© 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. A career without university

© 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.

A career without university


• 'Best years of your life'

• Independence of moving away

• Time and space• Everyone else is

doing it• Life time

friendships• Significant debt• Skills gap

University vs apprenticeship

• Knew what I wanted to do

• Earn while you learn• Qualify quicker• 2 years more

experience• Exposure to

opportunities• Responsibility/respect• Social events• Degree


Life as a trainee accountant


An average day

• There isn't one!

• Typically…– working with clients at their premises– operating as part of a team, or sometimes individually– performing testing procedures– discussing significant issues with the client– understanding their business– interaction with senior client staff– explanation of key business trends to others– travelling

• No two clients are the same


Qualified to succeed? The two main study routes…

ACA /CTA/CIPFA/ACCA(Association of Chartered Accountants), (Chartered Tax Advisor/Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy/Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)

• Graduate entry/AAT/ATT progression

• 2-3 years to complete• Assessment by exams• Time off work to study

AAT/ATT (Association of Accounting Technicians/Association of Taxation Technicians)

• A level entry• 2- 2.5 years to

complete• Three stage

qualification• Exams and

coursework• Time off work to

study• Can earn exemptions

from subsequent exams


Entry routes into accountancy…

Years 1 2 3 4 5 6

School Leaver

Graduate

AAT/ATT University course ACA/ACCA/CTA/CIPFA


• lots of support from tuition providers, such as Kaplan– specialist tutors to guide you through the exams

• full-time college tuition– teaching style similar to university lecture

• time off work to study– allocated study days

• lots of support from peers– buddy system

• study with trainees from other firm

Balancing work and study


Once you are qualified

• continued professional development and advancement

• further professional qualifications

• remain in current service line or move into another department

• many secondments available– national, industry and international

• opportunities in industry– 52% current chief executives in the FTSE 100 are

accounts


How applications work

SELF-SELECTION

APPLY ONLINE

ONLINE TESTS

DIGITAL INTERVIEW

FINAL ROUND ASSESSMENT DAY

Manager interview, Partner interview and more opportunity to learn about the firm

Online digital interview

Successful applicants should hear back and will be invited to complete online tests.

Apply as soon as possible

To join a firm will need to know about academics, personal achievements and why that particular firm


What I took into account when making my decision


The decision I made…..

When I left school, everyone went to university and couldn't understand why I didn't want to. But for me, the prospect of being paid straight from school and gaining real experience with clients from the start seemed far better than going to uni for three years first and coming out with a massive debt. However, I was (as I think all school leavers are) worried about whether graduates would be at an advantage in the work place. I could not have got it more wrong. As school leavers, you are treated exactly the same as the graduates, working on similar clients and being given the same responsibilities. I know managers and partners who have taken the school leaver route and are in the same place as those who were graduates are. The only difference is the exams they took to get there.Many people also think you miss out on social life by starting work straight away, but I have found that as well as the many work socials that are organised, it is great fun to take a long weekend and stay with friends at their universities without living in overdraft!I don't regret taking the school leaver route at all, I should qualify within 5 years of leaving sixth form (quicker than graduates) have no debt, and will have gained a wealth of experience. The only downside I can see is giving up long holidays in the summer!

Clarissa, Grant Thornton Cambridge (Previously Bedford Girls’ School)



The main driver for heading straight into work from sixth form, as opposed to choosing university, was having the ability to work towards a professional qualification without needing a degree as a start to build upon. Within our firm, graduates start out at the same level as school leavers, so there is no real difference in the work that you are doing on a day to day basis.On top of this, you're earning while you're learning. The only real downside is that it means your friends expect you to pay for everything when they are back from uni!As with any job, there are times when you are under pressure, and the pictures of Freshers week do make you jealous, but I think that in the long term the work experience and general skills you I’ve been able to learn while on the job will pay dividends. Whilst I’ve only been in the job for 18 months, I really feel like my confidence, communication and leadership skills have come on leaps and bounds, which are transferrable skills for all walks of life.

Joe, Grant Thornton Cambridge (Previously Hills Road Sixth Form)



It was an incredibly tough decision deciding between going straight into work or going to university, especially when the current system is very much university driven and a majority of your school mates will be heading off to university. Obvious benefits to going straight to work include the ability to start earning straight away and begin climbing the career ladder early on. The only downside I have found so far is that whilst I am busy hard at work I see my friends at university enjoying far too much free time, at least until they reach 3rd year! Having said that after working for almost 3 years since leaving Sixth Form I do not regret my decision at all.

Sam, Grant Thornton London (Previously Newport Free Grammar School)


Grant Thornton at a glance


• Grant Thornton are the fifth largest accountancy firm in the UK and internationally

• 4th largest auditor of the UK's top privately held companies

• No. 1 auditor to the public sector

• 185 UK partners, 4,300+ UK employees

Who are we


Where can you find us?

40,000 people operating in over 130 countries

4,500 people operating out of 25 UK offices


• Audit and assurance– audit company annual accounts and issue assurance

reports– the most common route into accountancy

• Corporate finance– market and raise funding for transactions (acquisitions

and disposals)• Advisory

– provide advice to clients on how to improve operations• Taxation services

– compliance and tax structuring advice• Recovery and reorganisation

– reorganise clients' business and support recovery efforts

Typical accounting services


Don't just take our word for it…

86 in Times Top 100 graduate employers 2013

Highest ranked accountancy firm based upon employee reviews on TheJobCrowd

Winner of 'Best Placement & Internship Employer' 2014 by RateMyPlacement


Where to find out more?

• speak to people in business• be proactive!• visit the following websites…

www.grant-thornton.co.uk

http://financial.kaplan.co.uk

http://traineeblog.grant-thornton.co.uk

www.aat.org.uk

www.icaew.co.uk

www.att.co.uk

www.uk.accaglobal.com


Questions

Documents

© 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. A career without university