Accountability + Flexibility: A case study by Flexibility Works
When Rosie started Accountability Edinburgh, she knew she needed to build the flexibility in to the workplace that she hadn’t had.
Rosie knew first hand that valuable employees could be:
incredibly ambitious
keen to learn
want to study
hungry for challenge
But still need to leave at 2 to pick up the kids.
Accountability has a range of working arrangements in place. Part time / full time / compressed hours / hybrid / fully remote / office based - all based on what supports that individual best.
Jenny Legg, Head of Communications at Flexibility Works, interviewed Renata to support the launch of their report into the impact of flexible working.
Renata’s Story
Renata Stefanska took a cleaning job when she first moved to Scotland while she learnt English. But she always hoped to get back to the accountancy career she left behind in her native Poland.
Having two boys (now aged six and five) only made it harder to find a route back into finance role because she needed flexibility around her parenting responsibilities too.
Luckily, a friend put her in touch with Rosie Berridge, Director of Accountability Edinburgh, who founded the accounting practice when she needed flexibility around her own family.
Renata said:
“Rosie was my perfect match. She told me she’d started the company to help mothers like me. It was amazing to meet someone so open to the possibility of what I could be, and who was comfortable with me working part time and flexibly.”
“I’ve been working my way through my accountancy exams and I’m on a path to become fully qualified in the next few years. That will make a big salary difference to our family, and I will earn far more than I ever could as a cleaner.”
Renata works 24 hours a week as a Senior Bookkeeper, and she can work from home if she needs to. She worked remotely from Poland over the summer school holidays, so her parents could help with childcare.
Renata said:
“The trust Rosie puts in me to get my job done is amazing. If I couldn’t work from Poland over the summer, it would be a real challenge. Paying for childcare is just too expensive for us. My whole salary would go on childcare.”
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to train and to work in such a flexible way. I can still manage everything with my boys and I’m getting my career back on track, which will make a huge financial difference to our family.”
Renata lives in Edinburgh with her husband and their two sons aged six and five.
Accountability Edinburgh provides CPD (continuous professional development) funding to the entire team to support them with training, professional membership and to attend in-person events and conferences.