We interviewed employed ICB bookkeeper, Joanne Crompton MICB to hear her inspiring story of how she battled a rare form of cancer whilst studying, working full time, being a mum, and working as a Locomotive Fireman...
Whilst working at Brownlows Accountants in Lancashire, Joanne battled an extremely rare type of cancer known as leiomyosarcoma, which affects the soft muscle tissue. Undertaking her studies with Training Link, Joanne managed to achieve Distinctions in both her Level 2 and 3 Bookkeeping qualifications and achieve her dream of gaining professional qualifications after many years working in accounts.
It is fair to say that hearing her inspiring success brought joy to our so-far uneventful Tuesday afternoon. We talked for an hour and discovered that Joanne volunteers as a locomotive fireman. Residing in Lancashire, she spends most of her volunteering time at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury but also volunteers at the Llangollen Railway in Wales. She holds such accolades as firing The Flying Scotsman and Thomas the Tank Engine! She is also the only female fireman in her department, and one of very few nationwide.
Joanne’s battle with cancer was not an easy one, but she received invaluable support from both her family and her employer. Joanne told us how sharing gallows humour with her husband helped a lot, and how apprehensive she was breaking the news of her cancer diagnosis to her employer, whom at the time she’d only been with for three months. ‘I went straight to work from the hospital and apologised to my employer, Shelagh, about my diagnosis. She just hugged me and said "We’ll do whatever we can to get you through this’’.
Please consider donating to the two railway stations Joanne volunteers for, as they need our help! Please donate to the Llangollen Railway and the East Lancashire Railway if you can.
When I first opened the A1 book, T accounts were like a dark art!
How are you coping with lockdown with everything going on?
I’m finding it alright. So much so that the company has taken the decision to work from home permanently. I’m more industrious. I’m more productive. I like the flexibility of working from home.
At ICB we’re coping quite well, too. We’ve been fortunate. In fact, I’m loving it. I don’t know if you’re allowed to say that.
Well, I’m house renovating at the moment, so this is quite handy for me. If you’re interested in 'housey' stuff, the house has its own Instagram - housenumber64
And you’ve got four kids, is that right?
Yes. They’ve all grown up now so it’s not as intense, but yes, my husband and I have four children. I ended up getting a job in a small practice in October 2018 and it just opened my eyes so much, and I thought, ’I need to fill in the blanks’''
How did you come to work in bookkeeping?
It’s just the way it goes! Whilst I was at college doing Computer Studies, I was working as a Finance and Audit Processing administrator in a manufacturing company, and I was doing basic bookkeeping. That’s where I learnt what I call my ‘surface skills’. I could do a month-end, but I wasn’t sure what was going on underneath. Time went on, and we brought the family up and whatnot, and then I decided I wanted to take it further and fill in the blanks. I ended up getting a job in a small practice in October 2018 and it just opened my eyes so much. I’ve always wanted to be a professional bookkeeper but never got the chance, but with the children moving out I thought I’d widen my horizons. Not long after that, I got diagnosed with cancer, so I knew ‘Now is the time!’.
So, you got diagnosed with cancer and still thought ‘now is the time’?
Yes. I never stay still, I’m always doing something, so I signed up to ICB. I actually started studying for my A1 and A2 in between scans whilst I was in hospital! They said bring a book to read, so I brought my textbooks.
What kind of cancer did you have?
Leiomyosarcoma. It’s very rare.
Presumably, it’s even scarier to get a rare form of cancer.
It is. Leiomyosarcoma is extremely aggressive. The prognosis is very poor to make five years. If you can get rid of it, it’s likely to return as secondary cancer within a year. But if you can get to five years without it returning, the chances of survival go up. So, it’s quite a strong form of cancer!
And how have you been doing?
Alright, I think.
Has it re-occurred yet?
No no no; I’m doing alright!
You were one of the first students to take the M8 exam at home with ‘remote invigilation’ and you got 96% so, despite cancer, you have clearly done extremely well. What was the hardest part of the whole process?
I would say being regimented with studying. That was the hardest part: dedicating enough time to study.
It’s hard to balance everything sometimes.
It is.
Were you also still working at the time?
I was still working, yes. I went back to work after six weeks, but I was still doing bits at home. I was back firing steam locomotives 10 weeks later. I had major surgery in February 2019, and I was back in May.
For many years I thought ‘oooh, I’d love to be recognised as a bookkeeper, is there a qualification to be a bookkeeper?
My gosh, you look so well! Did you get a lot of support from your family?
Oh yes. I think it shocked them at first. My husband and I have a motto: ‘We don’t do problems, we do solutions’, so for me to get ill, it kind of shook everybody. It was like ‘what’? In October 2018, I was gravely ill, and I was still firing up locomotives!
You talked about your motto – is that something you and your husband made up?
Yes. The motto can be used for anything: cancer, work, locomotives. It is like ‘Stop crying and get on with it’.
