Culture

• "The company is very social, with at least one event each month. These have included such things as Alton Towers, horse racing, and meals. It is an extremely friendly and supportive environment to work in." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "My team is very friendly and we have fun whilst working hard to get the job done. The team works very well together and we all support and help each other, especially in busy times. The company has a social side so you can get to know colleagues outside of work. The company has several specialist departments. Each department has a partner, manager, senior and trainee/assistant. The partner overseas everything with the managers and sometimes seniors report directly to the partner. The trainee/assistant will report mainly to the senior or manager they are working for." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "The structure and hierarchy is very formulated in most accountancy companies. Based on time and sufficient skill, there is a well worn path from junior to senior, then manager, director and finally partner. Despite this hierarchy, it is a very open culture and people don't overtly act like there is a hierarchy, particularly in the audit department. I can talk to managers or a partner if I need to and get on with others in my team. Socially there are quite a lot of ‘events’, although I don't think accountants tend to be the most social-demographic, so some of these are poorly attended, but I can socialise with people who work here outside of the prescribed events and have joined a work football team and am often invited informally to social events with colleagues that aren't organised by the firm. There are people to enjoy socialising with, they can just be a little harder to find in an accountancy!" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Effort is put into work socials. Socials are frequent and a big proportion of staff attend. Employees all seem to work well. Senior staff are approachable, and overall the atmosphere is friendly. Managers work in the same room as seniors and juniors. Partners have separate offices and as a junior I have little to do with them on a daily basis." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "There is a social committee who organise a variety of events, and the best part is that often there is no charge to us. There are comedy events, the circus, festivals, sporting events, and we have just been informed that there will be a summer event on the grounds of our Staverton office. Moving away was initially daunting but I have made great friends and I am supported by my peers and other employees, in fact even the partners support me when I need it." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "I feel the teams, and especially geographic offices, are quite separate and different. The separate offices seem to work very well together. The hierarchy seems to be appropriate and there are clear career paths to aspire to. There are social events organised by the company and a lot of effort put into this, but people are not always keen to get involved." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "The company’s structure is divided into juniors, seniors, managers, directors and then partners. People from all roles interact very well within the work place. Colleague support is excellent, with the seniors being extra helpful. Socialising is not a strong point, I have been with my firm for just short of one year and we have all been out twice. Employees in similar year groups tend to organise their own thing." -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "Many levels of staff at the firm so there is always somebody to ask for help. The size of the firm means that you soon get to know everyone in the building. Socials are organised by a committee and occur about once every two months, but Friday lunchtimes are religiously spent with my whole department down the pub for a team lunch." -- Auditor, Cheltenham
• "Some support given, but other more senior staff are often too busy to help sufficiently. Also, a lack of understanding of how they were once in your position and an assumption that you know what they know, even though you haven't been given sufficient training. Structure is trainees year one to three, seniors, managers, director (x1) and partners (x2). Colleagues work well together and the firm organises and subsidises regular social events." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Structure: partners, directors, managers, seniors, juniors. The different bandings are split into grades so there is a clear hierarchy. There is a good culture of support and team work. Everybody is friendly and approachable. The firm arranges a lot of social events for its employees. As well as the normal Christmas parties, the last year has involved laser tag, windsurfing, a trip to the dog racing, and seeing Jimmy Carr live amongst other things. The social side is not compulsory – you can get as involved as you want to. The trainees tend to meet up for drinks on a fairly regular basis, and you can make good friends whilst on study." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham

Hours

• "The company runs flexi-time which means that down to the nearest 6 minute interval I get all my overtime back." -- Auditor, Cheltenham
• "There is a flexi-time system in place which means if I need to work more than my 7.5 hours a day, I can bank the hours and take it as time off when convenient. I am able to use it to finish early on a Friday. There are flexible working policies and, overall, the environment is flexible. I never have to work weekends, although sometimes the tax team stay very late to meet end of year deadlines." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Generally, I manage to stick to 40 hours a week. I am mostly in the office, but out and about visiting clients’ maybe 30 – 40% of the time. I do have events that I attend after work in the evenings, but that is part of my role. My work is project-based, so as things get close to sign off there will be late nights and the odd bit of weekend work, but that is quite usual in an accounting practice, and it is nowhere near as regular or onerous as working in bigger firms. The work/life balance is very good." -- Senior Accountant, Gloucester
• "On average 40 hours. I have worked the odd hour at the weekends to catch up, but have never been asked to. However, much spare time in the first couple of years is taken up with revision for the exams. Time spent revising varies quite a lot as you may have a couple of months off, but in the few weeks leading up to an exam you may do three hours a night and 15 hours over a weekend. So it can be quite hard work at times. My firm also offers flexi-time, so if you did work a 50 hour week, you can claim 12.5 hours off at a time more convenient for you and use it to boost your holiday hours." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "The hours spent in the office depend very much on my workload. We are on a flexi-time arrangement so although my standard contracted hours are 37.5, if I am busy I work longer, if I am quiet I work shorter days. The accounts preparation year is quite seasonal so I tend to work my longest hours in January, and take time off in February after the tax return deadline. Flexi-time is there for the use of the firm to manage workloads, but they can be flexible with using flexi-time built up to take extra time off in quiet periods. Weekend working is sometimes required if you work in the tax department in January but not at other times of the year. Quite a few parents at the firm work part-time hours." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Hours vary as and when times are busy, and I am very happy with the flexi-hours system. Holiday allowances are quite low but there is the opportunity to create extra days of holiday via flexi. I spend on average the 37.5 hours standard working week, but usually work up to 5-6 days flexi extra per year. There are opportunities to purchase extra holiday, etc. but I have not done so." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "In the first year hours were kept to around 38 a week, however when on an audit this can increase by a lot. Sometimes the need to travel around the country and stay in hotels can make it feel like the hours are long. As responsibility increases more time is spent at work in order to meet deadlines, however time over the standard working hours is ‘flexi-time’ which means you can have additional time off. Managers are quite flexible, so long as they know in advance and can plan ahead." -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "I work on average a 37.5 hour week, and we have a flexi-time system which allows us to build up additional time worked so we can take time off for appointments, or when we are quieter. My team is very flexible with working hours and has two part-time staff. We very occasionally work weekends, maybe one or two a year if we are very busy." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham

