Who’s Who?

Introducing the Who’s Who? corner of our monthly Newswire…

Each month we’ll interview one of the team here at KN to tell you a bit more about themselves and their role….after all, everyone loves a good nosey don’t they?!

Hayley Cawston – Assistant Manager, Business Services

Hayley has been with the firm for 15 years and joined straight after leaving University. She is ACCA qualified and looks after a number of the firm’s clients across different sectors, also being responsible for managing clients’ company secretarial duties.

What sets Kirk Newsholme apart from the rest?

I came to work at Kirk Newsholme straight after finishing my degree at the University of Huddersfield just over 15 years ago, wow that makes me feel old!!  There have been some changes over the years but one thing has remained the same, the support and passion of everyone that works here, we all genuinely care about our clients and one another, it feels like a second family!  What some of you may not know was when I first started at Kirk Newsholme I worked in the Tax department but I found I was more suited to Business Services and so it was not too long before I moved across.  I mainly deal with the smaller clients and I can be doing anything from preparing or reviewing VAT returns and bookkeeping to management accounts and year end statutory accounts.  I also manage the Company Secretarial for a number of our clients, mainly focusing on setting up new companies and dealing with the more complex share structures.  When I qualified back in 2008, I started flying to Jersey to help a client with the preparation of their Trust accounts and bookkeeping, as well as a few special projects, and this continued until just before we went into lockdown earlier this year.  This was definitely an experience that I probably would not have had anywhere else and I am grateful to have had the chance to travel.  I also deal with a few charity accounts but I would not profess to be an expert.  No day is ever the same and I am always kept on my toes by our clients’ many questions and requests for assistance.

If you weren’t an Accountant what would you be?

There are so many jobs that I would love to do but I do not necessarily have the ability or skills to do.  Before I went to university I thought very seriously about becoming an air cabin crew member so that I could travel the world but then I decided I might not enjoy travelling so much if my job involved the part of the journey that I do not particularly enjoy.  In the final year of my GCSEs I took a questionnaire that listed the job roles that you would be best suited to and Accountant was at the top of my list so you could say I was destined to be where I am today.

Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?

I am really not sure who I would swap places with for a day but I think most of us imagine what it might feel like to be one of the 1% of the population where money’s no object, although I am sure they have other worries.  As it is getting to that time of year, I wouldn’t mind being one of the celebrities on Strictly so I could learn to dance with one of the male professionals and wear a gorgeous custom-made gown!

What are you currently watching?

I have quite a varied taste when it comes to what I enjoy watching, anything from a good suspense/thriller or hospital/fire station drama to anything supernatural or something more light hearted and comical.  I have recently finished watching the latest Criminal series and the last episode saw Raj from The Big Bang Theory take on a very different role, I would definitely recommend.

I recently read the autobiography by Jane McDonald, ‘Riding the Waves’, on holiday and I found myself laughing out loud and crying at some parts, everyone around the pool must have thought I was losing the plot!  Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy cruising so this one appealed to me as well as the fact that Jane is from Wakefield where I currently live.  A great read, I would highly recommend.

Where’s your favourite place in the world?

My favourite place would have to be the Maldives, it is paradise – a little piece of heaven and a great place to relax and unwind.  In recent years I have enjoyed cruising, travelling to various locations and sightseeing and I have been lucky enough to see some amazing places (in fact this month’s Adventure Monkey post is from one of my recent trips!) but there are so many more places I would still love to go, such as to travel down the Panama Canal, the Iguazu falls on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná, and I would love to experience seeing more wildlife, such as whales and polar bears in their natural habitat.

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