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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 Responsibility​As 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-Development​As 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. ​Networking​Networking 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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Get to know our guest judges for the 2025 Young Accountant of the Year..

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As we look ahead to the LCASS Young Accountant of the Year Awards 2025, we’re excited to introduce two of this year’s judges — Bex Scarfe and Lucy Mason. Both bring a wealth of experience, perspective, and passion for supporting the next generation of finance professionals. In this short Q&A, we get to know more about their career journeys, what they value in the profession, and their advice for this year’s nominees.

​Bex Scarfe

I started my career in finance 4 years ago after graduating Newcastle University and taking a year out to travel around Australia and New Zealand. I joined KPMG Leeds in 2020 on their audit graduate training scheme where I worked on a number of large listed audits. I was lucky enough to visit Montreal as part of one of them! After qualifying I started to look at wider opportunities the firm had to offer and in May 2024 seconded to the KPMG Leeds Transaction Services team where I now have a permanent role. Although I am still at the start of my career I am very grateful for all the support and knowledge I have received so far and excited of what more is to come!

Bex Scarfe, one of our guest judges for the YAOTY Awards in April 2025.

How long have you been in the finance sector?

I have been in the finance sector for just over 4 years, 3 and a half of which were spent in audit and the last 6 months in Transaction Services. I also worked briefly for a private equity firm in London before I moved to Leeds to pursue my ACA Qualification in audit.

What’s been your biggest career highlight to date?

My career highlight so far has to be becoming ACA qualified in August 2023 after all of the exams and many hours of studying it was all worth it in the end!

What advice would you give to the nominees?

My advice would be to be yourself and remember that the awards are for the Young Accountant of the Year, and that this is all encompassing, not just about doing your day to day job well but what other wider aspects of your career that you have been getting involved with.

What are you most excited about for the upcoming awards?

I’m really excited to meet this year’s fantastic nominees and to hear about the things they are passionate about!

Lucy Mason

I am the Finance Director for Global Business Services at Turner & Townsend. I started my journey in Finance 14 years ago, after lamenting my lack of career progression with my best friend, who had qualified at PwC a couple of years before. She suggested I apply, I was successful, and I ended up loving it! It’s been a whirlwind ever since and it continues to challenge, stimulate and provide development opportunities.

Lucy Mason, one of our guest judges for the YAOTY Awards in April 2025.

How long have you been in the finance sector?

I was a late joiner to the Finance profession (after having a career in the Welfare to Work Sector for five years before I joined the PwC Assurance graduate programme in Leeds in 2011) and have had a very rewarding career in Practice until 2021, and then in Industry - first in Retail and now in Professional Services.

What’s been your biggest career highlight to date?

Apart from winning YAOTY of course(!), my highlight is not a one-off event or a piece of work that I am particularly proud of, it’s not compromising on my stance on family time over the weekend. My weekends are sacred and my two young boys come first - this is a non-negotiable for me. Finding an employer that is supportive of this, and who normalises working parenthood is a game-changer.

What advice would you give to the nominees?

Just be yourself. What you have done on paper will undoubtedly be impressive, and that’s why you have been nominated – but behind all of your success will be a lot of hard work and probably some failure, so bring that out in the interview! We don’t want to see perfect, we want to see self-aware individuals who are ‘real’ and ‘human’.

What are you most excited about for the upcoming awards?

I can’t wait to meet all of the talented nominees and listen to their points of view and hear their different experiences. I’m also looking forward to attending another LCASS ball – I think the last one I attended was in 2015!

It’s clear that both Bex and Lucy bring not only technical expertise but also a deep understanding of the personal and professional qualities that shape outstanding young accountants. We’re thrilled to have them on the judging panel and look forward to seeing how their insights help shine a light on the future leaders of our industry at the Young Accountant of the Year Awards in April 2025.