THE BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING RECRUITMENT

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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There are many reasons why companies choose to engage a recruitment specialist when it comes to bring new talent into their organisation. We highlight some of the key advantages for clients when using a recruitment consultancy for their hiring requirements.

Time. Recruiting can be a time-consuming exercise; long before you sit down with potential candidates to interview them for the role there are a number of tasks which must be undertaken. From compiling job descriptions, placing adverts, sifting through CVs and arranging interviews right through to making someone an offer and negotiating terms. These all take time – valuable time that takes managers and business owners away from their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. A recruitment expert will not only take on these aspects of the process, but they will also add value by ensuring that when you come to the interview stage, you have a very clear idea of exactly what you are looking for in the shortlisted candidates.

Industry knowledge. A good recruitment partner will offer much more than just advice on hiring a new member of staff. They will assess your requirements in the context of the current marketplace and offer key insight into skills in demand, candidate shortages and a range of other factors which could affect your search.

Reaching further into the market. Not only will they be able to reach those candidates actively seeking new opportunities, but they will also be able to use their wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts to identify individuals who may not currently be active in the marketplace. Many have relationships spanning several years giving them an insight into the kind of opportunities that are most likely to appeal to the top talent that companies are looking to attract.

Negotiate salary packages. It is important that once the preferred candidate has been identified, you are in a position to make them a strong offer that will be accepted. It can be incredibly frustrating to invest huge amounts of time and energy into the recruitment process only for it to fall down in the final stages. As well as providing you with the most up-to-date benchmark salary levels, they will also offer guidance on which benefits hold most appeal and ensure that the renumeration package meets the expectations of candidates from the outset.

A different view point. It can be all too easy to look to recruit a like for like replacement for a departing member of staff, however a strong recruitment partner will ask probing questions to establish exactly what it is you are aiming to achieve from the process and establish the short, medium and long term business objectives in order to guide you into examining different skills, experience and knowledge which may bring a new dynamic to the role and contribute to achieving those goals.

Developing a strong interview shortlist. Having gained a thorough understanding of your requirements, an experienced recruitment partner will be able to conduct first stage interviews to ensure that those candidates that are put in front of a client absolutely meet the requirements of the role, resulting in the client being in a solid position to select their preferred candidate from a very strong field.

Solutions focused. As well as working with candidates on their recruitment needs, your consultant can offer alternative solutions to address immediate requirements such as an interim placement if the chosen candidate is on a long notice period or a role needs to be filled quickly due to illness or an unexpected period of absence.

Specialist knowledge. Not only should a consultant possess strong recruitment skills, but those which specialise in a particular area will have an in-depth of knowledge that enables them to offer strategic counsel and sector insight that will benefit your search.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your recruitment needs.