then attended a teams meeting with a client, alongside the tax team, to discuss the current year tax liability and potential group planning opportunities.  On returning to my desk a client had approved 6 sets of accounts, so I had the happy task of pressing the final submit button to complete this job – a great way to finish off my working day!

Tuesday

Tuesday is a ‘normal’ day off for me, which I spend with my 4 year old daughter.  This will be the final summer of our ‘Mummy & Sophie Day’s’, as she calls them, before she starts school and I come back to work 5 days a week.

We spent the day at Craigtoun Country park with Cheryl, who also works at EQ in our tax team, and her daughter Luna.  We brought our dog Max along for the day out too, who loved all the extra attention.  I’m not sure which of us was the most tired at the end of the day (probably me!).

Wednesday

I worked from home this morning before attending an appointment.  This pocket of time allowed me to catch up on some emails, and follow up on some action points from a meeting at the end of last week.

The first stop on arriving in the office was the kitchen for a hot cup of tea – I probably drink 4 or 5 cups of tea on a typical day in the office!

This afternoon I had an induction meeting with our new partner Duncan – he will provide a new service for EQ, which focuses on helping clients source finance. It was great to hear more about his plans, from considering debt structure for clients through to securing asset finance.  Continually developing our expertise in the firm allows us to think about additional ways that we can support our existing and future clients.

Thursday

The day started with a quick planning meeting to give some client background and context to my colleagues ahead of a set of accounts being started.  My diary for the rest of the day was clear, which allowed me to get my head down and review a group of audit files.  It always feels good to have a productive day that involves scoring things off the to do list. 

The evening involved a good walk with the dog – the lighter (and drier) evenings are great for getting the steps in.

Friday

This morning I initially worked at home as I had booked a few hours off to take my daughter for a picnic at her school to meet her new teachers, however with rain forecast it was called off at the last minute.  So quick change of plan, and into the office I went.  I’m based out at a clients premises a few days next week to support the team on an audit with a quick turnaround, so I was better placed to be in the office today to speak to various colleagues about ongoing work. 

With it being a Friday, a few of us went out for a walk to get some lunch – we opted for Chaiiwala, a Bombay Bowl is a Friday lunch favourite for me!

As one of the ICAS Counselling Members at EQ, I had a catchup with our People & Culture team this afternoon regarding the induction plan for our new graduates starting in August and the recommended ICAS exam pathways.