Jack: from trainee to partner
Jack joined our Birmingham office as a new graduate in September 2014. Having trained with the firm, he has worked his way through the ranks and was recently promoted to partner. This is Jack’s story.
I joined the UHY Birmingham office in 2014 as a graduate Trainee Accountant having obtained a BSc in Economics from the University of Birmingham. Throughout training for my ACA qualification, I found that the wide variety of work that I was able to experience stood me in good stead when it came to taking this knowledge into my studies. I felt the opportunity to rotate through audit, accounts, taxation and consultancy was an advantage compared to some of my peers from other firms that were specialised from an early stage in their careers.
Following qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, I was given more responsibility and was made a manager at the firm, which amongst other things also allowed me to attend conferences with the other UK UHY offices aimed at senior staff, something which provided an interesting insight as well as a great opportunity to socialise with some of the other offices in the network.
There isn’t really any such thing as a typical week, but if there was it would involve some popping in and out of the office. The rest of the time would involve meeting audit clients and consultancy work (based in client offices).
I love the wide variety of clients and business sectors I am exposed to, which has equipped me with an adaptable skills set. One week I could be managing the audit of a large Multi Academy Trust, and the next providing interim support as Head of Management Accounts at an organisation with an £800m+ budget. It keeps me on my toes and keeps my interest.
I appreciate that I have been given great opportunities at a relatively young age, due to the size of the office. I have felt well supported by the other managers and directors here, so it has never felt daunting. It is also good to see how others have progressed with a similar background.
As my career has progressed, the firm has supported me in growing with them, reflected firstly by my promotion to Associate Director and more recently, Partner. I feel that the graduate training programme set me up well for my career in accountancy and I have been encouraged by other partners to fulfil my potential in throughout.