Professional Services Consultant, Fraser Burnett, recently caught up with Siobhan Moore: Director, Corporate Finance at Consilium Chartered Accountants in the first instalment of our ‘Why Corporate Finance?’ interview series.
1. Why did you pick a career in corporate finance?
Over the years, I have explored a number of different roles under the corporate finance umbrella – working in practice, industry and in a direct investment role. Corporate finance is more than just numbers on a spreadsheet, it sits at the intersection of strategy, negotiation and value creation and I really enjoy the problem-solving nature of it.
In terms of why I picked it as a career, I guess have never seen myself as a traditional accountant. I studied International Business and Modern Languages at university and this presented me with a wide range of career options. In my final year of university, the accountancy graduate schemes appealed to me offering business experience while gaining a professional qualification.
Over the course of my training contract and ICAS studies, I had the opportunity to work in audit, accounts, tax and restructuring but I was always very curious about corporate finance and felt like this was perhaps a better fit for me. Some might say this was a process of elimination! At that time, however, I wasn’t aware of many opportunities for trainees to gain corporate finance work experience, so I didn’t get involved in any corporate finance work until I had been qualified for just over one year.
2. What have been some of your career highlights?
Qualifying as a CA was a proud moment for me. Studying for a professional qualification while working long hours, trying to get up to speed in your first proper job, is a very steep learning curve. I did this straight from university and it was definitely a change of pace from my undergraduate studies. I was delighted when I passed my final exam and the CA qualification really does open so many doors.
I’ve always enjoyed building relationships with clients and colleagues and one memorable moment was the first M&A transaction I was involved in from start to finish. I’d built a very strong relationship with the founder of the business, coached her through the twists and turns of selling the business, so that completion was a big milestone. When working with owner-managed businesses, I think it’s really important not to forget the human aspects of a transaction, which for many business owners are just as important as the financial ones.
Moving to Consilium last year was a very exciting moment in my career and an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. Consilium’s reputation as being a highly customer centric, personable, and progressive business interested me greatly and I relished the opportunity to join this highly talented team at such a pivotal moment in the firm’s growth journey. It felt like a real full circle moment in my career – returning to a client-facing role in practice, with the benefit of my recent experience in industry and early-stage investment.
3. Why should some people consider a career in corporate finance?
A career in corporate finance offers huge variety where genuinely no two days or weeks will be the same. What makes corporate finance particularly distinctive is the project-based nature of the work. You are constantly navigating different sectors, business models, strategic challenges – perfect for people, like me, who thrive on variety rather than routine. It’s important that those considering a career in corporate finance understand this and think carefully about whether it’s right for them. I’ve worked with lots of professionals who openly admit this doesn’t appeal, and that they prefer the consistency of long-term projects or being more focused in one area.
Success in corporate finance hinges on a unique blend of skills. You need to be able to quickly dissect complex financial information, identify risks or opportunities for clients, and then be able to translate these into clear, actionable recommendations. It’s important to be able to communicate complex financial concepts to stakeholders with varying levels of financial literacy.
The relationship-based nature of corporate finance work also rewards those with strong interpersonal skills and an interest in business development. It’s crucial for senior corporate finance professionals to actively build and maintain their networks, identifying opportunities and collaborate with other professionals.
Perhaps most importantly, a career in corporate finance requires resilience and flexibility. Transactions rarely stick to initial timelines – deals can accelerate unexpectedly or stall for reasons entirely outside of your control. This unpredictability isn’t for everyone, but for me, it keeps things interesting.
Corporate finance offers a very interesting career to those who can blend technical expertise with business intuition, interpersonal and communication skills. It can be lots of fun too!
4. The last 18 months have perhaps been more challenging than usual for someone in corporate finance. However, what do you think are the key opportunities now?
Over the course of my career, it’s felt like there has always been something going on that provided challenge to the sector I was working in – the UK banking crisis, recession, Brexit, Covid-19, political uncertainty (to name just a few). What I’ve learned is there will always be opportunities that arise, even when times are tough, you might just have to approach them a little differently.
In 2024, we saw the impact of the speculation (followed by the confirmation) of changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which definitely increased market activity and kept lots of corporate finance professionals very busy in the period to 5th April 2025. I believe this also provided a wake-up call for some business owners who realised they weren’t prepared for sale when the changes were announced, and this creates an opportunity to think carefully about exit planning and work with their advisor to agree an exit strategy.
The recent downgrade in UK growth expectations, amongst other things, have left many businesses feeling nervous about how the next 12 months in particular will play out. We will be working with clients to ensure they remain resilient, even in a low growth scenario, but also well-positioned to benefit when things do pick up.
5. What one piece of advice would you give someone who is starting a career in corporate finance?
It’s never too soon to start building your network but in the early days it’s much more about relationship building than winning work. I remember going to events as a newly qualified and wondering if it was worthwhile. One day someone pointed out that the contacts I was making didn’t currently have much influence in terms of passing work to our firm, but fast forward 5-10 years and these people would become Partners, Directors, CEOs/CFOs, and that was so true. I’ve also made some really good friends through professional networks and this is an added bonus.
If you have any questions about this ‘Why Corporate Finance?’ interview series, or you would like to get involved and share your thoughts on the corporate finance function, please contact [email protected].
