Laura Wilding

Management Accountant

Contact information

l.wilding@scqf.org.uk

What is your role within the SCQFP?

I am the Management Accountant at the SCQF Partnership. I put together the management accounts for the CEO, the Board and the Audit & Risk Committee. I pay supplier invoices, and ensure income is received by the organisation. I help put together the budget for each year, and assist with the annual audit. I’m generally responsible for the finance function at the SCQF Partnership, and all that it entails!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

As I am the only finance person within the organisation, I am responsible for all aspects, which makes my days quite varied. One minute, I’ll be grappling with a complicated Excel formula, (and Googling to find out how it works!) the next I’ll be venturing down to the basement of our office building to get the electricity meter reading! As I help with the costings of certain projects, it means I am involved in all aspects of the organisation, so you can often find me lurking around with my calculator! Or eating all the biscuits out of the biscuit tin!

Career so far

I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career when I was younger, and I just kind of fell into finance. I finished university with a not-very-good degree (having spent too much time in the pub!) and was faced with the prospect of having to live back at home with my parents with no money! Luckily, a position for an accounts assistant became available at a chain of local garden centres, which provided study support while earning. I managed to complete the AAT Qualification, which then enabled me to take my career further. I have worked for a variety of organisations, including a cable manufacturer, a property company in Sydney, Australia, and a renewable energy firm which generates electricity from chicken poo and straw. I have continued my studies while working, and am now a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Glossary Term

Authority

Appears at Level 12 only where it is used in the phrase ‘demonstrate substantial authority’, reflecting a recognised high level and depth of expertise/expert knowledge and understanding, along with confidence. It does not mean ‘exercise authority over staff and resources’ etc, as that could clearly apply at earlier levels.

Glossary Term

Exercise

Used in connection with management and/or supervisory responsibility, denotes a requirement of a formal, substantive role.

Glossary Term

Directive

Applied to ‘supervision’, signifies a task or activity that is guided.

Glossary Term

Graphical Data

Encompasses maps, plans, diagrams, tables and graphs.

Glossary Term

Synthesis

Combine discrete elements into a coherent whole.

Glossary Term

Analysis

Examine in detail with a view to explanation and interpretation.

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Present

Set out, put forward, deliver information using a variety of mediums as appropriate.

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Hypothetical

Supposed, assumed for the sake of argument.

Glossary Term

Straightforward

Clear and uncomplicated activity, but not as demanding or systematic and therefore not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Creativity

Often used in combination with ‘originality’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of creativity appears to be imagination.

Glossary Term

Originality

Often used in combination with ‘creativity’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of originality appears to be independence.

Glossary Term

Professional

Used throughout as an adjective and applied to terms including level, skills, techniques, practices, contexts, and issues where it bears broad interpretation as ‘behaving appropriately/doing things properly and well and to notions of accepted, (including externally) prescribed standards’, as well as narrow, relating to a specific occupation designated as a profession. In this latter sense, the term applies in all contexts including academic study, eg footnoting properly.

Glossary Term

Unfamiliar

New territory for an activity.

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Routine

Used as an adjective throughout and applied to terms including skills, tasks, elements, practices, contexts, methods and problems where it describes activity that is standard, usual, unvarying, customary, common.

Glossary Term

Everyday

Slightly more advanced and beyond personal but a known experience/activity encountered/applied regularly - less advanced than ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Familiar

Often encountered or experienced; common; something one has a good knowledge of - more advanced than ‘personal’ and ‘everyday’, not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Personal

An experience relating only or primarily to the person – one would expect to start here then widen out into the rest of the world, so not as advanced as ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Critical

Fully informed, capable of supporting in-depth analysis and assessment.

Glossary Term

Discerning

Using judgement to recognise differences but not fully equipped/informed to analyse and discuss them in depth, so less advanced than critical.

Glossary Term

Awareness

Consciousness, including a background consciousness. Can be a starting point for further exploration.

Glossary Term

Appreciation

A sense, perception, a hold, fix or grasp of one or more of the various aspects of a subject/discipline/sector.

Glossary Term

Understanding

A thorough and firm grasp of a subject/discipline/sector or an element or elements of it, derived from education/study, experience and reasoning in appropriate combination. Can be defined as ‘know why’, as opposed to ‘know that’. More holistic knowledge of processes and contexts, so more advanced than appreciation and knowledge.

Glossary Term

Simple

Undemanding activity not necessarily part of a formal structure - not as advanced as ‘basic’.

Glossary Term

Knowledge

Facts, ideas, theories and concepts in a subject/discipline/sector acquired through experience and/or education – a surer grasp than appreciation so more advanced.

Glossary Term

Basic

Activity is early stepping stone on a structure or framework that can be built upon – more advanced than ‘simple’.