Jessica Sim

Why did you choose a career in Accounts?
I did quite well at school but didn’t know what route I wanted to go down; I had always planned to go off and do music, but I realised this wasn’t for me. I did some work experience in 6^th year at EQ and I loved it, numbers had always been a strong point too so a career in Accounts was an ideal path for me.

Why did you choose the opportunity to join EQ over college or university?
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to University. When I learned about the Trainee Accounts position at EQ, I knew this sounded like the best of both worlds; I could learn and gain a qualification all while putting what I would be learning into practice. I knew I’d prefer this to sitting in a lecture theatre all day.

Why did you choose EQ Accountants?
EQ has a large amount of farming clients, and having grown up on a farm, this really appealed to me. I also did work experience at EQ, and everyone was very welcoming so I knew I would be working with a good group of people.

What’s a day in the life of a Trainee Accounts Assistant like?
Every day is different! A lot of your time involves preparing tax returns or accounts, but you also do lots of other tasks like submitting confirmation statements and preparing letters to send out to clients.

What qualifications are you studying towards?
I’m currently sitting my CAT exams and working towards sitting my FA2 exam.

What do you enjoy most about being a Trainee Accounts Assistant at EQ?
Putting what I’m learning into practice and all the people I’ve met. The bacon rolls on birthdays are also a nice touch!

What 3 qualities do you think a Trainee Accounts Assistant needs to have if they are to be successful?

• Hard working as you will have to study in your own time
• Being organised is important to keep track of everything you have to do
• Having strong communication skills as you will work as part of a team.

Do you have any advice for those interested in applying to join the team?
I had never done anything with accounting prior to getting the position at EQ. I did some research on basic accounting principles and this was helpful for getting me started. I’d also say to try your best to come along to the EQ social events as it’s a great way to get to know people outside of the work.