Last updated 11:42, Tuesday, 01 July 2008

A CUMBRIAN accountant has come out tops in the country in a national finance exam.

Sarah Irving, 21, of Kirklinton, near Carlisle, has successfully completed the financial accounting unit section of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) exams.

During her training, she scored the highest marks in the country in her top-up paper, winning the Carter Prize in the ICAEW’s Professional Stage Exams.

Sarah works at O’Reilly Chartered Accountants, which helped her fulfil her ambition by becoming an ICAEW-authorised training firm.

She joined the practice four years ago after leaving William Howard School. Brampton.

She said: “Working in a small firm, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to take the ICAEW exams and I’m grateful to O’Reilly’s for giving me this opportunity.

“The training provides a really good grounding.”