Rafi Saville, partner (forensic accounting), HW Fisher & Company
Rafi Saville is a partner (forensic accounting) at HW Fisher & Company. He attended the University of Manchester.
Tough years of qualifying
I chose accountancy because I was good with numbers and it seemed like a sensible business choice: I knew that a professional qualification would set me up for life in terms of career options. It was a tough three years of qualifying and very different from university. In retrospect, it was short term pain for long term gain – but it didn’t feel like that when I was taking exam after exam.
Picking up transferable skills
I spent a year in Israel before university, running a bicycle repair shop on a kibbutz, teaching English to Ethiopian immigrants and painting playgrounds in newly developing towns. It was a phenomenal experience and required the teamwork and resourcefulness that is fundamental to my career now. I also spent a few months as a telesales consultant, which taught me that you have to be persistent to win new business – an extremely useful skill in my current role.
It was a tough three years of qualifying
Uncovering financial misconduct
As a forensic accountant I might investigate anything from fraud to drug dealer financing, which is particularly exciting when you uncover something new such as a financial pattern that supports your case. I also carry out a lot of royalty audits, checking that licensees have paid the correct royalties to the rights owner such as authors, musicians and kids’ TV characters. It’s a real buzz when we find very large under-reporting, which results in unexpected new money for our clients.
Managing commitments
I have religious commitments outside of work which mean that I need a degree of flexibility in my job. The pressure of getting my work done on time can therefore be challenging but it makes me determined to make up for any time that I miss. It was always important to me that I worked for an organisation that understands that you have a life outside the office!