A young woman who started out working on reception at a top bakery is now helping to steer the company’s finances after qualifying as an accountant.

Lauren Ashman, 28, said support from bosses at the award-winning Jones Village Bakery in Wrexham and her own determination to succeed had spurred her on.

She joined the firm as an admin assistant straight from Coleg Cambria 10 years ago when her duties included working as a receptionist.

With backing from the company, she studied hard and has now qualified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Lauren, who lives in Wrexham, said: “I came in on a business admin NVQ and learned all the admin functions, including working on reception. learning a bit about HR, understanding what different departments did, helping the payroll department a bit.

“It was a really useful learning exercise, it showed me so much, because you don’t anticipate how much goes into a business.

“You learn about each department, how people talk to clients, how they communicate with each other and as a business.

“That work was really good for me because I was quite shy when I was younger, and now I can see the difference in myself, speaking to people I don’t know with confidence, something I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing 10 years ago.

“The CGMA qualification from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants  was fully funded by Village Bakery, so I studied in my own time but all the resources and exam fees were all paid for by the company.

“I did the qualification on self-study, following a really good online platform which gave you tuition videos and study materials and you could speak to a tutor if you wanted to.

“It was effectively like being at university but not attending lectures, it was all in your own time.

“It has been a lot of work so I am really proud of myself to be honest.

Jones Village Bakery’s Chief Financial Officer Abbey Richardson was delighted for Lauren and said she was a great example of how the company supports its staff.

She said: “Lauren’s success and career development very much says Village Bakery invests in its people.

“To see people growing and developing through the business is a real success story for us. We try to train and develop people as much as we can.

“We have seen Lauren coming in as a young person and working really hard through her exams.

“That is very challenging and her qualification is testament to her hard work and resilience.

“It is a lot to be studying and working full-time.

“I am really pleased this kind of career development happens here, and I am really pleased I have got to see Lauren develop and grow into a well-rounded, confident and qualified accountant.

“The great thing about working in finance in a manufacturing environment is that you get to really understand how business works, you get a really good breadth of experience.

“Lauren has worked really, really hard on this and she thoroughly deserves it.

“I’m really proud of her, we’re all really proud of her.”

HR manager Jason Page said developing staff from within the firm was a key ethos and one of the reasons the company continues to grow.

He said: “The roots of the business is that of a family-run business, and that means we want to nurture and grow our own talent.

“Because we could see such potential in Lauren, there was a real appetite to invest in her career development.

“She has worked fantastically hard through her qualifications and deserves this success.

“It is fantastic to see Lauren succeed.

“There has been really good stewardship and mentoring provided by the company, as high up as the financial directors, to help her navigate through her career path.

“It is something we like to do, we have some great examples across the business.”

Jason said Lauren’s success gave the message to others that joining Jones Village Bakery could result in a long-term and enjoyable career.

He said: “The message is always ‘come and join us’ if you have the right attitude and have an appetite to grow and you want a career.

“We’re a massively growing business, a large-scale operation and we have career opportunities in so many sectors – finance, IT, commercial, HR, to name just a few.

“We’re looking for talented people to come and join us and help us carry on with our success.”