Jonathan: Francis Clark has been going for over 100 years. We’ve got eight offices, and we’re constantly growing. You know, it’s really great to be a part of something big like that.
Helen: We have this massive breadth of clients, the corporate teams deal with the very biggest corporates, and some listed clients as well. Business services, which is kind of a bedrock of what we do, which is your owner managed business, and in my sphere, the very biggest landed estates, down to very small private clients. Obviously, being in the South West we have lots of tourism businesses, lots of farmers, but equally manufacturers and it’s great to have that range. It gives you options from a career development point of view.
Nick: People are encouraged to excel in what they’re good at, if they’ve got a particular ability or a particular interest in one area, those people are encouraged to carry on with that. I’ve had the opportunity to train other members of staff which is really important to me. I really enjoy working with some of the junior members of staff. I’ve seen some of those people grow into being senior members of the firm as well.
Jonathan: Francis Clark’s vision is shared ambition. The company’s always checking in on you every few months to see, are you hitting the goals that you’re looking to achieve in your career and what ways they can help you; do you want to study courses, what direction do you want to go in?
Helen: I started at Francis Clark straight from university and I came in as a graduate trainee and did my ACA training contracts, become a chartered accountant, and then I decided that what I was quite interested in was Tax. So, Francis Clark supported me to go on pretty much straight away to do my Chartered Tax Advisor exams and then what I found a really enjoyed was private client work. So, there’s a further set of exams, The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners exams which Francis Clark supported me to go on and do pretty much straightaway, so that within seven years I got all three of those qualifications.
Nick: Generally, there there’s a lot of opportunities for people to make friends, develop their career, and basically fill their whole life with the best Francis Clark involvement.
Jonathan: It’s a really friendly working environment. You have the freedom to enjoy your work and express yourself in your work and everyone’s out to achieve the same thing and that’s the best work that we can do, and we all help each other achieve that.
Nick: The firm really looks after individuals that work there in in a variety of ways. There’s well-being workshops, there’s the virtual GP service, which I’ve used myself, there’s a charity foundation if people fall on hard times so that the firm’s kind of got your back in all areas.
Helen: I suppose what’s a big part of my identity is being a mum and hybrid working means that I don’t have to be in the office all the time. I have, you know, the trust and the responsibility to do my work when the work needs doing. It’s great and you know, as well as children, I can work other things around that.
Jonathan: What advice I would give to someone that is thinking about joining the firm, I would tell them to, definitely put in their application. The firm looks after all their employees, you get to do fun things, not just work all the time. So, I recommend it to any friends or anybody that I know.
