Theresa's story

I was working as a Financial Director of a small company when I had a falling-out with another senior member of staff. Moving forward with the company felt impossible - disciplinary claims were brought against me and while they were unsubstantiated and ultimately dropped, the atmosphere remained openly hostile.

In a short period of time, I went from receiving a decent Christmas bonus to it all going wrong. I had to leave without having another job lined up. I'm over 50 and I didn't feel confident I'd find many interesting roles for someone my age. It didn't feel great.

I went on a caba course on personal brand to figure out what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be and how I wanted to manifest the next stage of my professional life. The course was brilliant and I met others who were at a similar point in their lives and careers. The course made me look carefully at the kind of words I was using and how they were influencing me. It encouraged me to think and make the words and phrases I use more positive, which in turn has made me a more positive person.

I also spoke to caba about career coaching, as I wasn't getting far with my interviews. I was matched with a career coach and I told them I was struggling to get excited about the jobs available to me. The sessions made me realise that I no longer felt passionate about the type of work I had been doing and I wanted my own practice. We had 9 sessions through the beginning phase of building my business. It was amazing to have someone to talk to about what was and wasn't working.

Around this time, caba made me aware of their business start-up grants and supported me in creating a business plan and applying for a grant. I was delighted to be awarded the grant - it's allowed me to buy a new laptop, some good software and to invest in the marketing materials I needed to get my new business off to a strong start.

In the middle of all this, my husband was suddenly made redundant. I knew that caba also supports spouses, so I encouraged him to take up some career coaching as well. We both felt so inspired and confident that we came together to devise a new business plan and we're now in the process to evolving my practice into a consultancy we will run together.

For me, caba was someone to talk to, someone to help me focus and someone on my team. It's fantastic that spouses and partners are supported by caba too, because this is the world around the chartered accountant and so it's central to their wellbeing. In short, working with caba has been a life-changing experience for both of us.

how caba can help

caba supports the wellbeing of past and present ICAEW members, ACA students, ICAEW staff members, and their spouses, partners and children up to the age of 25. For advice, information and support please:

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your questions answered 

Who is eligible for support?

We support past and present members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), ACA students, ICAEW staff members, and the family and carers of members and students. 

  1. No matter where your career takes you, past and present members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England Wales (ICAEW) are eligible for caba’s services for life, even if you change your career and leave accountancy 
  2. ACA students (ICAEW Provisional Members) who are either an active student or have been an active student within the last three years are eligible for caba's services 
  3. Past and present staff members of the ICAEW or caba are eligible for caba's services for life, even if you leave either organisation. Please note, for former employees, our financial support is only available to those who have had five years continuous employment with either organisation 
  4. Family members and carers of either an eligible past or present ICAEW member, ACA student or past or present employee of the ICAEW or caba are eligible for caba's support. We define a family member as a: 
    1. spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner 
    2. widow, widower or surviving civil partner who has not remarried or cohabiting with a partner 
    3. divorced spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or cohabiting with a partner 
    4. child aged up to 25. Please note, children aged between 16 and 25 are not eligible for individual financial support 
    5. any other person who is dependent on the eligible individual supporting them financially or are reliant on the eligible individual’s care 
    6. any other person on whom the eligible individual is reliant, either financially or for care 

You can find out more about our available support both in the UK and around the world on our support we offer page and by using our interactive eligibility tool

Are your services means-tested?

If you need financial support, we carry out a means test where we consider income, expenditure, capital and assets.  

*Please note none of our other services are means-tested. 

I’m an accountant, but not a member of ICAEW, can you still help?

Unfortunately not. We only support past and present ICAEW members, their carers and their families. If we are unable to support you, where possible we will point you to help elsewhere.

caba has supported me in the past; can I receive support from caba again?

We understand that circumstances change. If we’ve helped you in the past there’s no reason why we can’t help you again. You can contact us at any time. Please call us if you need our help.

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