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In Conversation with Gareth John: How First Intuition is Inspiring the Next Generation of Accountants

To mark International Day of Accounting, we caught up with Gareth John, Policy Director at First Intuition, one of the UK’s leading providers of professional accountancy training.With a career spanning nearly three decades in both practice and education, Gareth shares his insights on the different routes into the profession, the habits that define successful students, and how the industry has evolved in recent years.Walk us through what First Intuition does and how it supports aspiring accountants? First Intuition is a professional education and training provider offering courses in accountancy, leadership & management and digital & data. From our early days in 2007 when we opened our first training centre in London we have now grown to over 500 staff working across 25 locations in the UK. In recent years we have seen huge growth in our accountancy apprenticeship programmes, as the vast majority of the employers we work with now take advantage of the huge benefits they deliver. Our support for aspiring accountants studying the AAT, ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW qualifications is extremely broad. We deliver technical exam training through classroom and online courses, with plenty of tutor support and award-winning study resources. In addition to this qualification ‘knowledge’ that we help our learners get to grips with, we also have a fantastic Impact Skills Programme to help them develop critical employability skills and behaviours such as communication, critical thinking and teamworking. Our apprentices also benefit from the support of our teams of dedicated skills coaches who provide pastoral support and encouragement as they progress through their programmes. We also offer lots of wellbeing and mental health support to the students in our care, as the exams they face can be very challenging and can cause anyone to suffer from anxiety and stress. What are the different qualification pathways people can take into accounting? In recent years there has been a big trend amongst employers of trainee accountants towards increasing use of school-leaver recruitment using the AAT pathway, often under apprenticeship programmes from level 2 to level 4. AAT can be a great entry-point into the accountancy qualification for a range of aspiring accountants from school leavers to mature career changers, and there are a wide variety of classroom and online course options which learners can choose from to suit their ambitions and lifestyles. After completing AAT many of those successful individuals will carry on to study for one of the higher-level accountancy qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW to become fully qualified accountants. Graduate recruitment remains another important pathway into the accountancy profession. Individuals with degrees normally study for the ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW qualifications. Some trainees may have exemptions from early exams depending upon their degree discipline, but they will still need to gather three years of work experience to become qualified. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in accounting today? Be curious! Ask lots of questions about what you are doing in your training, and why you are doing it. You can’t ever ask too many questions. The other big piece of advice I would give is to expect qualifying as an accountant to be hard, and to not worry too much if they fail the odd exam here or there. Accountancy qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW are some of the most challenging exams in the world, and the range of subjects studied is so broad that even the brightest student will find some of the exams very difficult. The main thing to remember is that it is this very difficulty which means that these are amongst the most prestigious and well-recognised qualifications in the world, which will allow you to have an amazing career and life! See the difficulty as a good thing. Embrace the difficulty! What qualities or habits tend to set apart the most successful accounting students or trainees? Discipline is extremely important. Even the most capable students need to develop a solid study routine in order to learn large syllabuses, practice plenty of test questions and attempt some mock exams, all before the real exam rolls around. And that’s often on top of a full-time job and a social life. Resilience is also essential. You need to be able to persist with study material you find complicated, and to bounce back from any exam failures, maintaining a belief that you are capable of success if you show enough determination. Tell us a bit about your own career journey. I fell into training as a Chartered Accountant because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life! An accountancy qualification felt like it would keep lots of doors open for me to move into lots of different career options, with lots of different types of employer, and possibly in lots of different parts of the world. Once I qualified as a Chartered Accountant I moved into professional training as an accountancy tutor as I really enjoyed helping other people to grasp complex ideas and see them fulfil their potential. This move into training was when I knew that I had truly found my vocation, something that I really loved, and still love today nearly 30 years later. In recent years I have been involved in helping to grow the First Intuition business across the country to our current scale. I personally opened a number of our training centres, and I still get a real buzz from setting something up from scratch and seeing it develop over time. I really love the depth of personal relationships that I currently have with employers of trainee accountants in many parts of the UK, and getting to understand the issues and frustrations that they face and which I can feed back to the awarding bodies we deliver qualifications for. How has the industry changed since you started out? In some respects the industry has changed an enormous amount. Accountancy has been one of the first sectors of the economy to really embrace tech automation and now AI, which has transformed the kind of tasks that accountants perform, and the skills they need. Accountants are now far more influential as business advisors than as number crunchers. The next big change starting to affect the profession is the roles that accountants can take on. In other respects though, the accountancy sector still relies on the same basic principles that it did when I was a trainee thirty years ago; professional scepticism, integrity and ethical behaviour are as relevant in the digital age as they ever have been.Gareth’s insights highlight just how rewarding and varied a career in accountancy can be. Whether you’re beginning your journey through AAT, progressing to ACCA, CIMA, or ICAEW, or supporting others in their training, the blend of technical knowledge, personal discipline, and professional integrity remains at the heart of success.We’d like to thank Gareth and the team at First Intuition for their continued commitment to developing the next generation of finance professionals and for sharing their expertise in celebration of International Day of Accounting.If you’re an aspiring accountant looking to take the next step in your career—or a business seeking talented finance professionals to join your team—our specialist consultants at Sharp Consultancy are here to help.Visit our Job Searchor Client Page to find out more about how we can support your journey in the world of accountancy and finance.

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A common interview question but quite often, a tricky one to answer. Take a look at our expert advice on what hiring managers want to hear…

The first thing you need to do is fully understand why the interviewer is asking this question and what they are looking to establish from your response. Whilst on the surface it may seem like a relatively straight-forward question, there are a lot of key points that a potential employer will be able to glean from what you say and how you answer.

First and foremost, this is an excellent way for an interviewer to establish whether or not you have done your research into the company beforehand and to what extent you understand the goals and ambitions of the organisation and how this particular role contributes to their future plans.

They will be looking for you to craft an answer which demonstrates that you understand the requirements of the role, you have an enthusiasm and interest in specifically working for the company, there is a compatibility between your career goals and the organisation’s ambitions and you understand what contribution you can make as an individual.

There’s quite a lot to try and convey, so preparing a well-thought through and coherent answer is key. Consider each element separately and make sure you can back up any essential points with examples that evidence your research and understanding.

For example, can you highlight any recent industry successes such as expansions or contract wins, is there are clear training, development and career progression path that will enable you to demonstrate how your goals align with the company’s objectives, can you reference how you will not only fit in with the culture of the organisation but where your approach and ideas can enhance what is already in place?

Look to incorporate an example of something that you have achieved in your current position that you can bring which clearly addresses one of the key requirements that is outlined in the role specification – for example, streamlining processes, improving systems, developing cross-departmental ways of working. Ensure that you also include what outcomes and results were achieved.

Would-be employers are also looking for candidates to demonstrate not only their enthusiasm for the role available and their particular area of expertise but also their desire to work for the organisation over and above one of their competitors. Convey what makes the company stand out from others – this could be their investment in training and career development opportunities, their standing within the industry or their growth plans for the coming years.

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 and see how we can help.