What Does It Take To Be A Trainee Accountant?

 Our Senior Consultant, Eilidh Black, sat down with our in-house Trainee Accountant, Lisa McShane to find out a bit more about what it takes to make it in the market, and how she ended up joining the team at HRC. Tell me about your role at HRC Recruitment? I am currently a Trainee Accountant within HRC. I joined on January 3 this year, so have been here for 10 months now. My day to day can vary quite a lot but my main responsibilities include producing the management accounts, management of company terms and contractor agreements and management of the Sales & Purchase Ledger. It is a very fast paced environment which I love, as no two days are the same and I am always kept on my toes. What made you interested in a career in accounts? I’ve always enjoyed numbers and problem solving. I’m also a bit of a control freak and perfectionist so these things pretty much go hand in hand with a career in accounts. Tell me about your career path so far? In high school I didn’t really feel that I 100% knew what I wanted to do as a career, so I didn’t pressure myself. I worked part time in a call centre during high school then went down the route of reception and admin work because I was comfortable on the phone. It was in my job at ORE Catapult where I pretty much fell into accounts due to company expansion and loved it from the get-go. Why did you chose to work at HRC? I was actually not looking to move company at the time HRC advertised. I still got email job alerts that I would sometimes have a little look at when I was bored or reading my personal emails (not during working hours of course!). I saw the advert for a Trainee Accountant, and was immediately interested as I was an accounts assistant at this point and knew that I wanted to progress to Accountant level someday. I decided to call up to get more information and loved everything I heard. I went along for my interview and, within two weeks and two interviews later, I was offered the job. So, it was a very quick and unexpected turnaround. But I am so thrilled I checked my emails that day. Have you chosen to study an accountancy qualification? I actually began studying for my ACCA on November 5. I am very excited and nervous at the same time, but I know it will be worth all the hard work. Why did you decide to go for that particular qualification? I chose ACCA as I really liked the structure. All accounting qualifications are great and have the same end goal, but I am a very structured person and like the idea of having different levels and goals to reach within the course. If you had any advice for someone considering a career in accounts, what would it be? I would definitely recommend that people consider it. There are so many opportunities and routes that you can go down with a career in accounts, whether it be CA, Payroll, Management or all of the above. The list is endless! However, I would definitely say that accounts is a very fast paced job and has high attention to detail. No job is too big or too small as they all have a knock-on affect to one another, so make sure that if you are considering it that you are willing to put in the hard work. What do you enjoy most about your job? In relation to tasks I enjoy month end the most. I love the responsibility given to me and the trust that both my manager and the company have in me. It is also such a large variety of tasks that it’s never the same each month. In relation to the company, I can confidently say that HRC is the best company I have ever worked for. You spend so much time in your job that the environment makes a huge difference and the people within HRC are so welcoming. And what is the most challenging part? I’d have to say it’s probably the level of work required, as I mentioned previously it’s a very fast paced job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though it can be difficult to always be busy it’s actually one of the things I like most about working for HRC as I personally work better under pressure. If I wasn’t a Trainee Accountant I would be … Ironically, I considered getting into recruitment when I was much younger so, who knows, I may have ended up at HRC regardless! Although, I have always had a passion for dancing so I would definitely say a professional dancer. I was semi-professional at one point and I was part of a Dirty Dancing tribute act which toured the UK. I’ve also competed in the World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando Florida where we placed eighth in the world. If you would like to make the move in the Accountancy market, get in touch with Eilidh by clicking here.