Leaders Insight - with Chris Lewis, CFO at

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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Welcome to "Leaders Insight” the first in an insightful series that delves into the captivating professional lives of these Senior level professionals and showcase their multifaceted expertise to inspire the next generation of CFO’s.

We will delve into the stories of CFO’s from various industries and walks of life, shedding light on some of the challenges they have faced on their journey to becoming a CFO, how they feel the role might change over the next decade, what key skills and attributes the next generation of CFO’s will need and how future technology might impact the role of the CFO.

This first instalment is with Chris Lewis at Endless LLP. Chris is big 4 trained and has a wealth of experience at listed and private equity backed businesses. Chris started at Endless LLP in 2015 as Financial Controller and was promoted to the position of CFO in 2019. More recently, Chris has been promoted to Partner in April of this year.

1.Which of your earlier roles played the biggest part in your career development to becoming a CFO?

I think there were two roles. The technical grounding and people skills that I developed whilst training to be an accountant at PwC remain invaluable. The training programmes offered by the big 4 / top 10 are unrivalled in my view. Secondly, my time at Priory Group was a much more commercial role with a strong P&L focus – I don’t think I looked at a balance sheet in four years. I also reported into the Group Board monthly at a relatively young age. There was no hiding place and it really helped to develop my skillset.

2.What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew as a newly qualified Accountant?

That it is acceptable to say that you don’t know the answer right now, but you will come back with the right answer shortly. Don’t pretend to know everything – nobody can.

3.How important to you was a mentor / mentorship in your career progression?

So important. You should never underestimate the value of somebody who is willing to sacrifice their own time to help you develop and progress in your career. My mentor at PwC was technically exceptional but, more importantly, experienced, and very wise. It helped a lot to have that sounding board and I try to offer that to my team now.

4.The role of a CFO has changed over the last decade. What further evolution do you see in the role of the CFO over the next 5 to 10 years?

The role is always evolving. I think the next 5-10 years will bring about two challenges. One of those will be people – employee expectation of employer will change dramatically in my view and helping a business to manage that will be crucial to the success of any CFO. The second challenge will be technology. Tech Stacks, Data Lakes/Warehouses and AI (amongst many other things) will play a huge part in the role of the CFO in the next decade. Today’s CFO is facing up to a generational shift in how the finance function serves the wider needs of the business.

5.What new key skills or attributes do you think the next generation of CFO’s are going to need to develop?

Exceptional IT literacy will become a pre-requisite in my view. My generation talks a good game but proficiency in Excel is just so 90’s. Certain core skills will always be important though – provision of quality MI and knowing the numbers inside out, carefully managing numerous stakeholder groups, being front and centre of the business, offering leadership and strategic guidance. They will always be key attributes and as night follows day, a trusted, versatile and highly competent CFO will always be critical to any Board.

6.Having become a CFO what do you “think of the view from the top” and how does it compare to what you thought it would be like?

It is the best place to be. Undoubtedly better than I anticipated. The CFO should be central to everything that is happening in the business and it means that no two days are the same. It’s fast paced, exciting, influential, and challenging all rolled into one.

7.What technologies will reshape the role of the CFO over the next few years?

See point 4. I suspect there are also technologies we’ve not yet heard of that will also reshape the role of the CFO over the next few years. The speed of technological progression is quite daunting. I used AI to create a bedtime story for my kids the other night…

8.What is the one single best piece of advice you would give to an aspiring future finance leader?

I’d say what I said when I was judging Young Accountant of the Year – never turn down an opportunity. For better or worse, it will provide you with valuable experience and, if nothing else, it’ll give you something to chat about whilst networking!

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 UStoday and see how we can help.

Leaders Insight - with Chris Lewis, CFO at Endless LLP

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