Why should you join Monahans as a trainee accountant?

Monahans is excited to be accepting applications for its new year intake of trainees, helping a fresh group of budding young accountants and business advisors take their first step on the career ladder.

For these trainees, a tailored development programme, a clear career pathway and structured pay progression, and even a chance to implement positive change throughout the firm via our various employee forums and groups, are among the important elements of the roles that ensure a smooth integration into professional life. The trainee programme is challenging but rewarding and a great opportunity to learn about how a business really works.

We have trainee opportunities within our highly regarded Business Services team in both audit and accountancy in early 2024. These will allow school leavers and graduates to study towards AAT or ACA qualification with a firm that believes it is only as strong as its greatest asset; our people.

It is an exciting time for the next generation of experts in the discipline, but also a daunting one as they bid to make their way in a competitive arena. That’s why we, as a firm that is focused on doing right for its people, make no exception to our approach to talent development with our newest recruits.

Looking after all our colleagues is our number one priority and that includes bringing new team members on board. We pride ourselves on our culture and our commitment to improving the work life of our colleagues, and this is reflected in the results of our latest employee engagement survey, with 88% staff engagement. Despite the complexities of the financial market and the added pressures of staff to satisfy client demands, this figure has remained constant over the last 12 months. Monahans was also proud to be a finalist in the Employer of the Year category in the Accounting Excellence Awards 2023.

While we’re proud, we are also working hard to make our colleagues proud. That’s why we undertake the employee engagement survey; as a means of understanding the needs of our team, seeking their feedback and determining the best course of action to improve their experience of working at Monahans. We have a clear focus on areas like diversity and inclusivity, health and wellbeing, workplace relationships, and how we engage with our local communities, all centred around being a better business. With that in mind, we are focusing our efforts on minimising our impact on the world around us. We want our people to thrive and to do so in an organisation that doesn’t just pay lip service to the importance of implementing rigid ESG policies.

But don’t just take it from us; take it from some of our trainees who have ‘been there, done that’. For example, Henry Hockley, who joined Monahans as a law graduate, says, “From the get-go I was able to get hands-on experience with a large variety of clients; able to cut my teeth on smaller, owner-managed businesses before moving onto preparing accounts for, and auditing SMEs and charities.” Henry “was given opportunities to develop skills in various areas, including accounts preparation, audit, both personal and corporate tax, and limited assurance engagements.”

As he gained experience, Henry “was able to act as a mentor for newer starters, with responsibility for their training and development.” Having been promoted to Assistant Audit Manager, he is now supervising audits and acting as line manager for five Associates.

Meanwhile, Fahim Islam, who joined Monahans as a Trainee within Business Services, was attracted by “the CPD programme in place to take you from a trainee to an ACA-qualified chartered accountant. With exposure to different clientele, Fahim is “building experience across a range of abilities within auditing, taxation and payroll compliance, alongside investment management and strategy consulting.” Importantly, he is also gaining important soft skills, including “strong communication and enterprising skills”, which are highly transferable across a range of disciplines, and he will have the scope to refine an area of specialism as he progresses.

To anyone thinking of starting their accountancy career, Fahim advises, “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t come from a business/finance background; you learn everything as you go along, with no two days the same and opportunities to try your hand at new things.”

Trainees start their professional training straight away, working alongside their fellow trainees to build relationships and share insights, whilst gaining practical experience to solidify their learning. Structured induction plans guide them in their career choices as they work toward either AAT or ACA qualification.

Ellie McQuade, who leads the Business Services team, is committed to ensuring that each trainee gets the exposure they need to make these important decisions that will define their careers. She says, “The best thing about working at Monahans is the ability to work across all departments. My aim is to give every student the very best foundation on which to build their accountancy career.”

Thinking of starting your Accountancy career with Monahans? Please visit the Monahans careers page for more details.

Zoe Alder