EMMA STODDART is group audit manager at accountants Grant Thornton, in Liverpool, having been with the firm for more than 10 years. Her role involves managing audits and giving business advice to some of the city’s major players.

This is an account of her day:

7am: Mayhem – it’s my turn to get up and get my daughter Polly ready for nursery. My husband, Gary, and I take it in turns depending on his shift patterns. He works as a police officer, so every day is different.

8am: I drop Polly off at nursery on route from West Kirby to Liverpool, and then turn on the radio to help pass the journey.

9am: I arrive at work and catch up with Dave Potter, an assistant audit manager who works alongside me on my client portfolio. We make sure we know what urgent client work we have to do that day and prioritise accordingly. We are currently finalising the audit of law firm Hill Dickinson.

9.15am: I meet audit partner Carl Williams, who is head of audit and assurance. As group audit manager, it is my role to update him on any departmental issues. These range from staff and training to budgets and forecasting. It’s a big department with around 45 members, so I keep a running list of any outstanding issues.

10.30am: Management team meeting. There are 10 audit managers responsible for around 35 staff. We meet weekly to plan jobs and look at work allocation across the team.

11.30am: I call Peter Moss, the finance director of one of our clients, Dolphin Music, to advise on the team selected earlier and make the necessary arrangements in advance of the audit fieldwork. The company is a music retail business operating online and through stores.

12.30pm: I dash into town to grab an outfit for the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accounts annual dinner which is coming up. Michael Cox, an audit partner in our office, is president this year and is therefore chairing the event.

2pm: I go to the Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre Liverpool to have a catch-up with the finance director, Gerald Andrews, and his team.

4pm: I take a call regarding a client, Carlton North Wales, which is a property-based company with around 15 businesses in the group. Staff are on-site completing the audit this month. I will spend a day or two a week there over the next few weeks myself to review the work.

4.30pm: I email a few notices across the department. These include an email of congratulations for a job well done and an update on trainees who have passed exams.

5.30pm: I finish a few things and get ready to leave work to get home to Gary and Polly. In the hours that follow, I completely switch off in order to make the most of my time with Polly, which usually involves Play Doh, followed by dinner with Gary.

9pm: With Polly tucked up in bed and calls to mum and dad and my sister made, I’ll switch my laptop back on to deal with any enquiries that I was unable to respond to during the course of the day. I’ll usually work for about an hour before going to bed myself. Unfortunately, being a mum in a full-time job doesn’t allow for many hobbies.