Meet the Team in 90 Seconds – Philippa Duckworth

Introduce yourself…

I am Philippa Duckworth, Audit Director of Wilson Partners. I have been married to Phil for 8 years. I find picking a husband with the same name keeps things simple and provides endless amusement to people!

I moved around a lot growing up, experiencing the sunshine of South Africa, Bahrain, Liverpool (less of the sunshine) and Cambridge before settling into a life in High Wycombe. I always wanted to be a Formula 1 Mechanic growing up; but after Studying Physics and Finance at Surrey University I found myself applying for trainee accountancy positions. I joined Wilson Partners in 2011 as an Audit and Accounts manager and haven’t looked back since.

Describe your role at WP

As the Audit Director at Wilson Partners I head up the Audit and Accounts Function which has a broad remit covering everything from Statutory Audit to Business Tax computation. There are only 7 in the team including me, so we are pretty full on all of the time, especially as the audit business has seen significant growth over the last few years.

I am also the RI (Responsible Person) for Wilson Partners which mean I am qualified to sign off audits. With great power comes great responsibility!

Internally I spend a lot of time with the team; developing and training them. You can never have to many accountants!

Favourite drink in the office and out of the office

Its either got to be fizzy water or champagne right! I’m particularly partial to a glass (or bottle for those who know me) of something sparking.

Favourite Film

Anything Disney… The old Classic of Lady and the Tramp or Moana spring to mind.

Favourite Hobby

Cooking; savoury or sweet. Most of my colleagues are partial to my homemade sausage rolls which will hopefully make a reappearance as we start to return to the office.

Favourite Food

Curry … the hotter the better. I am known to add chilli to most meals.

Favourite Country/ Holiday

That’s a difficult one as there’s so many places to choose from. Somewhere definitely hot as everyone knows how much I hate the cold. I always have a few cardigans or coats nearby.

Favourite holiday:  South Africa for my birthday, returning to where I was born; the mixture of beach and city, with a Safari and Vineyards thrown in the mix makes it a fantastic place.

Cats or Dogs?

Dogs, all the way. I am not convinced cats ever show any affection (and they secretly hate us!)

One thing that most people don’t know about you

If anyone is short of a bedtime read, I am a published Physicist; writing classics such as “Infrared Spectroscopic Ellipsometry to Detect Interdiffusion at Polymer/Polymer Interfaces After Annealing” or “Measurements of environmental 1,3-butadiene with pumped and diffusive samplers using the sorbent Carbopack X”.

Ask one colleague to describe you

A caring, talented and experienced member of the firm. As one of the ‘early joiners’, Philippa has demonstrated professionalism throughout the years she’s been with the team. As a senior member of the group, she continually demonstrates a ‘can do attitude’, with responsibilities ranging from training staff, winning client work, to running the Audit team, (which is not a small feat in itself)! Philippa goes above and beyond when building long term relationships with her staff and clients alike, which has been evidenced by her long standing tenure at WPL. Not to mention, she also enjoys a good old party!   (Duncan)

Wow thanks Philippa, great answers! Just off to get a cup of tea, settle on the sofa and read one of your published books……!