Looking to Make Like-Minded Friends

Hi and welcome to the community. I'm female, also a homebody, retired now but used to work in accounting. My current main interests are reading and playing video games.

I don't do private messaging, but happy to chat on the forum.

Hi, thanks for the welcome.
Nice to meet you. With reading, do you have any favourite genres?
How long did you work in accounting, and in what area, if you don’t mind sharing? I’m currently studying CIMA while working full time.
Happy to chat here on the forum.

I mainly enjoy reading sci-fi, time travel, thriller & dystopian future novels although I sometimes also read romantic comedy or historical novels.

I started as a Junior Accounts Clerk at the age of 18 and did various accounts roles over my working lifetime including Assistant Accountant & Finance Analyst in the NHS and finishing with an Accounts Payable Manager role prior to retiring. I did take a few breaks doing other jobs - including receptionist, SEN teaching assistant and Teacher of English as a second language, but most of my working years were spent in Accounting.

I'm AAT qualified. I did start CIMA but failed one of the level 1 exams twice, and then changed to AAT which I passed with distinction. I know how hard CIMA is so I wish you luck.

That book sounds intriguing; I’ll have to add it to my to-read list! I can’t do much other reading at the moment apart from my studies.

No one I know in accounts would say reconciliation is exciting ha-ha. The module I’m studying at the moment is related to budgeting and short-term decision making, and I’m really enjoying it.

Honestly, the perspective you’ve shared is more than enough. It’s lovely to hear from someone who’s been there and done it, and who understands the challenges. I’m not particularly looking to manage others, but apparently, I have a knack for it, I do it naturally without even realising it, yet some people with the title get paid for doing the same things. Definitely something to keep in mind for the future.

I'm always reading something. I'm just starting a book called Orphan Planet, a sci-fi novel described as Red Dwarf meets Lost in Space, where a ship is sent to colonize a new planet with a thousand settlers in board in hypersleep. The best books I have read in the past year were ones by RR Haywood.

I'm not sure what advice I can give you. My experience includes reconciliation work - absorbing, but can get a bit boring after a while if that's all you do. The most interesting work for me was budgets and expenditure monitoring, and reporting back to non finance managers - who said I explained the finance stuff well.

Although I tried CIMA, I actually wasn't keen on getting into managerial level as the fully qualified accountants I worked with were expected to put in the hours needed to do the job, not just the standard office hours, particularly at year end. I couldn't deal with that as I need structure and to leave at the same time every day. Full time work was very challenging without doing extra hours, and some of my jobs were part time as I regularly experienced burnout.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I'm always reading something. I'm just starting a book called Orphan Planet, a sci-fi novel described as Red Dwarf meets Lost in Space, where a ship is sent to colonize a new planet with a thousand settlers in board in hypersleep. The best books I have read in the past year were ones by RR Haywood.

I'm not sure what advice I can give you. My experience includes reconciliation work - absorbing, but can get a bit boring after a while if that's all you do. The most interesting work for me was budgets and expenditure monitoring, and reporting back to non finance managers - who said I explained the finance stuff well.

Although I tried CIMA, I actually wasn't keen on getting into managerial level as the fully qualified accountants I worked with were expected to put in the hours needed to do the job, not just the standard office hours, particularly at year end. I couldn't deal with that as I need structure and to leave at the same time every day. Full time work was very challenging without doing extra hours, and some of my jobs were part time as I regularly experienced burnout.

Let me know if you have any questions.

That book sounds intriguing; I’ll have to add it to my to-read list! I can’t do much other reading at the moment apart from my studies.

No one I know in accounts would say reconciliation is exciting ha-ha. The module I’m studying at the moment is related to budgeting and short-term decision making, and I’m really enjoying it.

Honestly, the perspective you’ve shared is more than enough. It’s lovely to hear from someone who’s been there and done it, and who understands the challenges. I’m not particularly looking to manage others, but apparently, I have a knack for it, I do it naturally without even realising it, yet some people with the title get paid for doing the same things. Definitely something to keep in mind for the future.