Anna Pazera

Originally from Poland, I moved to England in 2006 and have since made it my second home, building both my career and my family here.

My career journey has been quite varied – and certainly not a straight line into accountancy, although I completed A levels and achieved qualifications in Business and Accounting in Poland. I’ve worked in public sector administration, spent more than three years teaching at a Technical College in Poland and, after moving to the UK, worked as a factory operative before deciding on returning to my accountancy roots.

While on maternity leave, I took the opportunity to retrain in accountancy. I started working in accounts in 2012 and haven’t looked back since. I’m now an ACCA-qualified accountant and FMAAT, and joined Kaizen in December 2015.

I pride myself on attention to detail and accuracy. My motto is: if you’re going to do something, do it right – preferably the first time around! I’m also always looking for ways to improve how things are done and make processes more efficient. When something takes me into unfamiliar territory, though, I like to take my time, research it properly and understand the detail before finding the best way forward.

Before joining Kaizen in 2015, I worked in the accounts department of a large estate agency, progressing from Accounts Assistant to Accounts Manager. Before that, I gained my first UK accounting experience with Nightel, initially volunteering before moving into a paid Accounts Assistant role.

I retrained in the UK through AAT and went on to complete full ACCA qualification. My earlier education is just as varied as my career – alongside accounting, I have a Master’s degree in engineering and studied English at a Teacher’s College in Poland.

It might not be the most conventional route into accountancy, but the different roles and experiences along the way have taught me to be adaptable, curious and never afraid to learn something new.