Kim Stroud, Jo Walters and Emma Birch (pictured) celebrated becoming CIPFA qualified at the recent graduation ceremony.
Their story is one of true collaboration, where they studied together to achieve their end goal – getting qualified!
The three all worked for Portsmouth City Council as PQs, and would go into the office every Saturday leading up to exams, creating their own study room. OK, Kim would be there at 8.30am on the dot, and Jo and Emma would often rock up with a McDonald’s breakfast just a bit later, but it worked, and they would study from 8.30am until 2/3pm.
All have families, and they admitted being away from them even for that short time meant they could concentrate on what they needed to learn!
They have become life-long friends too, and are now planning a holiday together.
Check out all the great pictures from that first-ever national graduation ceremony on page 30: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_june_2026
