“I am proud to be able to champion and sponsor female talent within our profession”

Lindsay Russell, a Partner with EY Northern Ireland, talks to Liz Riley about the evolution of her career, professional inspiration and constant thirst for knowledge, variety and challenge in her working life 

My interest in accountancy was first sparked as a teenager. During school holidays, while doing my GCSEs and A Levels, my parents encouraged me to gain valuable work experience, which led to a job with WHR Accountants in Armagh under the tutelage of Ken Harrison, one of the founding partners. 

WHR had a fantastic team of about 15 who took me under their wing and got me started with the basics of accounting. 

After writing out many cheque journals, cash books and extended trial balances manually, I learned that “balancing” numbers gave me a great sense of satisfaction. Something clicked and I realised that accountancy was a career I wanted to pursue. 

This summer job continued for four years and greatly influenced my decision to study accountancy at university in Scotland.

After graduating, I was fortunate to secure a position with EY Northern Ireland in 2004 and completed my professional exams in 2006. It has been a real privilege to become a Chartered Accountant, specifically an auditor in practice. 

As auditors, we are afforded an insight into so many successful organisations across sectors and industries and are in a unique position to support and work with talented individuals through complex and interesting transactions and business initiatives.
 
The trust we provide as accountants, auditors and business advisors is something that is often underplayed, but is vital to the capital markets and the success of organisations, and I still consider myself lucky to say I play a part in that. 

Almost 20 years later in this profession, and I have not looked back.

Championing women

In those 20 years, I have seen significant changes in the gender profile of our profession, particularly in the last decade. 

I am pleased to have been part of this change personally, but what I am really proud of is being able to champion and sponsor female talent within our profession to ensure that others can share in the experiences and opportunities I was afforded early in my career. 

As a female partner and leader, I am acutely aware of the responsibility I have in championing other women in our profession.

In the long term, my goal is that we create a profession, industry and world in which such an active focus on gender diversity is no longer essential because we have created an environment where opportunities are afforded equally to all people and are fulfilled based on the right person for the role, regardless of gender or any other characteristics. 

However, I know we still have some way to travel to make this a reality. I fully appreciate and understand that we must create the right environment for all our talented people to flourish. 

For example, organisations must take parental responsibilities and flexible working into consideration. They must do all they can to provide a workplace in which working mothers know they can have a sustainable and rewarding career.

I would also highlight that, while gender diversity is important to me as a female leader, I believe that diversity of thought, background and experience is the basis for excellence in any team. 

It is not only the experiences of diverse groups, but also their willingness to be open to the views and experiences of others, that creates the best and highest-performing teams, delivering the most for clients and helping to build a better working environment for all. 

Embracing education in your career

I believe professional development is achieved via a combination of formal learning and on-the-job development. 

Formal learning is very important, particularly in our changing regulatory environment, and I find it useful to check my own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) monthly and quarterly to ensure I am on track for compliance. 

However, I also find on-the-job learning critical in putting all the theory we learn into practice, and developing the wider skill set that is so valuable and necessary for the accountants of today and tomorrow. 

We are living in a world in which technology and the way we work is continuing to evolve, particularly with the advent of generative artificial intelligence. My advice is to embrace change and learn as much as you can from those around you. 
Lastly, I would say it’s important to remember that the accountancy skill set remains as valuable today as it ever was and will remain a key part of the workplaces and businesses of tomorrow. 

The fluidity of work-life balance

There is no magic answer to work-life balance. For me, work-life balance is something that is fluid and needs to be reassessed and flexed regularly and continuously. 

I learned an important lesson early in my career: your work-life balance will have ebbs and flows depending on what is going on in both your work and home life. 

It is important to be flexible at times and, at others, to know and stand by your “non-negotiables.” 

I recognise that at certain times I will have busier and more demanding times in the office, and that it is important to stay focused for the benefit of my teams and my clients. 

Equally as important is the need to have planned downtime. I am protective of this downtime when it arrives so I can make sure my family and friends get a fully committed version of me.

Everyone will have different styles and different ways of working. My advice is to ensure you understand your own style. Know your peak times, take time out and ensure you communicate clearly with those around you, both personally and professionally, about your work-life balance needs. 

Stepping outside your comfort zone

When I look back over my career, I can see that my biggest development has come about when I have embraced new opportunities (or challenges) and have been pushed out of my comfort zone. 

It is very easy to stay comfortable, but trying new things, seeking out new learning opportunities and working with different people and teams is what accelerates our development, and ultimately, our career prospects. 

My career advice is to say “yes” and give it your all. You will always be amazed at where it can take you! It is sometimes the tasks or roles that you think you didn’t want – or didn’t think you would be good at – that are the ones that help you progress and move on to your next role. 

I also like to remind people that variety and new opportunities can come from staying in the same job or profession and do not always require drastic change. 

I have been with EY for almost 20 years now, which feels increasingly rare in a world where new opportunities are everywhere. I am proof that you can have a varied career with many different roles and opportunities all with the same employer and within the same profession.

My final piece of advice is to be honest and true to yourself. Someone once told me to hold a mirror up and be honest with myself about my strengths and weaknesses and what I ultimately want from my career. 

I realised early on that I get easily bored and need variety in my work. I know that I am competitive, hard-working and need to feel I am adding value. I recognise that this combination of attributes means I often work too hard. 

However, it also means that I am continuously rewarded with challenging opportunities for development, which keeps me motivated and stimulated. 

Everyone in our profession must figure out what works for them and remember that their career path, regardless of direction, should be unique to them. Your career doesn’t have to replicate what anyone else before you has done, or what those around you are doing today.