You said that it was hard for you to stay regimented with study, would you say that was because you were going through these major life upheavals?
It didn’t help, but I think I would have struggled anyway to keep it going!
Do you have any tips?
I made myself a timetable, like the ones we had in school or college. I made a timetable and I said ‘right, this is when I’m working, this is when I’m going to the railway, and this is when I’m studying’. I had to make time for it. I had to treat it as an element in itself. So, if anyone said ‘can you fire this locomotive?’ I would say no, I’m taking an exam that day or studying that day.
What's been motivating you?
This is something that I have really wanted to do. For many years I thought ‘oooh, I’d love to be recognised as a bookkeeper, is there a qualification to be a bookkeeper?’. I did my research obviously, but when I found ICB my mind was made up. I thought that I’d love to do that, it is such an achievement. If I set my mind to something, I’ll do it. Even the tough times in Level 3 where I was thinking ‘this is quite hard; this is quite in-depth’. Then I thought that I am so close, you know?
Would you say that Level 3 is a real step up?
I would say so. Yes, it is. Definitely the M6 and M7 units in Not for Profits and Limited Companies, but they’re the ones that I recommend that everyone studies! Revise and revise and go over it because it will come to you in the end.
Find what motivates you and keep that in your mind’s eye
When did the railway part of your life start?
My grandfather passed away when I was 12, he used to make model railways. One day in 2011 I was commuting to work, standing in Leyland railway station, and a full-sized steam engine rolled in and I was gobsmacked. I followed it to Preston where it stopped to take water. I wandered over to it and saw the fireman putting some coal in. I thought ‘I’d like to do that and I’m going to learn how!’ So, I found my nearest heritage railway, which was in Bury, signed up for training and became a fireman two years later, which was really fast for anyone, let alone a woman.
What do you have to do to become a fireman?
A lot of training! Essentially, you are managing a bomb. That’s what a steam engine is: a bomb. It’s a pressurised vessel.
What will you say to anyone out there who might currently be going through what you have done in these past 12 months?
Find what motivates you and keep that in your mind’s eye. There will be times where you’ll think it’s too hard but take a step back, take a breath, and split it into chunks. Instead of looking into a whole book, spilt it into little bite-sized chunks and concentrate on each one individually. People tend to rush through exercises because they have a target to finish a book. How do you eat an elephant? A little bit at a time. And that’s how you should deal with it. Instead of thinking ‘I can’t do it’, there’s no such thing as can’t. You can do it. It’s just motivation, and I think that would be my biggest suggestion to anyone. There is always a way!
What do you find the most satisfying about bookkeeping?
I like order. And seeing that endpoint. I also like helping people organise themselves. It’s the teaching side and making a client’s life a little bit easier, I think. Work smarter, not harder, I’d say. If I can teach people to work smarter so I don’t have to work harder, the job’s a good’en.
Now that you’ve become a professional bookkeeper, does it make you feel any different?
Yes. I’m confident now that I can do what I do and know why I’m doing it. That’s the key when I’m faced with a problem, knowing I’ve got the tools to face that problem. When I first opened the A1 book, T accounts were like a dark art! I’d been doing books for years and not understood them. Now I can sit back and say ‘we have a trial balance that isn’t right, we have things there that shouldn’t be there. Why have they put the liability in the profit and loss account?’
I’ve been learning how to bookkeep and just been going on with my own learning, but I realise that I’m part of a bigger network. There’s support out there!
I love that because I often hear members saying, if they need to, they will go back to the T accounts and sort it out.
Yes, go back to the building blocks! Go right back to the bottom, because if the building blocks are right, everything else will follow. I can’t live without T accounts because there are some particularly tricky things, and then I will open an excel spreadsheet, and do it in T accounts. It’s like a toolbox. Just like when I’m on the railways. It’s very simple elements that make that huge machine run – fire, water, coal, steam. If you run it right, it’s like an iron horse and you can make it gallop.
Finally, I just want to ask if you have been watching ICB TV?
I have, yes. I’ve had it on whilst I’ve been working. It’s good because you pick up on things. Some bits aren’t relevant to me, but then your ears will prick up. It’s nice to realise that you are part of a group. I’ve been learning how to bookkeep and just been going on with my own learning, but I realise that I’m part of a bigger network. There’s support out there! So, when you think, ‘how am I going to do that?’ you then think ‘I’m sure somebody out there has got some answers’ and being part of ICB means that you’ve got support. So ICB TV has been really useful!
Fantastic. Well, we’re super proud that you are an ICB member and one of the few female firemen in the land, and certainly, the only one firing those big locomotives. And congratulations, despite everything!
Don’t forget to donate to the Llangollen Railway and the East Lancashire Railway if you can!
If you would like to become a professional bookkeeper please call our friendly team on 0203 405 4000 or find out more here.
