Young Difference Makers S03 Ep 01 Inspiring Paths: Eryn Paterson on Audit, Social Mobility, and Career Growth

Eryn Paterson, an inspiring Audit Assistant Manager at KPMG, unravels her path from a budding interest in business to becoming a chartered accountant in this episode. Listeners gain insight into how a supportive teacher and her studies at the University of Glasgow fueled her ambition, leading to a career at KPMG. Eryn's journey doesn't just stop at professional achievements; her dedication to promoting social mobility within the industry shines through as she mentors students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and actively participates in initiatives like KPMG's social mobility network and the One Young World Summit in Montreal.

The episode also highlights the vast opportunities that exist in the audit profession, especially for those at the start of their careers. Erin emphasizes the value of obtaining a Chartered Accountant qualification, which she describes as a global passport to diverse career roles. By sharing her experiences and insights, she encourages young professionals to seize every opportunity for learning and growth, underscoring the supportive community eager to aid their development. Get ready to be inspired by Eryn's commitment to breaking down barriers and her vision for the future of audit and social mobility.

Chapters

• 0:00 Future of Audit and Social Mobility
• 8:00 Professional Opportunities and Career Growth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So really, once you do your CE training and you have that stamp behind you, you can essentially go anywhere. A lot of people refer to it as a passport which you can. It can take you global, it can take you to thousands of different roles. So I think it's a really good solid base to get under your belt and then really the world is your oyster. And then really the world is your oyster. Hi, I'm Erin Patterson and I'm an Audit Assistant Manager at KPMG. What motivated me to become a chartered accountant was essentially back in school I really enjoyed business and I had a really, really good business teacher and then after this he encouraged me to crash higher accounts in sixth year. So I did that, really enjoyed it. So then, when I was applying for university, I started applying for, like, yeah, accounts and finance and degrees like that, and then I went on to do accountancy at the University of Glasgow. So the natural progression after that for me was to then secure a CA role, which I did. So I started KPMG's graduate role where I completed my CA training and, yeah, now I'm a qualified CA with KPMG.

Speaker 1: 1:33

For me, the main way that I try and make a difference within the community is through social mobility and access to the profession. I've always had kind of a strong interest and, yeah, passion for this. I did my dissertation on it when I was at university, just on access to the profession and how it can be quite hard for people from a lower socio-economic background. When I was at university I was supported by the ICAS Foundation, who support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds through bursary and mentor support. So I got this support during university and now that I'm out of university and a qualified CA, I continue to try and still do stuff in that space. So now I'm an ICAS Foundation mentor. So for me I feel like I've came full circle from being a mentee at university and getting some support and now I'm at the other side where I'm now supporting a student at university. So that's kind of the main, the main yeah thing that I like to do in the community and outside. My normal day-to-day role is probably my main work with the ICAS foundation and I do bits and bobs with them. I'm also on KPMG's social mobility network, so I'm one of the main people in our social mobility Scotland network. The network and KPMG started in Scotland, which was great, and then, after we started the Scotland social mobility network. This then grew and the we started the Scotland Social Mobility Network. This then grew in the set-up and the Scotland team was then replicated throughout the UK. So now we have a social mobility network throughout the UK which has grew over the last three to four years, which is great.

Speaker 1: 3:34

At the start of the year I was lucky enough to be shortlisted by ICAS to interview for the One Young World Summit in 2024 in Montreal, which was, yeah, great. I don't think I could believe it when ICAS let me know that I was on the shortlist. So after this I had to attend an interview process with the ICAST president and some other people on the panel, so there was a panel of four. So I did an interview with them and then after that I was successful so I got the amazing opportunity to go to the summit in Montreal in 2024. So equity and education is definitely wholly where my feelings are the strongest. I think Kind of what I've always seen like when I was doing my dissertation in university and stuff is how it can be really difficult for someone if they went to kind of school in a poorer area, maybe not got the best grades, and then this affects them getting into university and then obviously that can then stem on to affecting them then securing like a graduate job within the profession and a lot of the time like entry, the entry requirements into some of these like graduate roles, especially within some of the bigger firms or the big four, are really really they're quite high requirements to meet. Um, yeah, so I definitely that's the path that I want to look down and kind of champion is about how we break down these entry barriers. At the summit we heard from a headteacher of a school in South Africa and she was basically speaking about how there were some children at her school. They also not just the education part, they didn't really have access to food and water. So they've paired up with some of the big corporate firms like BMW who now support that school and now that headteacher is able to provide all the children in that school good food, a home and access to education, which will ultimately change their lives.

Speaker 1: 5:43

And I think me working for a big firm like KPMG, I think KPMG have the resources and the tools that's needed to help some of the cases that are out there and make a difference. The audit world in general is really transforming quite quickly. Just now I can even see a difference from when I started at KPMG to now, where there's a lot more technology involved, a lot more AI and that sort of stuff. I think that is potentially something that might start to attract the younger generation, because it is a bit more technology dominated. In 10 years' time, if I stay with KPMG, I'd like to be quite senior within the firm by that point. But what I would say, even if I decide to change paths or maybe go out into industry or maybe try something different, what I ideally always want to have is space within my role where I can do some of this extra stuff. So, for example, just now I'm quite involved with ICAST Foundation. So whatever role I'm in, I always hope that I've got space to do some of this social mobility stuff and kind of help other people. Space to do some of this social mobility stuff and kind of help other people.

Speaker 1: 7:04

So recently I think we've seen there's a lot more regulation in terms of sustainability, climate reporting, that sort of stuff. We're seeing that in audits. So even for some of our audit clients we're now having to do a bit more work over so not just the financial side of the stats, like the front end of the stats and what's reported in there. And I think kind of over the next five to 10 years the requirements that some of the big companies need to disclose will be a lot more. So we are seeing that just now in audit a lot more. So we are seeing that just now in audit. So that is potentially an area that would interest me, even just for even a short kind of spell in my career, because I think it's pretty useful. We have a team at KPMG who help us with that sort of stuff, so us as auditors we can reach out to the ESG team and they'll help us with our clients, disclosures and stuff.

Speaker 1: 8:00

But I think even if I was continuing in audit, even if I'd done that little sidestep to get a bit more knowledge, like first-hand knowledge, really I could always bring that back to my current role in audit, the profession. What I've seen so far is I've already had some amazing opportunities and I would say I'm quite early on in my career and I think that's probably the main pull factor which I think some of the younger generations coming through. It's a great profession to have. And then when you qualify as a CE so, for example, I qualified with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, which is globally recognised. So really, once you have you do like your CE training and you have that stamp behind you, you can essentially go anywhere.

Speaker 1: 8:54

A lot of people refer to it as a passport which you can. It can take you global, it can take you to thousands of different roles. So I think it's a really good solid base to get under your belt and then really the world is your oyster. The one piece of advice I think I would give to kind of people even going back to school and university and then people that are early on in their careers, I would just say it's so important just say yes to every opportunity, because there's a lot of opportunity out there and there's a lot of people within, like at every stage of your career, that want to help you. So I would say take opportunities and just say yes, because you don't know where things might lead you.