While horse-riding and eventing is a very traditional sport, Sarra Mayberry’s journey into accounting has been anything but. Now an assistant manager in our Innovations Taxes Team, Sarra’s previous career in three day event-riding saw her ranked Number 1 in Scotland several times and competing at the highest level internationally, including representing Great Britain at the European Championships where she won a gold medal.

How long have you been riding?

I started riding at about 5 years old but only got a horse of my own at 14; a lot of the people I was competing against when I was at my peak would have had access to their own horses before they could walk! I started competing at 16 so again I was a late starter, but it served me well - because I’d spent years practising a wide variety of skills rather than always training specifically for events, I had a very broad base and was able to shoot up the ranks very quickly.

I went to university and studied Psychology, and balanced training alongside my studies. I was in my third year at uni when I won Gold at the Under 21s European Championships, where the other riders were all full-time professionals some of whom have subsequently competed at the Olympics! The following year I stepped up to the very top international levels, the Badminton Horse Trials - for eventers, it’s our Wimbledon. I was doing my finals at the time so had to get special permission from the university to sit my last exam down in Cheltenham - fortunately I passed!

What led you to a career in tax?

You don’t really make money out of eventing, so I ran my own coaching and livery business for over a decade to fund the competing. I had to go down to the accountant myself every year, answering all the questions that I now have to ask people! As time went on, I moved away from eventing and focused more on the business. I had done my own VAT returns from the beginning, so I began doing my own basic accounts too and eventually started studying for AAT in my spare time to gain more knowledge and understanding. I really enjoyed it and it was a nice break from the physical work. Coaching and livery is a hard way to make a living, and I got to a stage where I wanted a job that had less chance of injury! So I decided that accountancy was the area I would like to focus on - I sold my business, relocated up to Aberdeen and started working part-time in the accounts team of a dental practice while keeping up some coaching on the side. After I moved to Johnston Carmichael, I moved initially into the Business Advisory team but have since joined the Specialist tax team.

Tell us about your JC Path 

While I was coaching someone, I mentioned in passing that I had just completed my AAT qualification. They knew someone who worked at Johnston Carmichael and had heard good things about the firm, so suggested linking us up. I was familiar with the name already through the rural events that JC sponsor, so I sent through my CV and a couple of days later I got a call back - I had an interview within a week and had started in the Business Advisory team within a month! I decided I wanted to study further, and started my ACCA qualification in September 2018. To begin with I studied in my own time and passed two exams, then in January 2019 I moved on to a training contract with JC and passed my final exam at the end of 2020. In March 2020 I moved into the Innovation Taxes team and have progressed from assistant, to senior and now assistant manager. Over the past year I have also been able to split my role between the Innovations Taxes and International Tax teams.

Sarra in action at an event

Are there any other transferrable skills you’ve taken from your first career into your second?

More than you might think! Obviously having run my own business, I know the opportunities and challenges first-hand so I can truly empathise with our clients. Business owners appreciate it when their advisers have that in-depth understanding of the issues they’re dealing with, and I can offer added value in that respect. I also have specific experience of managing client expectations and deadlines through working with owners and training their horses.

Working as part of a team, coaching others to develop by providing feedback and being able to adapt to change are key skills that are required in both careers.

Good time management and planning are other skills you need in both careers. When competing, the date was set, so I thought about what stage I want to be at the day before, the week before - and work backwards from there to fit everything else around it. Competing also taught me how to deal with pressure!

Finally, I think the most important quality I’ve gained from my first career is confidence. Riding and eventing is a very traditional sport and some of those competing have a lot of connections, going back generations. I didn’t have those, so I’ve always had to trust in myself and my abilities to get me where I wanted to be. I had to be willing to challenge people and put myself out there. Succeeding in a career that I didn’t have a conventional entry into gave me the confidence to change track into accounting, another career I haven’t had a conventional entry into - “I did it once, I can do it again!”

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

I love the variety of clients I get to work with at JC – having worked in three different teams, the variety has been huge. I also enjoy working with clients over period of years and seeing them develop by making progress in their field of science or technology or by making the decision to expand internationally.

JC has shown that it is willing to support people who have come into the profession via a non-traditional route; my life experience and skills were taken into account, regardless of the fact that I didn’t have an accountancy degree. There have also been plenty of opportunities to continue to develop my knowledge and technical skills since qualifying which has kept things interesting. The areas of tax that I work in are constantly evolving and, similar to when I was competing, I’ve got to make sure I am always developing new skills and keeping up to date with the latest developments in order to perform at my best.

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