Working at EQ in a qualified role – Nicola Millar

At EQ, our people are at the heart of what we do. As a modern, energetic accounting, tax and business advisory practice, we understand how important it is to have the right people in the right roles to be able to provide the high-quality services our clients expect.

We are currently on the lookout for talented individuals to join our team so we asked Nicola Millar from our Forfar office to share her experiences of working at EQ in a qualified role.

How long have you been with EQ and what made you choose to work here?

I started with EQ in November (9 months ago), so have now almost worked as much at home as I have in the office, I can’t believe how quickly it has passed. I knew that the Forfar office was largely agricultural based and had a great reputation, coming from an agricultural background this was something that I wanted to stick with. Moving to Forfar also cut my travelling time to work by 2 hours per day.

What opportunities have been available to you to develop and how does this differ to where you worked before?

At EQ, we do monthly tax training sessions which helps to keep up to date with changes that are happening. I was given a client list when I started, which has grown since then and I am involved in billing and tax planning for these clients which is something which was new to me when I moved to EQ. I also got the opportunity to go to a farm monitor meeting which was a great way to meet some clients and increase industry knowledge which can be passed on.

What support has been in place for you to make the transition to EQ and the way that we work?

I was assigned a mentor to help but everyone at EQ is friendly and willing to answer any questions at any time.

What would you say is a typical day for you?

Everyday is different. Mainly I will be working on accounts and tax work, but as you are assigned your own client list you never know what you will be doing later in the day depending on client requests.

How have you had to adapt the way you work whilst working remotely?

I am quite lucky as my sister also works at EQ so we have been able to set up our home office in a room together which means I am not sitting on my own all day. I probably send a lot more emails than I used to in the office, but we also have regular teams calls for everyone to keep up to date and in touch with each other. We are doing a lot more on screen working now.

Can you give us an example of some of the things you’ve been working on recently?

I have still been doing my usual regular tasks although we are working outwith the office. I have been preparing a lot of accounts for agricultural clients and have been doing tax returns as the January deadline will be here before we know it.

What would you say is your favourite thing about working at EQ?

You have the opportunity to work with everyone in the office as each client has a unique engagement team. You also get very involved with the client doing both their accounts and tax work. EQ organise a lot of social events so you have lots of opportunities to get to know your work mates. It’s also amazing how a 4 o’clock finish on a Friday makes your weekend feel so much longer.

What advice would you give to someone considering applying to EQ?

Go for it! I have never looked back since I moved to EQ. You work hard, but it is an enjoyable work environment and you get rewarded for it.

You can read more on what you can expect working in a qualified role with us here. We will also be sharing more of our teams experiences in the coming weeks.

If EQ sounds like somewhere you would like to be part of, you can take a look at our current vacancies here. We encourage you to apply or get in touch for more information; even if your skills aren’t a perfect match to the roles advertised, we’d still love to hear from you as we are always on the lookout for talented individuals. For a confidential, informal chat, get in touch with our HR team on recruit@eqaccountants.co.uk.