Shipleys is a 13 partner firm of Chartered Accountants and professional business advisors, based in London’s glamorous West End.

We’re 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’ll enjoy a competitive salary and an excellent study and benefits package, with salary increases twice a year based on exam and work performances. There is potential to progress within the firm, with many of our partners having trained with us. 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 at Shipleys

We are a medium-sized firm and every member of our team makes an important contribution. You‘re not at the same stage in your career as everybody else is in theirs, and what matters to you is likely to be different from what’s important to some of your colleagues and peers. We are a friendly bunch at Shipleys and it’s a place where you can be yourself – finding your niche and making your mark.

Our approach to our team is similar to our approach to our clients – very much based on individuals and their aspirations. Our size means there are options for progression into different areas of work – moving from an accounts or audit based role into tax, for example. Whilst the firm is very well known in a number of niche markets such as film and television, overall we look after a wide range of clients so there is plenty of opportunity to build your experience with clients in many different industries.

Roles tend to be very interactive with more exposure to clients and others outside the firm than is often the case elsewhere. We aim to build on our professional expertise to provide proactive business advice and planning to our clients – helping to “make it happen”- providing an excellent service that’s worth the cost and which contributes to our reputation as a trusted advisor. People work hard when they are here, but we also do expect them to go home!

The benefits of training with a medium-size firm

A major benefit of working in a medium sized firm (compared with a much larger firm) is the depth and variety of assignments you will be involved with. You will have exposure to a wide range of assignments with clients of all sizes in various industry sectors.
In larger firms, trainees often spend much of their training confined to audit work because of the sheer scale of audit work. Audit work is just one small aspect of an assignment and in a medium size firm such as Shipleys, you can benefit from having exposure to many different areas of client work, such as accountancy and tax, as well as gaining client relationship skills.

In addition, you’ll tend to work with far more clients in a medium size firm (giving you a broad ranging experience) because the time spent at each client tends to be far less than that of a larger firm.
With a medium size firm, you’ll also benefit from involvement from the firm’s Partners, who will take a direct interest in your development and support you through your training.

What we offer

• A competitive salary, benefits and training package.
• A friendly and informal working environment, with regular contact with senior staff and partners.
• A keen personal interest in how you are getting on. This includes mentoring from those who’ve been there and done it.
• Brilliant work experience – your initial experience in audit, accountancy and taxation will be gained in a wide variety of real client situations, without the need for simulated work experience courses.
• Opportunities to develop your career into different technical specialisations or industry sectors, some perceived as more glamorous than others!

We invest a lot into our students and in return, we expect them to contribute and do well.

What we expect from you

• To be self-motivated and have a willingness to take responsibility.
• To be self-confident and have the ability to use your own initiative.
• To have an adaptable and sociable personality with the knack of communicating well with people at all levels to earn credibility with colleagues and clients (both orally and in writing).
• To have the ability to get along and work with others as part of a team.
• To have high ethical standards and to be honest.
• To have leadership and management potential.
• To have a professional manner and appearance.
• To possess good IT skills.

Of course, some of these are skills which can be improved over time, but the right pre-requisite characteristics must be present.

Minimum entry requirements

• You should have (or be anticipating) a minimum of a second class honours degree (usually a 2.1), but this need not be in accountancy or any other business related subject. (The large majority of students entering the profession don’t have ‘relevant’ degrees.)
• A minimum of 280 UCAS points (old UCAS tariff) or 112 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 C or above.

You don’t need any previous accounting experience as full training is provided.
If you have all this and are looking for a challenging and rewarding career, please apply today!