Dipping her toes into a brand-new industry, Chloe Tatti joined BellchambersBarrett in 2017 – as our receptionist.

But before long, she found herself progressing: from administration, to assisting in corporate compliance and audit – and finally, Manager in Internal Audit.

Thank you to Chloe for sharing her story with us.

Starting at entry level

In 2017, I joined BellchambersBarrett by pure luck.

I had just moved to Canberra and didn’t have any friends or family with me. So I was looking for a firm that would be the right fit for me, both professionally and socially.

As I hadn’t yet decided on the area of professional services I wanted to get into, I applied for an admin role at BellchambersBarrett. I met one of the partners for the job interview, and we ended up having a really nice chat for over an hour.

Over the next few days, I received several offers from other companies. But I’d wanted to wait to hear from BellchambersBarrett, because I felt that I connected with them the most.

And when they offered me a job, I took it without a second thought.

A chance to explore and grow

My background is very different to those of my colleagues; I have a Bachelor of Journalism and used to work in social media and venue management.

But here, I had the chance to learn, explore and grow.

For the first three years, I tried different support roles: starting with reception, then corporate compliance, before moving to audit – which was where I finally found my value.

Sart Spinks, one of our partners, asked me to help him review a report. And I found that I really enjoyed it (even though I didn’t understand the finer details of internal audit then).

Because I showed interest, I was given more opportunities to work on similar jobs. And soon, I was asked to assist with one of our largest consulting engagements – which required significant communication and project management.

Then Kathleen Buckley, Principal in Audit and Consulting – and a wonder woman – took me aside to tell me she believed in me and would love to work with me. That meant so much to me.

So when the audit partners asked me where I wanted next for my career at the firm, I decided to focus on internal audit.

Year by year I progressed. And today, I’m a manager in the division.

Always heard and valued

I’m where I am today because I had a lot of help, a lot of support, and a bit of luck.

One of the best things about BellchambersBarrett is that we’re not hierarchical, as much as we can help it.

The abilities of junior staff are always noticed. Once you’ve proven you’re trustworthy and capable, you do get to run with a lot of things.

The team also delegates upwards, and there’s always support for anyone who needs it.

What’s more, our senior staff and partners make it a point to be accessible and available. They care about our progression. Not just in terms of work, but holistically in life too. They’re willing to listen and help us – and genuinely want to know our opinion.

The fact that we can tell our partners and senior staff what we think, directly and honestly without fear of offending them? That’s gold.