Game on

Moving platform

Soutar is a textbook example of how the CA qualification provides the platform to take a career in directions one wouldn’t immediately associate with chartered accountancy.

“I actually studied physiology at university,” she says. “I thought, I can’t see myself being in a lab for the rest of my life. Maths was part of my degree. At that point, I decided doing accountancy was the right path towards having a solid career and ICAS was the obvious choice – it was, and still is, the most prestigious accounting body.”

After qualifying, she decided to join an independent practice in Dumfries. “It gave me a really solid grounding in small to medium-sized businesses,” she says. “One moment I was trying to fathom out a set of accounts from a shoebox of invoices, the next I would be auditing the digital records of a finance company.

“It opened my eyes to all the different types of businesses out there and I really enjoyed learning about all of them. That training has sat with me throughout my career in terms of simply being able to adapt and be flexible.”

Eventually, Soutar decided she wanted a job where “I could run my own ship”. So she applied for the role of Head of Finance at Edinburgh Zoo in 2000.

“I could hear the gibbons from my office!” she recalls. “I went in at a time when there were no digitalised records and I got involved in the IT system. It was a great experience because I was in the nitty-gritty. You learn how everything across an organisation works.”

After four years at Edinburgh Zoo, she spent a decade as Finance and Operations Director at ProjectScotland, an organisation which matches young people with volunteering roles among charities across the nation, before taking on another Head of Finance role at another famous Scottish institution, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. In 2018, she made the leap up as the COO.

“For any CA, that’s an interesting transition,” she says. “My remit was broad when I arrived, but becoming COO meant covering departments where I was obviously less experienced. I was being asked to make a decision on a marketing campaign or branding. And unlike finance, there isn’t a correct answer.

“A lot of it simply comes down to asking the right questions and putting your own biases to one side. It was daunting, but there is a point in your career when you know you’re ready to make the step up.”

One of her standout memories during that time was taking the Tattoo to Melbourne, where they played four nights, and Wellington in 2016. “Other than AC/DC, we sold more tickets than any show held at the Etihad [Docklands] Stadium in Melbourne,” she says, proudly – the artists they outsold include U2 and One Direction.

The Tattoo was second only to the Rugby World Cup in terms of the number of external visitors it brought to Wellington. Traditionally, however, its CEO has always come from a military background. So, when Soutar was approached for the SFA’s CFO role in 2020, she felt it was time for a new challenge.

“We were the first major event in Scotland to open up after Covid and the scrutiny on us from both the government and the media was enormous”

Although she is passionate about the Tartan Army, you won’t find Soutar arguing about who will make their squad this summer. But her adaptability and experience were immediately invaluable to the SFA when it came to hosting Euro 2020 matches at Hampden Park in summer 2021.

“I stepped in as a project lead because the person in that role had to take a leave of absence,” she says. “We were the first major event in Scotland to open up after Covid and the scrutiny on us from both the government and the media was enormous.

“Looking back now, I consider myself fortunate to have that opportunity. It was a great experience to be in the thick of it.”