Graduate accounting jobs

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Headshot of a female graduate in accounting.

A graduate accounting job can take you anywhere. The chartered accountant (ACA) and chartered tax adviser (CTA) professional qualifications are internationally recognised.

It’s hard to beat life in the beautiful South West of England. With vibrant cities, stunning countrysides and breathtaking coastline all on your doorstep, it’s a fantastic place to live and work.

Our graduate accounting opportunities are open to both recent graduates and those who graduated some time ago. We regularly welcome career changers into our trainee graduate programmes, including people from teaching, hospitality, management and the armed forces.

When you join PKF Francis Clark, you’ll become part of a team of more than 900 people. We’re large enough to offer a wide range of experiences and opportunities, yet small enough to provide genuine support and personal development.

We offer fully funded level 7 accountancy and tax apprenticeships, allowing you to earn while you learn. You can choose the pathway that best suits your interests and career goals, with all training and professional qualifications paid for by the firm.

A level 7 apprenticeship is equivalent to a master’s degree and combines industry-recognised professional qualifications with valuable hands-on experience, helping you build a successful career from day one.

Graduate accounting or tax? The choice is yours

Our graduate accountancy programme gives you the opportunity to work towards the prestigious chartered accountant (ACA) qualification, gaining experience across accounts, audit and tax. If you have a particular interest in tax, you can choose our graduate tax programme and work towards becoming a chartered tax adviser (CTA), developing specialist expertise in this complex and rewarding area.

Louise, a trainee chartered tax adviser, explains the difference like this: “I think a good comparison of the two roles is to compare them to those in the healthcare profession. For example, an accountant could be compared to a GP, someone with a broad spectrum of knowledge who is aware of certain conditions but may not have an in-depth knowledge of them. Whereas a chartered tax adviser could be compared to a hospital doctor who would specialise in a particular area of health and be much more knowledgeable on conditions specific to their area of expertise.”

Both career paths offer excellent opportunities for development, professional qualifications and long-term career progression. The main difference is whether you’d prefer a broad understanding of business and finance through the ACA, or to specialise in tax and become an expert in a highly sought-after field through the CTA route.

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Graduate trainee accountant jobs

The ACA qualification provides a broad foundation in accountancy, business and advisory services. It’s an excellent choice for graduates who are interested in areas such as audit, accounting and business advice, and who enjoy building relationships with clients. If you’re interested in audit, the ACA route offers the opportunity to spend time working directly with clients, gaining first-hand insight into how different businesses operate. You’ll develop a wide range of technical and professional skills while working across a variety of sectors and organisations. One of the benefits of the ACA qualification is the flexibility it provides. As your career develops and you discover which areas of accountancy interest you most, you may choose to specialise in areas such as audit, tax, corporate finance or advisory services. This means you can build a broad skillset early in your career before focusing on the area that’s right for you.

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Graduate trainee tax adviser jobs

CTA is an equally prestigious qualification, but with a greater focus on specialist tax knowledge. It typically leads to working with larger and more complex businesses, helping them navigate challenging tax issues and legislation. For those who enjoy problem-solving and developing deep technical expertise, CTA offers an excellent route into a specialist and highly respected area of the profession.

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Our graduate accounting jobs in numbers

Stat 2:2

or above in any degree

Stat Three

years of professional training

Stat Eight

offices to choose from

Stat Two

years a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer

Apply for graduate jobs

There are no jobs currently available in this team.

We’ve always got new job opportunities in the pipeline.

You can email [email protected] outlining your experience and what you’re looking for and we’ll be in touch.

You'll enjoy a graduate job in accounting or tax if you are…

Interested in business or finance
It could be the modules you studied or the news stories you read, but somehow you feel engaged when you’re learning about the world of business.

Ambitious
Graduate accounting jobs are the first step of a structured career progression – several of our past trainees are now partners which is the most senior role at the firm.

Curious
With all of our graduate accounting jobs you’ll be continuously acquiring specialist knowledge, keeping apace of changes in the economy and government policy, or developing the key interpersonal skills that enable you to progress into manager and leader positions.

Analytical and a keen problem-solver
Are you a graduate who enjoys working with numbers? up for an intellectual challenge? How can you apply what you know to help businesses to thrive?

Wanting to build a life in the stunning South West
We’ve got buzzing cities and brilliant beaches, it’s a more relaxed place to be. Our graduate accounting job opportunities are available across the South West so you don’t have to move away after uni. Why not stay and be brilliant with us?

Graduate accounting jobs FAQ’s

We open applications in September for roles that start in January or August of the next year – so if you are a final year student you would apply when you start your final year at university.

These graduate accounting job and tax opportunities are suitable for final year students, recent graduates or anyone who graduated some time ago and is looking for a career change.

You can join us with any degree at 2:2 or above.

We’re recruiting graduates in eight locations across South and South West England. These are Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Taunton, Torquay and Truro.

We don’t set a closing deadline, instead we close as soon as all roles are accepted. Some offices close quicker than others so if you’re looking for accounting job opportunities with us, be sure to apply ASAP to your first-choice location.

People stories

All stories
Headshot of an employee called Becky.

“I love the responsibility I am given on projects. I have a lot of autonomy and the team are very open to considering my ideas, even though I’m relatively new to this! I am trusted with challenging projects but also given support when I need it.”

Becky, Corporate finance analyst
Read story
Headshot of an employee called Molly.

"After University I went straight into teaching maths. After three years I realised it wasn’t offering me the lifestyle I wanted. I knew accountancy could play to my strengths, I enjoyed solving problems and working logically."

Molly, ACA trainee accountant
Read story
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