Tugba's LinkedIn profile

I grew up in Turkey and had a full Government scholarship to study international trade and business at university in Istanbul where I majored in international logistics and transportation. I was working a part time finance job at Turkish Airlines at the same time as studying and realised I loved numbers and accountancy so once I graduated, I got a full-time job in finance and started studying the CPA qualification. At the same time the university I graduated from offered me the opportunity to study for an MBA for free, so I studied the two alongside each other.

On the work front I moved to an international financial reporting team. The company had 50% American ownership and 50% Turkish ownership, so I learnt about US GAAP, IFRS and Internal Audit and became a specialist.

I met my husband when he was working in an international logistics company, and he qualified as a customs officer. Having completed all my qualifications and worked at the biggest company in Turkey, I wanted a new challenge so we moved to Manchester in the UK where we were starting from scratch – we had no friends or family in Manchester but it was cheaper than London and the London market was very competitive with many Turkish finance professionals already set up there.

I’d already started the ACCA qualification whilst in Turkey and qualified quite quickly. I worked in a small accountancy practice to learn all the basics, and it was a really good experience to learn how a practice runs. Subcontractor roles at a large holding company and then a large IT company followed where I worked closely with the finance directors and expanded my network.

When I started my family, I needed to adjust my career to accommodate my children, so I started my own practice and built up my clients. I became the accountant for the North West Turkish Community Association in Manchester which increased my network and tripled my client base. As my practice grew, I acquired clients of all nationalities and employed staff.

My clients were asking for support on international movement of goods and with my husband’s experience of logistics, it made sense to create our logistics company. Some clients were also asking for support on immigration visa applications, so I studied to become an Immigration Adviser Level 1 and set up my immigration services and visa consultancy business.

One of the challenges my practice is facing right now is on pricing – there are a lot of accountants out there so you can always find a cheaper accountant.  Small businesses can be focussed on the cost, and we can seem expensive compared to the cheaper ones, but we provide a higher level of service and expertise as chartered certified accountants. It can take time for clients to learn and understand the difference.

I have clients in many sectors, and there are many updates in the rules and practices so I need to advise them on the changes they are facing. I feel lucky to be able to double-check my knowledge through ACCA and GOV UK whenever I give advice to clients. My clients know to ask me for advice – they want to learn as well but understand that tax is complicated. I’ve made webinars for my clients so that they can understand their businesses better. If I educate them then I get better questions from them as they understand more, which makes it easier for me.

Studying and working are my two loves. They continue my professional and educational academic improvement, and I still study and gain new qualifications now. Most recently I achieved the Certified Chair credential from the Advisory Board Centre through its collaboration with ACCA. I see big potential to grow my business in this area – businesses increasingly want an external financial consultant.

I love training people and sharing knowledge and always wanted to be a lecturer, so I recently accepted an offer from Arden University in Manchester to lecture on Accounting & Finance. It gives me personal satisfaction to see young people wanting to learn and helping them.

I love my free time and make sure that I don’t work in my free time. I spend quality time with my children. I also love singing and theatre acting and have been in some performances – I love to be on stage!