Pip Cusack

My career path

I graduated from the RAU in 2014 after completing a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture. In my final year I applied for an ACA training contract at a firm of accountants in Somerset which had a specialist agricultural team.

Whilst competing my Chartered Accountants exams I really enjoyed applying the theory I was learning to my agricultural clients. Having the agricultural knowledge I gained from my time at the RAU was invaluable in understanding my clients’ businesses.

The ACA takes three years to complete after which I moved to a firm in Oxfordshire where I was able to further develop my accountancy career within the agricultural sector. While working in Oxfordshire I was promoted and gained the added responsibility of line managing colleagues, most of whom were just starting their careers in accountancy.

I began to develop a keen interest in tax planning for agricultural businesses, both annually considering income tax and on a broader scale looking at capital gains tax and inheritance tax. With so much development land in the Oxfordshire area land prices were increasing and tax planning was becoming invaluable. Having finished my last exams I decided to start studying again to become a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). 

My interest in tax bought me back to Gloucestershire in February 2020 when I moved firms again in order to work with agricultural clients purely as their tax adviser.

What I gained from the RAU

I love what I do because I understand my clients, I understand their priorities and business goals. Studying agriculture at the RAU gave me an in depth knowledge and understanding of the land-based sector, invaluable for my day-to-day work. My three years at the RAU lead me to my career and I wouldn’t be here now without the support I gained from my tutors and peers.