Ross - in his own words
About the firm
You may have guessed by now that Hilary Adams is not your typical firm of accountants. A pin striped suit, tie and over enthusiastic interest in trigonometry is not something you can expect when you meet the team. We take our work seriously but like to have fun along the way. So, you won’t be stuck in a dark corner of the room with a pencil and endless supply of coffee. We like our trainees to feel comfortable.
Training
Training at Hilary Adams has two elements.
The first is on the job training which starts from day one of employment with the firm. We go back to basics here and guide you through the work step by step. All training is given by staff members who have been through the training process themselves, right from day one.
You could expect to be involved in accounts and VAT preparation and routine bookkeeping from the outset for clients of many different types. Once settled you will learn how to deal with clients and handle basic queries and progress on to more complex areas of the jobs as your training develops. Advice and Tax issues are generally dealt with by more experienced/senior members of staff.
The second is linked tuition. We are away at residential college at various intervals during the year, working towards sitting the exams. In total, there is about six months worth of time spent in lectures over the entire four year contract, broken up in to one or two week blocks. This training can be very intensive as there are obvious time pressures that the lecturers have to overcome. They are however very willing to spend extra time after lectures asking any questions. They can also be contacted in the periods between study block for any extra guidance.
Home study is essential to consolidating what’s been taught at college. Question practice is largely done in your own time. I used to spend around 1-2 hours studying most evenings. This will of course vary from person to person. However, it is important to maintain a good work – life balance so I ensured I had enough time to relax and unwind at all stages of my studies. Basically it’s important to work hard and actively progress towards passing the exams, but no one expects you to sell your soul.
Exams
The professional stage is broken down into six modules, which are usually attempted in sets of two. Before these written papers are attempted however, candidates have to sit a knowledge based computer assessment, which ensure the theory surrounding each module is understood.
After completing the professional stage, the advanced stage can be attempted. This is structured of three exams which consolidate and build upon the modules taught at professional stage. It is normal to attempt all three papers at any one time. There is however a degree of flexibility with this.
Afterwards?
You begin to take on more responsibility and deal with more complicated issues. You never stop learning and always need to keep up to date with new rules. I did however only finish the exams five months ago – so it’s still early days!