STRATEGIC HIRING - HOW TO GET AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Trainee Accountant to Senior: How to Progress in Practice (Quickly!)

Throughout my career as a specialist recruiter in professional practice, I’ve had the privilege of working with many talented, ambitious accountants, and some have progressed faster than others. While every journey is unique, there are clear patterns in what helps people move from trainee roles into more senior finance jobs within professional practice. Drawing from this experience, I’ve put together a set of strategies any accountant can adopt to accelerate their career up the professional practice ladder. These tactics have proven to be highly effective for those aiming to achieve their professional goals efficiently and successfully. Embrace Increasing ResponsibilityAs you begin your career in accountancy, the scope of your duties often starts with basic tasks such as data entry, reconciling accounts, and preparing reports. While these tasks are important for building a foundation, taking on more responsibility is key to developing the skills and experience needed for progression in practice.Start by volunteering for more complex tasks that stretch your skillset, such as handling larger client accounts, managing financial forecasting, or (if possible) participating in audits. These challenges will expose you to new aspects of accountancy and allow you to learn beyond the day-to-day duties. Another way to progress quickly is by taking on leadership roles within a team or department. Taking on the responsibility of overseeing junior staff, delegating tasks, and ensuring deadlines are met can significantly enhance your development and provide you with the invaluable ‘management experience’ which is essential for trainee accountants looking to advance to the next step in their professional practice careers. Continuous Learning and Self-DevelopmentAs you challenge yourself with new responsibilities, actively pursuing knowledge and development goes hand in hand with completing further qualifications. Traditionally, most accountants I work with are newly or nearly AAT qualified which is a fantastic accomplishment in itself but for those with aspirations of climbing the ladder the next step should be further studies. Qualifications such as the ACA, ACCA or CTA (depending on your chosen specialism) will allow you to strengthen your technical expertise. It’s worth mentioning here that a good training contract and mentor are invaluable for the next step in your journey and should be a big factor when deciding to look for a new role after completing your AAT. Finding a Mentor Another important aspect of progressing quickly in accountancy is developing relationships with more experienced colleagues, supervisors, and managers. By seeking mentorship from more experienced professionals, you can gain insights into how they managed their career progression. Also, they can guide you in taking on appropriate challenges and responsibilities and help you navigate the complexities of the profession. Many of the most successful finance professionals credit their career growth to strong mentorship relationships established early in their journey. NetworkingNetworking is one of the most underutilised tools for career progression in finance. While it might feel intimidating at first, networking allows you to connect with and learn from likeminded individuals, stay informed about trends in professional practice, and discover new opportunities. One of the primary reasons networking is important is that it helps build valuable relationships that can last your career. By connecting with colleagues, senior professionals, and other stakeholders, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge, insights, and opportunities that can propel your career forward. Ultimately, networking is not just about what you can gain but also about what you can offer to others. By fostering meaningful relationships, you contribute to a collaborative and supportive community that benefits everyone involved. Here at Sharp Consultancy, we host events across the year and have a long-standing relationship with various institutions and training groups including S&DCASS (Sheffield and District Chartered Accountants Student Society), LCASS (Leeds Chartered Accountants Students Society) and First Intuition to host events that bring studiers together from various firms throughout Yorkshire. It really is a brilliant first step in your networking journey. Whether you're just starting out or already on your way up, accelerating your career in professional practice comes down to a mix of mindset, opportunity, and action. By embracing responsibility, committing to continuous learning, building genuine relationships, and tapping into the right support networks, you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to thrive. If you’d like to explore how to take that next step—or just want to chat through your options—I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect and start shaping your future together. Charlie Marper, Business Manager, charliemarper@sharpconsultancy.com – 0114 261 1700 Looking for your next career move in finance or accountancy? At Sharp Consultancy, our expertise lies in matching your potential with the perfect temporary, interim, or permanent position. With a well-established presence in Leeds and Sheffield, our seasoned team of consultants extends their services across Yorkshire and beyond. Don't wait for opportunity to knock, reach out to us TODAYand let's chart your career path together.

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Consensus. Normally it’s hard to get more than five people to agree on the time of day so it’s unusual to have such a wide consensus, consensus across hundreds of businesses and business leaders, but my anecdotal evidence is that we have just that. So what is the consensus I refer to? Just this; everyone agrees that no-one has any real idea what the next 12 months will bring. Forecasting is nigh on impossible and this would be highly amusing if it wasn’t so serious. A CFO friend of mine told me that the auditors had queried his going concern forecast. Fair enough. He asked them how they would do it differently and if they had further ideas or information that could make it more certain. The forecast stood.

And that’s the problem; how do you run a business when you really have no idea what is going to happen, when the variables are so great and there has never been so many ‘what if’s’. I can’t say I can answer that any better than anyone else.

I do know though that quality management teams nearly always find a way. Sometimes there is no solution to be found and that is terribly sad, but on the whole the best teams find a way forward. However, ‘good’ in a pre-covid economy may not be ‘good enough’ in a post-covid economy. The qualities needed to navigate a ship in calm waters may no longer be sufficient in one hell of a storm. This is praying on the minds of investors, lenders, owners and management teams a lot at the moment. I have heard of so many inspirational stories since March it just shows what is possible when the chips are down. I’ve also heard of some less inspirational stories too.

Strategic hiring is something we normally associate with a benign or growing economy, when the future looks pretty certain and rosy, where key people are tracked for some time before finally
being fitted in as the perfect peg in the perfect hole. Measured, thoughtful, careful, strategic hiring all as part of a five year master plan. Horizons are no longer five years. Or three. Three months more like and that’s stretching it on occasions.

If we accept that the only certainty is uncertainty that at least gives a business something to plan around. In turn that allows businesses to assess their capacity to cope with change, rapid and sometimes unforeseen change. You may not know what’s around the corner but you can know whether you have the capabilities to not only cope but also to extract every ounce of opportunity from whatever that ‘corner’ brings. In short, you can think strategically about your management team’s capabilities and you can and should make strategic hires before the need arises, in the knowledge that when the need becomes suddenly apparent it will already be too late to fit that perfect peg in the perfect hole.

Demand for many skills will change and for some reduce over the next year. Demand for those that can manage change and excel under stress though will be huge; supply is already diminishing.
Given the chance and a little time we at Sharp Consultancy almost always find that perfect peg. Give yourself the time to get ahead of the curve (or should that be corner) and give me a call.

Sharp Consultancy has a vastly experienced team of Executive Search consultants specialising in identifying, selecting and placing senior finance professionals in roles with owner managed
businesses, corporate plcs, private equity and venture capital firms and leading accountancy practices throughout Yorkshire, the North West and beyond. CONTACT UStoday to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.