JANE BOARDMAN is a partner at the Liverpool office of professional advisory firm Deloitte. Jane, 34, from Aigburth, has been with the business for 13 years and covers the firm’s audit clients across the whole of the North- West.

This was her working day:

7am: Alarm goes off. I’m not a morning person, so I hit snooze a few times before dragging myself out of bed for a shower.

8.15am: Leave my flat in Aigburth to get to the Deloitte office at Exchange Flags. My PA, Sheila, has a cup of tea waiting for me and I go through my emails. One of my listed clients has announced its results today so I search online to see what the market thinks – feedback is good.

8.45am: Sean Beech, senior partner at our Liverpool office, pops in to see me for a bit of football banter – he is a United fan, me Liverpool. We are both season ticket holders and fiercely competitive – a common trait in professional services – but the conversation is always good- humoured.

9am: I call one of my smaller, owner-managed clients to discuss their financing. They are a manufacturer for the retail sector and times are tough. The conversation is positive – it looks like they will have a secured facility in the next couple of weeks, which means we need to be ready to sign the accounts when the paperwork comes through.

10am: I interview a potential graduate trainee. In the last few years, we have taken on seven people each year in Liverpool, across audit and tax. This is forecast to increase in line with our growth plans for the office. I enjoy the interview process – meeting new people is such a big part of my job and I love the variety. I spend a really good hour with the candidate and then offer her a position – no point hanging around.

11am: Head to North Wales for an audit planning meeting. I get a comprehensive update on the clients’ business and tour the site in my hard hat to get a feel for what it all means.

People have the perception that auditors sit at desks number crunching all day, but there is no better way to understand a business than to get outside and see it for yourself.

12.30pm: Back to Liverpool to meet up with a colleague for his annual appraisal. He is being put forward for promotion to senior audit manager, so I really enjoy communicating the news to him and sharing in his delight. Mentoring people is a massive part of my role as a relatively young partner who is (supposedly) still in touch with the “kids”.

2pm: Pop for a sandwich whichI eat at my desk while reading The Times and scratching my head at the crossword – I usually get about 75% done before I text my dad for help.

2.30pm: In Warrington with another client – I tend to spend about 80% of my time out of the office and love it. This is a big audit so I take the team some chocolate to keep them going.

5pm: Conference call to discuss our financial performance – Deloitte has grown considerably in recent years, tipping £2bn of annual revenue for the first time in 2008. But we don’t take growth for granted and are constantly developing new non-audit propositions to ensure we are providing a quality service.

7pm: Back in Liverpool – the office is quiet, so I get my head down. I work through my emails for the day, I have a rule of “file or delete” in an effort to keep my in-box clean.

8.45pm: Off to football training. I played for Manchester City in the Women’s Premier League for 13 years until May – I’ve recently signed for a local team playing at a more relaxed, but still competitive, county league level. I really believe in the importance of maintaining interests outside of work. When I’m on the field, nothing else matters. Winning, and playing well, are the only things on my mind.

10pm: Home to have tea with my husband. Neither of us are foodies, so the meal usually involves “piercing the film lid”. We catch up on our respective days and generally put the world to rights before curling up in front of the TV for an hour to chill out.