Mark Fairbrother CA

Aston Villa Football Club

Mark has the enviable position of working as the finance controller for his favourite football team, Aston Villa FC. Mark studied Money, Banking & Finance at the University of Birmingham and completed his ICAS training with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2004 before moving on to Villa Park where he’d previously spent some time on secondment.

What has being ICAS trained meant for you?

When I accepted my job at PwC, one of the factors was the timing of the CA exam route.  With the focus on completing the TC and TPS stages within the first year I was left with only the case study for year three.  This for me was a huge advantage over taking exams throughout the three year period. This enabled me to really understand what my job was at PwC and become a valuable member of the team. A number of my clients in my first year at the firm were still my clients when I left the firm for my current job.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

It’s difficult to describe a typical day at work with so many business operations within the club but that’s probably why I enjoy it so much. One minute I could be working on a margin review of the ground catering operations, and the next minute working on a player transfer.  Excluding travel from the stadium to the training ground I’ve not had to travel too much in my current role, however going to work in Prague last year during the UEFA cup was a more than enjoyable experience.

I think working for such a well recognised and respected football club is a fantastic perk of the job.  When I was in practice I used to end up in industrial estates all over the Midlands, now I work in a football stadium - it's not quite the boyhood dream of being a professional footballer, but hey, I work at the same premises, and that's a pretty good alternative!