Inside Careers Guide to Chartered Accountancy

TRAINEE ACCOUNTANT
ALLIOTTS
LISA CHEN
UNIVERSITY OF BATH
MMATH MATHEMATICS
LONDON
“I have been exposed
to a variety of clients
from different
sectors, including
manufacturing, property
and hospitality.
”
When I first thought about applying for an
ACA contract, the Inside Careers guide was a
great starting point with plenty of information
to support my job applications. I would never
have imagined that now, 12 exams down and
an ICAEW Prizegiving Awards Ceremony later,
I’d have the opportunity to write about my
experience so far as an ACA trainee.
Why did you choose a job in this profession?
At university, I was always very interested in the
application of mathematics to real life scenarios
and so a career involving numbers, and in
particular problem solving, was what I always
had in mind. Although I never studied anything
remotely related to accountancy, I had a
huge interest in business and finance. The
ACA training contract was therefore perfect,
as it allowed me to gain practical experience
working with businesses and study for a
professional qualification at the same time.
What was the application process like?
Any advice?
The application process is facilitated by SWAT
UK who handle the recruitment of some
small-medium sized accountancy firms. After
the initial online application form, I was invited
to their London office for an assessment
day. The assessment day was made up of a
maths test, English comprehension task, and
a writing exercise in the morning. Having
passed all three parts, I was given an interview
Although I never studied
anything remotely related to
accountancy, I had a huge
interest in business and finance.
in the afternoon with one of the members of
the recruitment team. Following the success
of my assessment day I was contacted by
Alliotts for an interview. My first interview was
a competency-based interview with an Audit
Manager followed by an interview with the
Staff Partner. My advice for applicants is time
management for the morning assessments,
as you are given all of them at the same time
and it is up to you how you organise the
time between them. Also, during the SWAT
interview you will be asked to choose three
firms you are interested in applying to with
reasons for each. I would highly recommend
doing research on all the firms to help with
your choice by looking at their websites, social
media handles, and attending the SWAT UK
Graduate Careers Fair where you have the
opportunity to meet individuals from each firm
– and potentially future colleagues!
What are your main duties?
Training in a medium-sized firm, I have been
exposed to a variety of clients from different
38 Accountancy | www.insidecareers.co.uk/acc