Diary of an Accounting Apprentice – The First 6 Months

Did you know that you don’t need to go to university to become a qualified accountant, auditor or tax adviser?

In fact, many of our own team started as apprentices.

Right now, we have 15 apprentices studying for either Level 3 or Level 4 AAT, and a further 17 studying ACCA or ACA within the business. So, to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, we took some time out to talk to one of our newest recruits Sofia Selby about her first 6 months.

Hi, I’m Sofia and six months ago I started as an apprentice in the Business Advisory department at Scrutton Bland Ipswich.

Having come straight from finishing my A-levels, I now work full time alongside completing my studies at college.

And so far, it’s going really well.

What does an apprentice accountant role involve?

In apprenticeship roles at Scrutton Bland you’re given quite a large amount of responsibility early on.

Most of my work so far has been on preparing year-end accounts for small companies and sole traders. And I’ve found that by working on smaller company accounts I’ve gained confidence quickly in my work.

I’ve also completed a large amount of bookkeeping for clients, exposing me to all aspects of accounting software, such as Xero, which seemed a little daunting and confusing at first, but was something I quickly learnt to navigate.

Similarly, there’s been an emphasis on building skills in excel as this is what’s predominantly used when preparing accounts. So, any prior knowledge of excel always comes in handy!

More recently, I’ve been drafting emails for managers to send to clients. These contain various queries that come up when preparing accounts, and it’s been important to consider the language being used to communicate sometimes complex and specific accounting concepts so that clients can clearly understand what we’re asking.

What I’ve liked most?

The people – there’s such a supportive working environment in the office. And there is always something new to learn. As workloads ebb and flow, managers from around the different departments will often find additional tasks to work on to build my knowledge and experience.

I also love the emphasis on socialising outside of the office. There’s a Social Committee here that organise after-work events, roughly once a month, such as bowling and pub quizzes. This has meant that I’ve been able to meet lots of others from around the business, including other apprentices, who may work in a different department, but have a similar experience to me.

What’s been challenging?

One of the biggest challenges was the change from A-levels to working full-time whilst also balancing the studying needs of an apprenticeship. However, there’s so many people around the business who’ve offered me support. And lots either started as an apprentice themselves or have recently finished their qualifications so they’ve been able to offer advice from their own experiences.

I found my first month to be quite overwhelming as someone who had no prior knowledge of accounting, as I was exposed to lots of new accounting concepts that I had to quickly understand. Fortunately, I was given a lot of time and support to get accustomed to everything to complete my first few jobs.

What’s surprised me about the role?

How quickly I started working on client jobs was quite a surprise as I started preparing my first set of company accounts in my first week. I felt worried about completing the job well, because I was so new to the role, but it was so helpful as I got to know what I needed to learn quickly. Plus, all apprentices are given a mentor from day one, so they worked through the first few jobs with me, showing me exactly how to complete a job well, and they’ve remained a valuable source of support if I’m struggling with something.

I was pleasantly surprised by how many other apprentices there are in the office too. We’re all at varying stages. But it’s so nice to be somewhere where you feel just as much a part of the company as everyone else. And there’s always someone on hand who understands the experience and who can show me how to do things more efficiently.

How does college work alongside the role?

Overall, I’ve found college works well balanced alongside working full-time. My days in college are given as study days for the course, and so I still have holiday days to use on top of this. It’s nice to have a mix of learning and working during the week. And the learning days tend to be a bit shorter and more relaxed too!

I’ve also enjoyed meeting apprentices from other companies who have a different perspective and experience from working somewhere else. Combining the study days alongside what I learn at work has made it so much easier to understand the content as I can apply it in the course and vice versa.

Planning exam revision has been the hardest part as this needs to be done in my own time, and there’s less of that now that I’m working!

A strong start.

I was really proud to have secured a high pass mark on my first course (preparing financial statements) – which was very content-heavy and eight weeks long – despite having no prior knowledge or understanding of accountancy.

Even though it’s been challenging, my first six months have been really positive. I’ve already learned a lot, gained a lot of experience and I’ve established so many collaborative working relationships.

I’m very grateful to be supported by those around me and by Scrutton Bland as a whole, and I’m looking forward to what the next 6 months holds!

You can discover more about whether an apprenticeship with us might be right for you here. Or contact our HR team on 0330 058 6559.