Rayner Essex has been established for 50 years and is a dynamic, medium-sized firm with offices in St Albans and Central London. We have 7 partners and around 69 staff, ranging from apprentices to highly experienced managers. We provide the full range of professional services typically provided by an established and progressive accountancy firm, including audit and accounts, management consultancy, payroll and taxation.
We aim to be the ‘go to’ firm for small and medium sized enterprises providing a truly excellent professional service that is tailored to meet clients’ needs and requirements. Our clients range from all fields of business, industry, the professions and arts, including large corporates operating nationally and internationally, privately owned businesses of every size, partnerships, sole traders, self-employed individuals and charities.
We are looking to recruit a number of graduates who aspire to become chartered accountants. We have high standards and are looking for candidates with excellent academic qualifications as well as drive, ambition and a thirst for success.
In return, you will enjoy a competitive salary and an excellent study and benefits package, with salary increases based on exam and work performances. Add to this the opportunities and varied lifestyle that working in the South East has to offer and it all adds up to a very rewarding opportunity.
Your route to the ICAEW (ACA) qualification
You will enter employment under a three year training contract, during which you will receive a wide range of practical experience while studying for your professional examinations; all of which leads to the ICAEW (ACA) Chartered Accountant qualification.
Practical training to equip you for your work with us is provided by our training partner SWAT UK and more technical training focusing on the exams is provided by professional tutors from Kaplan. Both are leading training organisations in the profession, and this is supplemented by in-house workshops and training sessions. You will be given paid study leave, and we also cover the costs of all courses and examinations for first attempts.
What you can expect
The recruitment of high quality staff is crucial to the continued success of our firm. To achieve this we recruit people who share our values and are driven to make a positive impact.
We also believe it is essential to continually develop people’s skills and knowledge, that’s why here at Rayner Essex talented people are supported and encouraged to fulfil their potential. We provide structured training to ensure you acquire the knowledge you need in areas such as audit and assurance, accounting and financial reporting. We also balance the theory with practical training, giving you plenty of hands on experience in the commercial world.
The benefits of training with a medium-size firm
A major benefit of training with a medium sized firm (compared with a much larger firm) is the depth and variety of work you will be involved with. You will have exposure to a wide range of assignments, working with clients of all sizes in various industry sectors, ensuring that you have a broad ranging experience.
In larger firms, trainees often spend much of their training confined to audit work because of the sheer scale of the audits they are involved in. Audit work is just one aspect of an assignment and in a medium size firm such as Rayner Essex, you will benefit from having exposure to many different areas of client work, from large scale high value audits of large corporate businesses to accounts preparation for a small privately owned business.
In addition, the size of our teams ensures that you have direct support and supervision from experienced managers and partners. The firm’s partners will take a direct interest in your development and support you through your training.
Minimum entry requirements
We are looking for mature, numerate and intelligent students who are willing to work hard, study hard and play hard. Above all, you will need to have the flexibility to adapt to a variety of challenging situations and the communication skills to express ideas and deal with clients at all levels.
You will need:
- 2:2 degree or above in ANY subject.
- A minimum of 300 UCAS points (old UCAS tariff) or 120 UCAS points (new UCAS tariff) or equivalents, from your top three grades (first attempts only). AS levels and General Studies are not accepted.
- GCSE English Language, grade C or above.
- GCSE Maths, grade B or above.
You do not need any previous accounting experience, as full training is provided.
Don’t forget that your academic qualifications are not enough on their own. We are looking for articulate, confident, intelligent graduates with a range of transferable skills. Accountancy is a people-focused profession. Numeracy is expected, but you must also be able to communicate confidently with colleagues and clients, as well as being able to organise yourself and your workload; balance the competing demands on your time; and take personal responsibility for the development of your career.
If you have all this and are looking for a challenging and rewarding career, please apply today.