She started her career as a local authority accountant before moving into consultancy in 1989, initially with Coopers & Lybrand, where she was responsible for developing and managing the firm's local government consultancy work in Scotland.

Since 1994 Paula has been self employed and she works either on her own or as a member of teams brought together for specific pieces of work. Her extensive financial consultancy experience includes costing, financial analysis, business planning and financial management both in the public sector and in charities, frequently providing the financial expertise in multi-disciplinary teams.

Paula’s non-financial consultancy includes evaluating the impact of Self Directed Support arrangements on the clients who receive such payments and their carers, developing a checklist to support the assessment of governance arrangements in partnerships, preparing guidance about governance, infrastructure and related issues for the then newly created Community Justice Authorities and advising a Council on linkages between its risk management strategy and its business planning process.