Trainee Chartered Accountant
Jennifer Law
Qualifications
BSc (Hons) Pure Mathematics from the University of St Andrews
Currently in the third year of my CA training contract, having just passed my TPS exams.
Current role
As a trainee CA my day to day work mostly involves performing audits and occasionally preparing sets of accounts. Because of the stage I’m at in my training contract one week I can be a junior on an audit team, and then the next week I can be a senior on an audit team.
Why I’m with Henderson Loggie
When I finished university I applied to a few firms for a CA training contract. Henderson Loggie was the first to reply and offered me the position of accountancy assistant for a year, with the view to begin my CA training the following year.
Never a dull day
No two jobs are the same and the majority of commercial audits last between one and three weeks. This means that it is never very long before you are starting something new, visiting clients at a variety of locations across Scotland, England and even sometimes abroad.
A genuine interest in our clients
Henderson Loggie has a wide variety of clients operating in different industries. I have found that the majority of clients enjoy telling you about their business and showing you how things operate. Now that I am in my fourth year with Henderson Loggie I have been involved with some of the same clients for a number of years, and this continuity has allowed me to establish good working relationships with the clients, assist more efficient audits, and gain a greater understanding of the client and their business.
Getting more responsibility
At Henderson Loggie you are encouraged to take responsibility for your work at an early stage. As mentioned above, the stage that I am at within in my training contract means that one week I can be a junior on an audit team, and then the next week I can be a senior on an audit team. I think that having this responsibility early on helps you learn and develop your skills, as well as building relationships with clients.
My ambitions
I am enjoying my time with Henderson Loggie and would hope to gain further audit experience with the firm after qualifying. After a few more years of audit I would like to move into the field of accountancy and possibly move into industry.
A good day is when …
….although it may seem obvious, but when a job is going well.
A bad day is when …
….when a job goes wrong due to unforeseen circumstances.
Advice for someone joining the firm
You do not need prior accounting knowledge to get on well; trainees join Henderson Loggie with a variety of degrees. Most importantly…….if you are unsure about anything just ask, everyone has been at your stage at some point and are more than happy to help.
