Not only was I given support with my work in the office, but people were also willing to give up their free time to help me with my ICAS studies if there were any areas I needed someone to explain. Having other people who had already been through the process was a great help and I never felt I was struggling on my own.
Where and what did you study at University? I studied Accountancy at the University of Dundee.
Why did you choose a career in Accountancy? Maths was always my best subject at school but I wanted to study a subject at university that was more practical and would lead to a career where I would get to deal with people. After studying an accountancy module in sixth year at school, studying to be an accountant seemed to be the right choice.
Why did you choose to apply to EQ Accountants to complete your professional qualification? I had decided whilst at university that I wanted to work towards my CA qualification once I had finished my degree. I wanted to stay in the local area and I had heard about EQ through various careers fairs and presentations. I also won the EQ prize in third year at university and met Jenny Law at the prize-giving and from speaking to her, EQ seemed like a great place to complete my training. I was lucky enough to be offered a job in the Dundee office and started my training in August 2008.
What is a day in the life of a CA Trainee like? Every day is different – there is no typical day! As EQ does not departmentalise, trainees get to work on various different types of jobs including tax, audit and accounts. Not only does this help you to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge but it also makes work in the office a lot more interesting. One day you might be preparing an individual’s tax returns in the office and the next day out at a client’s premises conducting an audit.
What did you enjoy most about being a CA Trainee at EQ? It’s hard to say just one thing! There’s probably three main things – getting to know the people in the office and make new friends, getting to deal with lots of different interesting areas of work, and getting to know my clients and their businesses.
What did you find the most surprising during your training with EQ? How willing everybody in the office was to support you through your training. Not only was I given support with my work in the office, but people were also willing to give up their free time to help me with my ICAS studies if there were any areas I needed someone to explain, or run through examples etc. Having other people who had already been through the process was a great help and I never felt I was struggling on my own.
What 3 qualities do you think a CA Trainee needs to have if they are to be successful? You need to be hard working, as you have to put the effort into studying in addition to working full time. You need to have good people skills as you spend a lot of time speaking to clients. Finally, you need to be adaptable/flexible as every day is different and you don’t always know what your day has in store.
Do you have any advice for those interested in applying for our graduate training vacancies this year? Make sure you have researched the ICAS qualification so you know what is involved and that it is the right career move for you.