New year, new continent? That was how 2025 began for Miranda Lack, who joined our Edinburgh Audit team in January on secondment from Australia!

Miranda, who has joined us as an Audit Senior, has been with Moore Australia for over five years. Through our membership of the Moore Global network, Miranda has hopped shores from Brisbane to bonny Scotland and will be experiencing all our Audit team have to offer until the summer.

We caught up with Miranda to find out how she is getting on so far. 

Hi Miranda! How have your first few months with JC (and in Scotland) been?

Overall, it’s been great so far. Granted there have been a few changes to get used to – weather being the biggest one, coming from Brisbane. As well as all the new routines and usual things involved with moving to a different city. Everyone at JC has been friendly and welcoming, which has made the transition much easier.

Can you tell us a bit about your career so far – what got you into Audit?

I was interested in business and maths through school, so accounting was a natural pathway to follow. While completing my business degree, I worked at a very small tax accounting practice. Despite enjoying the work and the people, I knew that I didn’t want to focus on tax for my career. While applying for jobs after university, I discovered audit as an alternative and haven’t looked back. I love the diversity of working across various industries and that no two days are the same.

How did your secondment come about? Is the UK (or Scotland particularly) somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit?

After completing my Chartered Accounting qualification, I was looking for the next challenge and discussed possibilities with my Audit Directors. They both completed secondments early in their careers, so were supportive of providing that same opportunity for me. We discussed locations of where I wanted to go, and I kept an eye out for secondment opportunities on the Moore Global intranet. With distant family ties to the UK, there has always been a motivation to visit. Ultimately, the opportunity came about through our Transfer Pricing and Tax Directors who were working with JC at the time. From this relationship and knowing of my interest, the possibility of a secondment was discussed between offices and brought into reality. 

Have you had much chance to explore Edinburgh yet?

I’ve been trying to explore as much as possible. So far visiting the Royal Mile, Calton Hill, Princes Street and Stockbridge, to name a few. There are plenty more places on the ‘to do’ list and I’m always open to any local recommendations.

Are there any must-do experiences on your list whilst you’re here?

The aim is to see and explore as many places as possible! Bucket list places to cross off while I’m here are to explore the Hebrides and visit Loch Ness. Taking advantage of the proximity to Europe, I also have to add Paris and Salzburg to the list.

Aside from the weather, what have been the biggest differences you’ve seen so far? Have you found any differences you didn’t expect?

Most of the changes outside of work are more related to the usual differences with moving to a new city, however, the biggest difference would be the amount of history within the city, which is something that we just don’t have in Australia. 

Are there any particular skills or learnings you’re hoping to gain during your time here to take back to Brisbane?

Obtaining a different perspective and approach across various audit areas, and utilising substantive analytics across a larger portion of the audit file. Also increasing the diversity of client experience, by being exposed to different industries and larger clients.

More to come

Swapping places with Miranda is Callum Miller from Edinburgh, who is spending the next few months in Brisbane working with Moore Australia. Callum returns in May, and we'll be catching up with him soon to find out how he's getting on so watch this space for his story from the other side of the world. 

Find out more about career opportunities and life at Johnston Carmichael here.