EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT – THE INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS

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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What should an organisation consider if it wants to improve its engagement with its employees?

Happy and productive people make a significant contribution towards the success of a business and the achievement of its goals. Every organisation requires the best from its employees and the more motivated and productive their workforce is, the more likely a business is to grow.

It is important to remember that employee engagement is not something that you can decide to introduce or impose from senior management downwards. Employee engagement is very much about creating a cultural shirt and potentially changing or improving the way in which an organisation behaves.

There are several essential ingredients that companies will need to consider if they are to improve employee engagement within their organisations:

Creating exceptional leaders.

Whilst engagement cannot be dictated from above, it is the responsibility of the business leaders to set out the framework for the future of the company and communicate this on an on-going basis to the teams in a way which is motivational, inspirational and relevant to ensure that they understand and buy into the vision they are looking to create.

Two-way communication.

As well as sharing the management’s vision and objectives for the company, it is vital that employees have a means by which they can provide feedback to their line manager. Involving staff in certain decision making is a useful motivational tool and giving staff a voice to share their views and suggestions can help identify where improvements can be made to processes, procedures or productivity.

Effective line management.

Being able to motivate a team to ensure that objectives are met is an essential skill for any manager, but the method and means by which they approach this is fundamental. People respond in very different ways and it is the responsibility of the manager to recognise, understand and adapt their behaviour accordingly. It is important that a business also places importance on skills such as listening and the ability to empower individuals if it is to achieve longer term success.

Trust.

It is imperative that senior managers only make promises to their employees that they can or intend to keep. Staff will quickly become dissatisfied if they feel their boss is not being genuine or is unlikely to keep to their word. Rewards must be clarified at the outset by what must be achieved for them to be received and the goals need to be attainable with the right training and support put in place.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance and accountancy professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to find out more.