What's It Like Being A Trainee At Thomas May & Co?

I joined Thomas May in December 2008 after graduating from Portsmouth University with a BA (Hons) in Accounting with Finance. Although my degree was finance related, and I was able to earn some exceptions from certain exams, you are in no way at a disadvantage if your degree is unrelated. Thomas May do recruit from a variety of disciplines but it will help if you are interested in business and are commercially aware.

One of the main benefits of working for a medium-sized firm such as Thomas May, is the variety of work, ranging from small and medium sized businesses up to large private company groups. This enables you to gain greater exposure and responsibility early on in your career, and you never feel out of your depth due to the amount of support given to you from other trainees, audit seniors, managers and partners, who take a personal interest in your training.

As an audit junior you get to spend a lot of time at clients assisting audit seniors on medium to large audits. The length of time spent on any one assignment will usually be limited to a couple of weeks, and you will normally stay with the client from start to finish, giving you a good overview of the auditing world and being able to gain experience of building client relationships, from the very start of your training contract.

Thomas May has a diverse range of clients including specialised clients such as solicitors and charities. Therefore the work will differ from week to week, ensuring that you gain experience on a variety of audits.

Apart from auditing, trainees also spend time in the office gaining experience in preparing accounts for a range of clients from small sole traders to larger limited companies. This is invaluable experience as it is much easier to audit a set of accounts if you know how to put them together yourself.

The remainder of your time is spent at college studying towards your ACA exams. Although this training is intense and requires a high level of discipline to do further studies out of working hours, it is very rewarding when you pass the exams. It is also a good way to meet other trainees from other firms.

I have been at Thomas May for just over 18 months now and within the last six months I have taken on smaller audits on my own and I am looking forward to another challenging year at Thomas May, during which I hope to start taking out a team as audit senior.

On the whole, Thomas May is a friendly, focused and professional team and working for them has been varied and challenging. Individual merit is quickly recognized and responsibility is there for you as soon as you are ready for it. It is the ideal place to begin a career as a trainee accountant.

Elizabeth Owen