Pay

• "£17,500" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "£17,500" -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "£18,000" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "£18,500" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "£19,000" -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "£19,000" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "£19,000" -- Auditor, Cheltenham
• "£23,000" -- Auditor, Cheltenham
• "£24,200" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "£25,000" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• * These salaries indicate different points in the training level
• "For the area the salary does not start off particularly high, but pay increases are guaranteed as you progress through your training. On qualification in three years, the general rule is that salary will have roughly doubled." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "I think it is fair. It is maybe a little below market rate, but I am confident that good work will be rewarded. There is also a trade-off with a good work/life balance." -- Senior Accountant, Gloucester
• "Trainee starting salary is low, but this does increase as you pass exams. The recession has reduced this increase compared to previous years, but you do get rewarded for becoming more experienced." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "No bonus in place that I’m aware of. Management is very inconsistent with how pay rises are handled, and I think there is an element that people may feel they are not being paid fairly either in comparison to their predecessors or their colleagues." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "I am paid comparably to other practice firms within a 30 miles radius for a new trainee. When I applied here I took the role for the location, the experience, the training and the company. I get increases aligned to my exam passes, so when my contract is complete I know what my salary will be." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Pay increases every year, and once qualified it increases dramatically. Basic starting wage was £17,500 which was exactly the offer as the second largest accountancy firm in Gloucestershire. There is no bonus scheme in place." -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "The trainee increases have been inconsistent, and no reason as to why they are different has been explained. On approaching direct managers (not partners but manager/director) about this there seemed to be no knowledge as to why this is the case, or that pay was even different between the trainees. I believe it has also been different for the various years’ intakes too. A more standard and open approach would seem more fair." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Pay is generally low compared with the number of hours of extra studying for exams." -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester
• "Pay is reviewed every year and if you are passing your exams you do get pay rises at other intervals too. There are schemes that you can opt in to, like the pension scheme and buying child care vouchers." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham

Interviews & Assessments

• "There were two interviews. First was with a member of HR, and second with a manager and director. The interview with HR was tougher than the second, which was more friendly and relaxed. There were also literacy and numeracy tests to do. During the interviews I was asked questions on my background, my skills, and reasons for this choice in career." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "There were two rounds. The first was an interview with HR, and the next was with a manager and partner. The first round felt like a fairly brief chat about your application and background, and then two tests had to be performed (numerical and verbal reasoning). On passing these and impressing at the first interview, you were invited to a second interview. The interview questions were pretty standard, ‘why accountancy?’, ‘why here?’, ‘what did you do before?’, ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’" -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "There were two interviews – one with HR, then one with the team you would be joining which seemed to be a good approach. The HR interview was more formal than the team-based one, although both were friendly. I'm not sure if the procedures have changes since but the questions were fairly standard and appropriate to match the candidate to the company." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Two rounds. One with HR and one with the team they've planned for you to join. HR interview had a number of tests, numerical and word association, etc. as well as a personality assessment test. Interview with potential manager was more formal, although still fairly casual." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "There are 2/3 rounds of interviews. These are with HR to start with, and then further down the line I was interviewed by my manager/partner. There was a discussion about myself, qualifications, previous work, and why I wanted to be an accountant. Some tests also had to be carried out to see if I would be suitable, i.e. English, maths and personality test." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "An interview with HR, testing, and an interview with a director and partner. They have recently moved to assessment centres though so there is a day long, but one stage session." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "My interview was a bit different, but now the firm have several rounds and an assessment day. On the assessment day they will have current trainees there to talk to you about what working for the firm is like." -- Junior Accountant, Cheltenham
• "Three rounds, interview with HR, then another with a partner at the office. The assessment day was daunting with many other bright intelligent graduates involved." -- Junior Accountant, Gloucester