Looking for an opportunity to grow? Cultivate your career at EQ!

Category: Agriculture - Posted On: Jun 1 2021


At EQ, our people are at the heart of what we do. It’s our passion, drive and understanding of real farming issues that can make a difference to our clients. As a firm, we pride ourselves on offering a fantastic training experience with an emphasis on practical learning that suits those that prefer to be more hands on. We can help you develop a range of skills that will allow you to grow both professionally and personally – and understand that nothing can beat practical experience.

A large proportion of staff in our Forfar office come from an agricultural background, with many of our EQ Agriculture team starting with us as trainees with little knowledge of accountancy, but a passion for farming. Two of our Partners in the Forfar office, Mark Smeaton and Robert Young, both joined us as trainees and run their own farms, so we spoke to them about their experience.

Being an accountant at EQ is “farm” from boring!

EQ Partners, Mark Smeaton & Robert Young

Mark comments, “As a farmer’s son I naturally assumed the farming life was my only option. However, I always had an interest in the figures end of the family farm and when a vacancy came up at EQ, a firm with a renowned agricultural focus, I chose to apply. I quickly realised that no two days are the same, tasks can vary, with client meetings regularly held on farm. You can become heavily immersed in your client’s business. Coming from a farming background is such a huge benefit, you can understand the lie of the land far easier and relate to the issues that they are facing – usually as you’ve faced it yourself.”

Mark, who has been Partner at EQ for 5 years, is still heavily involved on his family farm and uses his in-depth understanding of farming issues to help clients achieve their goals, not only from a tax and accounting perspective but also from practical, first-hand experience.

Robert adds, “Similarly to Mark, I joined EQ as I still wanted to be involved in the industry and the opportunity to work with farming clients really appealed to me. My farming background has helped me enormously, I fully appreciate their situation and can use my technical skills to help them reach their ambitions which is extremely satisfying. A career with EQ can allow you to continue to be involved in the rural sector and give you a platform to train and further your career.”

Get involved – take in the lie of the land

We are always on the lookout for enthusiastic members of the agriculture community who want to remain involved in farming but are keen to learn new skills. Iain Gordon, EQ Chairman, explains, “Watching our trainees grow and develop, displaying such passion and enthusiasm for what they do is a delight at every level. Supporting their career progression to Partnership, devoted to the agriculture sector, and making a real difference to their clients is truly special and something we want to share with others in the community who may be looking for a new challenge. If you have an interest in agriculture but aren’t quite sure what path you want to follow, then we might have the perfect opportunity for you.”

“Not only are we looking for people taking their first steps on a career in rural business, but we would be delighted to hear from those with experience, ranging from the newly qualified to those with considerable accountancy and taxation expertise. EQ have achieved extraordinary growth in the rural sector over the last few years, and we believe we can offer exciting and fresh opportunities to those looking for a new challenge, within the environment of a wholly independent practice, owned and run by local Partners. We’d be delighted to hear from you.”

We provide an excellent training package and with our knowledge sharing culture, all staff are encouraged to actively help and support one another wherever possible. If you have a passion for all things agriculture and want to make a real difference to the agriculture community, training within the EQ Forfar office might be the right move for you.

If you have a passion for agriculture and are interested in joining our growing team, you can apply here.