Rebecca Williams is the owner of award-winning accountancy firm, Eccounting Made Easy, based in the North West. She is also a public speaker to bookkeepers and accountants, industry mentor, and founder of the social media phenomenon, Rebecca's Finance Tutorials.
The CPAA is a proud sponsor of Rebecca’s online video series, which discusses and explains a whole host of accountancy topics in a truly accessible way – helping empower everyone with the knowledge to gain new skills, do their job better, and make work more enjoyable.
“It used to be the case in the workplace that knowledge is power and people didn’t want to share that,” says Rebecca. “Previously in my career, I have experienced a culture where asking questions was very much frowned upon and staff were expected to jump in at the deep end and just run with a copy and paste format of how the finance function ran in the past. I’ve always found that attitude and culture to be short-term thinking by business owners and have made it my personal mission to create a culture of sharing tips and knowledge. I feel that the more you share, the more you get back.”
This is the driving ethos behind Rebecca’s videos and burgeoning brand: share, uplift and empower. It is a welcome and fresh outlook that many others in the industry – new entrants and seasoned professionals alike – relate to, as is apparent from the vast number of views and subscribers Rebecca has amassed in just a few short years.
The desire to get into this profession has been there for a long time for Rebecca, “Growing up, I always wanted to be an accountant – even when I was as young as 8! It struck me as being a well-paid, secure job in a credible profession. I wanted to be a business owner and knew I’d need to understand the base level of finance to do that. So I thought I might as well jump into it and learn!”
“It wasn’t an easy path and I had no contacts to turn to for a foot in the door, so I submitted over 100 applications and then had seven interviews for one role – it was cut throat. I had a bumpy ride in my early career and so it was bittersweet to have worked hard to get into a profession which at that time required a lot of change. However, looking back this is what shaped me and I will be forever grateful for those earlier experiences. Now in the present, I want to do whatever is in my power to improve the industry, make it more sustainable and better for those coming into the profession.”
Creating a renowned social media series was not a direction Rebecca ever intended to take. In lockdown, as she supported students coming into the industry as an informal advisor. She started helping with a Facebook page and was asked by a student if she might create a video to help explain a topic they were struggling to understand.
Up until that point, Rebecca had zero social media presence, being a very private person and had never touched a single piece of editing software but decided to give it a go. To say that it has been a steep learning curve might be an understatement, but always keen to learn and grow, Rebecca got to work and developed her online presence.
“I started out on Facebook, then turned to YouTube. It’s been three years now and it’s evolved massively. I’ve always been creative and this is another outlet for that – I find it fun! I don’t have a team, so I record, edit, search for SEO, research topics – all alongside running a business. The comments on my social posts help inspire the topics I cover. I share the things I wish I’d known and I’m never short of new ideas – I have 1,000 ideas running round in my head at any one time!”
We get the feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg for Rebecca, who is a staunch supporter for helping young people enter the industry and become more comfortable generally with financial topics.
“I want to make it my mission to help others. I’m a disruptor and there’s a growing group of likeminded professionals doing to same, so there is the potential to make a real difference. Let’s create sought after cultural places to work, teach managers to support students, and offer mentorship in different ways – like social media.”
Rebecca adds, “There are so many things I could do to change the industry to create the community I wish I had had when I started. It started with helping one person, but my long term goal is to create a supportive and skilled community.”
“I see the need for financial education across the board – it’s not taught enough in school. There is a much bigger picture here and I’m already talking about it with others outside of the profession to see how we might affect positive change.”
It is without doubt Rebecca’s attitude that wins over her viewers and helps those watching her videos to engage and learn. Relentless positivity and warmth shines through, and this is clearly something that the whole profession can learn and draw inspiration from.
As Rebecca concludes, “There’s a standing joke in my family; I’m an old soul in a young body. My Grandad always said ‘treat people like you want be treated’ and I firmly believe that nobody should be belittled for seeking knowledge, there are no stupid questions, and I want to create a community where any judgement is absent.”
Take a look at Rebecca’s video series on social media, you can find her on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok:
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