Learning the power of finance — one management accountant’s path

Financial Management (FM) magazine

Grace Baxter, ACMA, CGMA, initially thought she would pursue a career in physics. But she’s happy with the switch she made to accounting, where she became CIMA qualified and later landed a role at the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Baxter is now head of management reporting for DEFRA, and she also serves on a CIMA regional advisory group, service that helps her gain perspective from other finance professionals.

Baxter shared advice to aspiring accountants about perseverance and trying different roles in this episode of the FM podcast.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

· An overview of Baxter’s path from a physics degree to her role at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

· Baxter’s thought on the influence of finance on day-to-day business decisions.

· The value Baxter has found in both CIMA qualification and the CGMA designation.

· The part of Baxter’s early training about which she said, “I wanted to cry.”

· Baxter’s advice to aspiring finance professionals about perseverance.