From apprentice to head of multimillion pound firm

Lucy Cohen wants to see more diversity in the accounting profession

A businesswoman from Cardiff who runs an accounting firm with a multimillion pound turnover says she wants to "smash glass ceilings and break down barriers" for other people under-represented in the profession.

Lucy Cohen co-founded Mazuma, a subscription-based accountancy company, with her school friend Sophie Hughes from a spare bedroom when they were 23.

Now Ms Cohen, who also won a silver medal in powerlifting at the Commonwealth championships, is head of the company which employs 70 people at its head office in Bridgend.

“I know I don’t look like a stereotypical accountant, but I’ve never tried to,” said the boss who got into the industry via an apprenticeship.

She got the idea for Mazuma from watching her family who were actors, dancers and musicians struggle with the stress of financial record-keeping and tax returns.

She joked that because she came from a creative family, the decision to be an accountant was her youthful “rebellion”.

But she has continued that rebellious streak in calling out the absence of women in senior roles in accountancy.

“When I walk into a room and there aren’t any women there, I ask the question – where are the women?” she said.

She believes apprenticeships can help increase diversity because the “earn while you learn” model can offer an accessible route into careers for people who would not consider going to university.

Mabli Cunnah-McMillan has just finished her apprenticeship at Mazuma

Mabli Cunnah-McMillan, from Colwyn Bay in Conwy county, has just finished her apprenticeship at Mazuma and been appointed to a permanent role.

Unlike most of her friends, the 18-year-old never wanted to go to university and she thinks everyone should consider apprenticeships.

“You can work and learn at the same time, it’s not like uni where you’re just studying all the time and you have lots of debt and stuff,” she said.

She was always keen to get into accountancy and she thinks working in the field that you are studying can give you an extra edge.

“I can ask my colleagues if they can help me with stuff, so they can give me guidance if I get stuck," she said.

Ms Cohen believes encouraging social mobility and diversity benefits individual businesses and the wider profession.

“Those diverse voices, those experiences from different cultural and economic backgrounds make for a really rich profession,” she said.

She thinks it might just change the image of the profession too.

“Let’s be honest, nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks accounting is a sexy career,” she said.

“But that’s changing because numbers, money, finance underpin everything in our society and when you access that and understand it, your ability to navigate the world is enhanced so much.”

The Welsh government provides funding for apprenticeship places in Wales, but has admitted it will not meet its manifesto commitment to create 125,000 apprentices by 2026 because of funding cuts.