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Graduate Trainee Accountant (ACA)

Shipleys is a 13 partner firm of Chartered Accountants and professional business advisors, based in London’s glamorous West End.

We’re looking to recruit a number of graduates who aspire to become chartered accountants.  We have high standards and are looking for candidates with excellent academic qualifications as well as drive, ambition and a thirst for success.    

In return, you’ll enjoy a competitive salary and an excellent study and benefits package, with salary increases twice a year based on exam and work performances. There is potential to progress within the firm, with many of our partners having trained with us. Add to this the opportunities and varied lifestyle that working in the South East has to offer and it all adds up to a very rewarding opportunity.

What can you expect from a career with Shipleys

We are a medium-sized firm and every member of our team makes an important contribution. You‘re not at the same stage in your career as everybody else is in theirs, and what matters to you is likely to be different from what's important to some of your colleagues and peers. We are a friendly bunch at Shipleys and it's a place where you can be yourself - finding your niche and making your mark.

Our approach to our team is similar to our approach to our clients - very much based on individuals and their aspirations. Our size means there are options for progression into different areas of work – moving from an accounts or audit based role into tax, for example. Whilst the firm is very well known in a number of niche markets such as film and television, overall we look after a wide range of clients so there is plenty of opportunity to build your experience with clients in many different industries.

Roles tend to be very interactive with more exposure to clients and others outside the firm than is often the case elsewhere. We aim to build on our professional expertise to provide proactive business advice and planning to our clients - helping to "make it happen"- providing an excellent service that’s worth the cost and which contributes to our reputation as a trusted advisor. People work hard when they are here, but we also do expect them to go home!

The benefits of training with a medium-size firm like Shipleys

A major benefit of working in a medium sized firm (compared with a much larger firm) is the depth and variety of assignments you will be involved with. You will have exposure to a wide range of assignments with clients of all sizes in various industry sectors.

In larger firms, trainees often spend much of their training confined to audit work because of the sheer scale of audit work. Audit work is just one small aspect of an assignment and in a medium size firm such as Shipleys, you can benefit from having exposure to many different areas of client work, such as accountancy and tax, as well as gaining client relationship skills.

In addition, you’ll tend to work with far more clients in a medium size firm (giving you a broad ranging experience) because the time spent at each client tends to be far less than that of a larger firm.

With a medium size firm, you’ll also benefit from involvement from the firm’s Partners, who will take a direct interest in your development and support you through your training.

What we offer

What we expect from you