Lyndsay Browne CA looks back on her varied career journey
By CA magazine
2 March 2023
From being dubbed a “non-relevant” to Bermuda to the House of Lords, Lyndsay Browne CA, Divisional Head of Financial Control at Capita and ICAS Council member, has met each challenge head-on
You can have honest conversations as long as there’s empathy
My English teacher, Miss Murray, taught me this. I remember her lessons on war poetry so vividly because she didn’t obfuscate or use euphemisms to explain things. She was very direct but in a human way. I still reflect on that because I think nowadays, intentionally or otherwise, things are often not presented as transparently as they could be.
Don’t fear being different
I wasn’t destined to be an accountant. After graduating with a degree in computer science and economics I was looking for a career that was well regarded, challenging and would offer me good opportunities. I joined KPMG as a trainee accountant, during which time I was part of a small intake known as “non-relevants”, meaning we hadn’t come from a finance background. But we brought a different perspective and balance to the team, and I was always comfortable with being not quite the same as everybody else. This mindset has stuck with me – one reason why I’ve gone for opportunities where I know my experience will differ from most.
Remember to reward yourself
After qualifying as a CA, I took the opportunity to work in Bermuda as a reward for all my hard work. It was meant to be an 18-month secondment, but I was there almost four years. There were people there from all over the world and it was very much a work-hard-play-hard environment. It’s one of the things I’m most glad I did because it was a terrific opportunity and I made lifelong friends.
Business needs a range of voices
I held off competition from 400 applicants to become one of Capita’s first employee directors in 2019. The idea of the role was to ensure the board better reflected all the stakeholders of the company, including the employees. By being in the boardroom, the other employee director and I brought a new dimension to conversations – the chair of the company said it was like having blinkers removed.
Covid-19 happened during my time on the board, so we were heavily involved in the company’s response and the new ways of working that developed. There was also a big transformation programme, and I was able to give on-the-ground feedback on how well that was bedding in, and on the company culture in general. Having employees on the board is something a lot of companies in Europe do as a matter of course, but in the UK it’s not a favoured route. It definitely works for us though.
Good governance is a must
Being an employee director led to an invitation to the House of Lords, for an All-Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group meeting, to discuss what a 21st-century board should look like. It was fascinating to hear insight from the speakers like Sir John Timpson. I believe good governance is absolutely imperative in terms of underpinning trust in business – and employees have a role to play. For companies such as Capita, with 50,000 employees, the main thing you’re managing is human capital, so having that human capital involved in decision making is vital. Shareholders can contribute to good governance too, as decisions around the allocation of capital are becoming more heavily based on company behaviour, not just financial performance. It’s about interlinked thinking, really.
Bad publicity comes with the territory
Capita receives its share of bad press, and it can be disheartening, but it’s not unexpected. We do high-profile work that touches on millions of different people on a weekly basis, so it’s bound to garner some interest. As someone inside the company, I know we do lots of stuff very well, but it only takes one thing to go wrong and it will be reported on. But when we don’t get things right, we really want to learn from our mistakes, and we’ve made a lot of progress in that regard over the past four or five years.
FDs are well placed to deliver positive change
The FD role is one that holds influence and credibility, but you need to find the right channels through which to engage thoughtfully and tactically. For me, the employee director role was a great opportunity to have more influence than I would in my day-to-day job. Even within your own team, it’s about fostering the right culture, listening and thinking about how your leadership style makes other people feel. You want to create an environment in which people can learn and grow.
I like having a range of activities
Travel is still a big part of my life. My children are older now but are always available for a paid-for vacation! I live near Delamere Forest, so I walk my dogs there almost every day, and I’m also part of a choral society and a governor of a school in Scotland. There’s so much going on in education at the moment, so it’s time-consuming but rewarding.
I also climbed Mount Snowdon with a team from Capita to raise money for Alzheimer’s. The whole walk took place in the dark, at midnight. I think if I’d tried by myself I wouldn’t have completed it, but as a team we pulled each other through. It was a good test of my inner strength as I had to dig deep in order not to give up.
2023 is an important year for ICAS
We’re turning plans into tangible actions and outputs. I’ve been on ICAS Council since 2022 and there’s some really interesting work going on around how we improve the student experience in terms of learning, skillset, expertise and support, both academic and otherwise.
Trust your instincts
Be wary of explanations that are overly complex. Even the most complicated matters can be explained in simple terms if they’re properly understood, so if someone can’t explain something to you clearly, it probably means they don’t have a firm grasp on it themselves. Also, business is going to be a big player in bringing about societal change over the next 10–20 years. Therefore, CAs have got an important role to play in enabling businesses to make the right decisions, not just for stakeholders and shareholders, but for the employees, society as a whole and the planet itself.
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