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I’m sure you’ve seen lots of blogs by accountants in the past, most of which will be discussing the latest tax changes or ways in which we can be more efficient in business, maybe even touching on political issues. But what is it that leads to someone becoming an accountant.

At Gascoynes we regularly recruit apprentices, we believe we are in an ideal profession where people can learn the skills they require on the job whilst having additional off the job training and gaining an internationally recognised qualification at the same time.

We asked each of our current trainees a few questions about how and why they turned to accountancy as a career and we start with Rebecca.

Why did I want to become an accountant?

After I finished school, I decided I needed a year to figure out what I wanted to do with my life because like a lot of people my age I didn’t know what the next step was. I was a Saturday girl at a garden centre and decided to fill my time working there for a year and was placed in the office to assist with bookkeeping and other jobs. I enjoyed my time in the office completing spreadsheets and using basic bookkeeping skills as I have always had a love for numbers. My Mum and the lady I was working with both said to me how good I would be as an accountant so much, so the lady rang Gascoynes on my behalf to get me an interview.   For me it wasn’t a matter of me knowing all my life that I wanted to be an accountant but the influence of what I was learning and the people around me that lead me in this direction.

What were my expectations of the job before I started?

Having only worked for a year in an office elsewhere, I had little knowledge of what my job would entail. From the day of my interview I knew that I would be starting off with small sole trader accounts, with elements of bookkeeping and tax but the concept of putting together information to create a set of accounts was completely new to me. I was also aware that my role was and still is to progress with my knowledge and development of skills with the help of my colleagues and college, as I’m currently being put through my AAT training.

How has my job compared to what I was expecting?

Though I had been given a brief view of what my job was going to be like before I started it has turned into much more than I expected. I am still completing sole trader accounts and carry out bookkeeping but as time progresses I gain a deeper understanding of what we are trying to achieve. Not only do I help managers with their client accounts, VAT and tax returns, I have recently been given some responsibility of fundraising for charities within the business.  In the short amount of time I’ve been at Gascoynes every day I feel like a more useful and important part of the team.

What are my short-term and long-term goals as an accountant?

In the short term, I want to achieve my AAT qualification which I hope to do so by August this year. In the long term, I would like to become ACCA qualified and aspire to be like my managers and one day have clients of my own. If you would like to know more about apprenticeships there are loads of websites out there with tonnes of information. Furthermore, we have been in conversation with our local schools to be part of career days and sessions to help provide students with knowledge about how to apply, the qualifications required and what to expect.