ALTHOUGH I began my career in accountancy in a traditional way, with a university degree and a three-year chartered accountancy training contract, I quickly tired of auditing and accounting. I was lucky enough to find a niche role as a forensic accountant with Haines Watts.

The work of a forensic accountant can be a vital part of litigation where there is an accounting or complex financial element.

To deal with the challenges and responsibilities associated with providing evidence for the court, I trained as an expert witness and a member of the Academy of Experts. As a result, I am regularly called upon to provide accounting expertise for a variety of matters including divorce finance, personal injury claims and fraud.

My reports provide my opinion as an independent chartered accountant and translate complex financial matters into everyday terms.

Law and accountancy have become less male-dominated in recent years and my male contemporaries are usually perfectly happy to do business with me. From time to time, some clients have assumed that I am a PA to the forensic accountant. I find this problem now tends to be restricted to the older generation and is less frequent.

In my other role as a qualified commercial mediator, being a woman has its advantages. I am often better equipped to sensitively deal with the more personal aspects of litigation than a man.

Like other professional women in a time-pressured career, I find myself constantly striving to balance my family, work and personal interests.

The firm allows me the freedom to plan my working week, and I am grateful that I have family and friends living nearby who remain willing to assist with childcare.

That said, the pressures that come with my career mean that the flexibility has to work both ways. I am constantly rearranging my family life to accommodate the needs of my clients and other work commitments, but I am also free to create time to spend with my husband and two-year-old daughter.