‘I wanted to learn things that can’t be taught in the classroom’
‘I wanted to learn things that can’t be taught in the classroom’
Having moved around as a child, Francesca Van der Byl CA craved the stability of accountancy and the hands-on experience of an apprenticeship, so trained through the KPMG scheme at Exeter University. Now AI Product Manager at the Big Four firm, she explains why CAs must embrace the tech – and why her pageanting hobby makes her better at her day job
Words: Cherry Casey
Having moved around as a child, Francesca Van der Byl CA craved the stability of accountancy and the hands-on experience of an apprenticeship, so trained through the KPMG scheme at Exeter University. Now AI Product Manager at the Big Four firm, she explains why CAs must embrace the tech – and why her pageanting hobby makes her better at her day job
Words: Cherry Casey
“It’s probably quite deep, but I think I wanted stability,” says Francesca Van der Byl CA, AI Product Manager at KPMG UK, of her decision to pursue accounting. This craving for constancy can be put down to her childhood, Van der Byl surmises: by the age of 14, she had already lived in England, South Africa and Scotland, a state of flux “which was definitely a challenge”, she says. And having “always been a numbers person”, there was perhaps something attractive about the inherent solidity of accounting – “these debits go here, credits go there” – and the career path it offered.
Whatever the reason, the pull of the profession was strong. And by the age of 16 Van der Byl had made up her mind to become a CA, so the next step was choosing the best route for her, which was the apprenticeship scheme offered by KPMG via Exeter University.
During the five-year programme Van der Byl spent half her time at university and half in the workplace; a set-up that allowed her “to learn things that can’t be taught in the classroom”, she says. “And that’s why I’m such an advocate for the apprenticeship approach.”
For while learning the theory behind what you’re doing is essential, she says, “how it actually works in reality is different, and having that skillset and knowing the two sides is invaluable and gives you that step ahead”.
Invaluable, but by no means easy. And if Van der Byl were to offer advice to anyone following in her footsteps, it would be this: “Everyone, myself included, will naturally be ambitious and want to give their all to both work and studies. But it’s simply not possible to give 100% to everything at all times.”
“I would always recommend you really hone whatever skill you enjoy the most, because that’s ultimately where you get your love of work from”
To be a successful CA, you will need to develop those skills that lie outside of accountancy just as much, she says. For her, these were learning how to manage her time and devise a routine that allowed her both to work and study effectively.
Being part of a cohort was also key to bolstering her confidence, she says. Through the years, your fellow apprentices become “your family, there to celebrate through the good times and get you through those tough times. It really does make the difference.”
Tough times for Van Der Byl came when she initially failed two of her exams, an experience she admits left her “absolutely heartbroken”. But this only meant that when she did receive her certificate at the ICAS admission ceremony, it was “the biggest achievement in my career so far [because of the] resilience I demonstrated to go on and pass after that failure…. Some people fear others will think less of them if they know they failed [in the past]. But personally, I’ll think more, because it shows what your character is made of.”
Van der Byl receiving her CA qualification certificate from Past President Sandy Manson CA
Van der Byl receiving her CA qualification certificate from Past President Sandy Manson CA
Determination, in other words – something that has characterised Van der Byl’s career path since she qualified in 2018, when she became Assistant Manager, Data and Analytics, at KPMG. This was a role that came to fruition after it was recognised by her employer that she “was always thinking of new approaches or ideas that could bring data analytics into play”, which stemmed from it being her favourite part of auditing.
“That’s what really gave me that drive,” she says. “I would always recommend you really hone whatever skill you enjoy the most, because that’s ultimately where you get your love of work from.”
Gathering pace
Part of Van der Byl’s job was to share her “enthusiasm and knowledge with other audit teams”; enthusiasm that soon extended to advances in technology and its intersection with her profession. “One thing I love is that the change in technology has never been this fast, but it will never be this slow again,” she says.
This is thanks largely to AI, which she firmly believes CAs should embrace. Again, her interest hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2024, she became AI Product Manager, for which part of her role is “to deploy our own version of ChatGPT for auditors, so that they can use that technology to help them with their audits day to day”.
And she dismisses fears that AI will replace financial professionals. “It will be the assistant to all accountants,” she says, one to which you can delegate “some of the more mundane tasks”, freeing yourself up for the more substantial work, “like the interesting, judgemental areas of an audit”.
Graduates and apprentices will find they get to that stage sooner, Van der Byl believes, as they will be spending less of those early days doing the mundane tasks she had to do, such as scanning documents. “It really makes their career go faster because you’re able to get that exposure sooner,” she says.
“There’s a misconception that pageants are just people onstage, in a dress, walking up and down and answering questions… but you have to put your best self forward and create those good first impressions”
Getting the career that we want, and fast, is important to today’s young people, says Van der Byl. Hence the equal importance she places on life outside work, notably her hobby of pageanting, which she has done since 2019, reaching the finals of Miss Great Britain Edinburgh in 2025.
“There’s a misconception that pageants are just people onstage, in a dress, walking up and down and answering questions,” she says. Rather, she believes it’s about what you stand for, which for her is education and being “a well-rounded individual”. For this you have to learn to “put your best self forward and create those good first impressions”.
She adds: “That’s the crossover between my pageant world and work, because [for the latter] you need to learn how to go up and talk to new people, and for that you need confidence.” After six years of putting herself up there on the pageanting stage, she has honed that skill too, just like any other.
