Amanda Fyffe, Baker Tilly

Our Spotlight Series, coordinated by the ERE Young Practitioners’ Committee, continues this month with an interview with Amanda Fyffe from Baker Tilly. If you would like to be featured in an edition of the Spotlight Series please email Patricia Moroney ([email protected]) or Laura Powell ([email protected])

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Amanda, please tell us a little more about your background:

I started my accounting career nearly 30 years ago following a background in maths and philosophy. I can’t say that I initially wanted to be an accountant, but I did want to pursue a professional qualification, so law or accounting seemed like a good place to start.?Whilst looking for graduate jobs and disillusioned with audit roles with the, then, big six accountancy firms, by chance I came across a role with a boutique forensic firm called RGL Forensics who were looking for graduates to join their team. I had no real concept of what a forensic accountant did day to day, but it sounded interesting and the big firms were not offering training contracts in this field, so it immediately piqued my interest.

Not long after I joined RGL I realised that litigation and expert witness work were the perfect fit for me - a blend of accountancy within a legal framework and the perfect avenue to pursue the persuasive writing skills from my philosophy studies. I have not looked back since.

RGL merged with Baker Tilly in 2018 and I am a principal in the London Office. My client facing work is predominately expert witness instructions, quantifying loss of business profits, loss of earnings and pension and loss of dependency claims.? I am also on the Membership Committee for the Expert Witness Institute (EWI).

Internally within Baker Tilly I am dedicated to the training and development of team members and my role includes:

- leading Baker Tilly’s Graduate Recruitment Programme in the UK;

- overseeing and directing our trainee accountants’ learning and development for their ACA qualification;

- the development, coaching and mentoring of our qualified team members;

- international leader for Baker Tilly’s GROW initiative (Growth & Retention of Women); and

- implementing Baker Tilly’s DIBS initiatives in the UK (Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging & Societal Impact).

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What has been the highlight of your career?

There have been many highlights in my career to date and I am sure there will be more to come. There are the highlights that I am sure every expert has; the first time I received recognition for my work, the first time I signed off an expert report in my own name, and the first time I gave evidence in Court - which was actually on my birthday.

Making Principal was of course a huge highlight, but to me the real achievement was reaching this milestone after having the confidence to wait until the time was right for me, allowing myself time to focus on being a mother first.

Probably the greatest highlight for me has been the wonderful people I have worked with over the years and that I continue to work with. Not only do I have the privilege of being able to guide and support team members, to watch and help them develop their careers, but I have also been incredibly fortunate to have had amazing mentors. Mentors who have supported me, championed me and believed in me completely, allowing me to flourish as a professional and an expert - giving me opportunities, good advice and friendship.

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What has been the biggest challenge of your career??

The challenges we face professionally, and in life, undoubtedly shape who we are, how we work and help us to build the resilience and determination we need to succeed.?

At the start of my career I experienced the challenges of a male dominated industry and even though much progress has been made, there is still disparity, and I am constantly astounded by the lack of female experts I come across in my field. We all need to work together to eliminate gender differences in the profession.?

I had personal challenges during my late 20s - as my career was gathering traction, I had to navigate the curve ball of life and take a career break to battle serious illness.

I have faced the challenges that working mums everywhere have to endure, the guilt, the compromise, the all-consuming fatigue, the loss of self but all this balanced by the overwhelming pride and sense of achievement on those occasions when you do manage to get it right.

And the challenges I now face in my career, my desire to be a good role model, to inspire and energise those starting out in their careers, to support and develop those around me and to be the advocate for the next generation of experts.

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What career advice would you give your younger self?

The advice I would give to my younger self would be the advice I give to myself now - to be honest and true to myself.?

Take the time to know what makes you happy and not to compromise your core values - as for the rest, be flexible, be open to change, listen to others, be willing to learn and always look forward to the future. Be unreservedly curious, tenacious and don’t be afraid to celebrate your achievements. Believe in yourself.

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What is the secret to having longevity as an expert witness??

Goodness this is a difficult one - I’m not sure there is a one size fits all answer but thinking about the reasons why I am still doing what I do: Be passionate about your work and care about what you do. Always strive to be the best expert that you can be, to know what is required of you and constantly develop your craft. Listen, learn and collaborate with others. Never be complacent. The industry is constantly changing, and it is important to embrace change and evolve with it.

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Question from last month’s interviewee (Laurel Van Allen, Coherent Economics): How do you see the use of AI affecting work flow, expert engagements, team roles, and perhaps even the role of experts?

AI is gathering momentum and changing the way we work, and we need to engage with this. Although it is unlikely that experts will be replaced, we are part of the evolution of AI and our role will need to change.?

AI technology expands our capabilities but as experts we need to ensure that we understand the technology we rely upon and can interpret the output from it. Of particular importance, will be identifying AI hallucinations and ensuring accuracy, objectivity and integrity.

It is an exciting time for technology in the profession - I see Baker Tilly’s developments and initiatives in the AI sphere every day and how these improve our work - internally and externally. I am excited that AI is a part of the future of our profession.

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What would you like to ask the next expert to be featured in the Spotlight Series?

Across all disciplines and all levels, we can work together to support up and coming experts, so my question is what can you do, and more importantly, what are you doing now, to support and champion our future experts?