A FORMER Woodmill High School student has gained Responsible Individual (RI) status at Thomson Cooper Accountants.

Jacqueline Whyte, director of audit at Thomson Cooper Accountants, studied at the Dunfermline school until 1993 before going on to get her degree in accounting at Edinburgh Napier. 

She went on to work at Thomson Cooper as a trainee, gaining her qualification as a Chartered Certified Accountant, overseeing audits for a number of years and becoming an RI last year through her professional body, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

She said: "Achieving RI status has been a long-term goal of mine and I feel a great sense of pride having achieved this milestone in my professional development.

"It means I can be appointed as statutory auditor and undertake regulated audit work, signing audit reports on behalf of the firm.

"I recognise the trust the partners have in me as an RI and I look forward to the responsibilities and challenges that the new role brings.”

Senior partner at the firm, Andrew Croxford, was pleased with the achievement. He added: ” As a ’home-grown’ talent, we are proud of Jacqueline’s drive and dedication to the audit department where she has excelled as director.

"In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in audit opportunities, driven by a growing recognition among organisations of the advantages audits offer.

"This has coincided with many auditors exiting the market as regulation, legislation and compliance become increasingly complex.

"We are committed to providing a first-class audit service and have invested significantly in our audit function.

"Jacqueline’s appointment will allow us to take advantage of more opportunities while continuing to develop our audit services.”