And this is perhaps the thread that runs through Van der Byl’s journey to date: following her passions and sharpening her skills as she goes, all the way back to her schooldays.
“I wasn’t a straight-A student but that didn’t stop me because I knew I wanted to become a CA. It was a case of, if one door is shut, I need to look at other ways of getting in there,“ she says. “That might take a bit more time but,” – as her success shows – “it can be done.”
Read more in our Championing Unique Perspectives series
“It’s probably quite deep, but I think I wanted stability,” says Francesca Van der Byl CA, AI Product Manager at KPMG UK, of her decision to pursue accounting. This craving for constancy can be put down to her childhood, Van der Byl surmises: by the age of 14, she had already lived in England, South Africa and Scotland, a state of flux “which was definitely a challenge”, she says. And having “always been a numbers person”, there was perhaps something attractive about the inherent solidity of accounting – “these debits go here, credits go there” – and the career path it offered.
Whatever the reason, the pull of the profession was strong. And by the age of 16 Van der Byl had made up her mind to become a CA, so the next step was choosing the best route for her, which was the apprenticeship scheme offered by KPMG via Exeter University.
During the five-year programme Van der Byl spent half her time at university and half in the workplace; a set-up that allowed her “to learn things that can’t be taught in the classroom”, she says. “And that’s why I’m such an advocate for the apprenticeship approach.”
For while learning the theory behind what you’re doing is essential, she says, “how it actually works in reality is different, and having that skillset and knowing the two sides is invaluable and gives you that step ahead”.
Invaluable, but by no means easy. And if Van der Byl were to offer advice to anyone following in her footsteps, it would be this: “Everyone, myself included, will naturally be ambitious and want to give their all to both work and studies. But it’s simply not possible to give 100% to everything at all times.”
“I would always recommend you really hone whatever skill you enjoy the most, because that’s ultimately where you get your love of work from”
To be a successful CA, you will need to develop those skills that lie outside of accountancy just as much, she says. For her, these were learning how to manage her time and devise a routine that allowed her both to work and study effectively.
Being part of a cohort was also key to bolstering her confidence, she says. Through the years, your fellow apprentices become “your family, there to celebrate through the good times and get you through those tough times. It really does make the difference.”
Tough times for Van Der Byl came when she initially failed two of her exams, an experience she admits left her “absolutely heartbroken”. But this only meant that when she did receive her certificate at the ICAS admission ceremony, it was “the biggest achievement in my career so far [because of the] resilience I demonstrated to go on and pass after that failure…. Some people fear others will think less of them if they know they failed [in the past]. But personally, I’ll think more, because it shows what your character is made of.”
Van der Byl receiving her CA qualification certificate from Past President Sandy Manson CA
Van der Byl receiving her CA qualification certificate from Past President Sandy Manson CA
Determination, in other words – something that has characterised Van der Byl’s career path since she qualified in 2018, when she became Assistant Manager, Data and Analytics, at KPMG. This was a role that came to fruition after it was recognised by her employer that she “was always thinking of new approaches or ideas that could bring data analytics into play”, which stemmed from it being her favourite part of auditing.
“That’s what really gave me that drive,” she says. “I would always recommend you really hone whatever skill you enjoy the most, because that’s ultimately where you get your love of work from.”
Gathering pace
Part of Van der Byl’s job was to share her “enthusiasm and knowledge with other audit teams”; enthusiasm that soon extended to advances in technology and its intersection with her profession. “One thing I love is that the change in technology has never been this fast, but it will never be this slow again,” she says.
This is thanks largely to AI, which she firmly believes CAs should embrace. Again, her interest hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2024, she became AI Product Manager, for which part of her role is “to deploy our own version of ChatGPT for auditors, so that they can use that technology to help them with their audits day to day”.
And she dismisses fears that AI will replace financial professionals. “It will be the assistant to all accountants,” she says, one to which you can delegate “some of the more mundane tasks”, freeing yourself up for the more substantial work, “like the interesting, judgemental areas of an audit”.
Graduates and apprentices will find they get to that stage sooner, Van der Byl believes, as they will be spending less of those early days doing the mundane tasks she had to do, such as scanning documents. “It really makes their career go faster because you’re able to get that exposure sooner,” she says.
“There’s a misconception that pageants are just people onstage, in a dress, walking up and down and answering questions… but you have to put your best self forward and create those good first impressions”
Getting the career that we want, and fast, is important to today’s young people, says Van der Byl. Hence the equal importance she places on life outside work, notably her hobby of pageanting, which she has done since 2019, reaching the finals of Miss Great Britain Edinburgh in 2025.
“There’s a misconception that pageants are just people onstage, in a dress, walking up and down and answering questions,” she says. Rather, she believes it’s about what you stand for, which for her is education and being “a well-rounded individual”. For this you have to learn to “put your best self forward and create those good first impressions”.
She adds: “That’s the crossover between my pageant world and work, because [for the latter] you need to learn how to go up and talk to new people, and for that you need confidence.” After six years of putting herself up there on the pageanting stage, she has honed that skill too, just like any other.
And this is perhaps the thread that runs through Van der Byl’s journey to date: following her passions and sharpening her skills as she goes, all the way back to her schooldays.
“I wasn’t a straight-A student but that didn’t stop me because I knew I wanted to become a CA. It was a case of, if one door is shut, I need to look at other ways of getting in there,“ she says. “That might take a bit more time but,” – as her success shows – “it can be done.”
Read more in our Championing Unique Perspectives series
Built with Shorthand