UHY Hacker Young 2024 graduate opportunities}

Company Company Profile

About usDo you want to join a modern and dynamic firm? UHY Hacker Young are a progressive group of chartered accountants that have a strong national and international network; we are currently ranked top 20 in the country.

Our mid-tier size means that every year we select just a small number of talented trainees to help grow our business. Each trainee is given responsibility from day one and has the chance to stretch their talents, and experience a wide diversity of work.

Our trainees deal with a variety of clients, from the very small companies, through to what we call the ‘dynamic mid-market’ businesses and AIM and fully listed public entities.

As a group, the recruitment experience may vary from office to office however we all share one vision and the same values.

What makes us a great employer?
You will get exposure to a varied portfolio of clients and access to the best training. We are an award winning firm, gaining departmental awards as well as awards for our outstanding individuals. There is great team culture with a real family spirit, including regular socials. Lachlan, a graduate in the London office agrees; “everyone enjoys being surrounded by so many familiar faces back at our home ground, and the mood is always jovial.”

As an approved training office for the ICAEW, an ACCA Platinum Approved trainer and an AAT Accredited trainer, we are considered a leading trainer within the profession. Don’t just take our word for it; read the unedited experiences of our current staff on our early careers site.

Development and career progression
We care about our students and have a mentoring programme in place to support you as we genuinely want you to succeed, not only in your exams but in your career with us. We are passionate about our staff, and always try to promote internally; even as far as Partner level.

Case Studies

Name: Lachlan Brown
Role: Audit ACA
University: University of Melbourne
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce

"...we are given a lot of responsibility throughout our training contracts"

Description:

Why did you choose a career in accounting?
Ultimately, I would love to set up and run my own business. After speaking with many different people who had previously begun their careers in assurance roles, I soon realised that this, in conjunction with the ACA qualification, would be a solid foundation to help achieve my goal in the future.

Audit allows you to explore many different businesses working in a variety of very different industries; how do they function? What makes them successful/unsuccessful? How do the employees come together in different environments to create overall benefit? I think these are all very valuable questions to consider and learn from, and this is one of the main reasons I chose to start a career in accounting.

What made you choose UHY Hacker Young?
After previously gaining some work experience at UHY Haines Norton in Australia, I was attracted to the size and functionality of accounting firms operating in a mid-tier market. The idea of being given early responsibilities appealed to me, as did the opportunity to be able to work in a large variety of industries - from Private Equity firms and online traders, to chemical manufacturers and shipping companies.

What is the atmosphere like in the office?
Whilst not at a client, some of our work is based out of the UHY offices. For the trainee auditors, that means hot desking - sitting together in a first-come-first-served seating plan. Depending on the time of year, sometimes you will be with a lot of other trainees in the office, other times you will be amongst only a few. Either way, everyone enjoys being surrounded by so many familiar faces back at our home ground, and the mood is always jovial.

What do you like most about your role?
Given that our graduate intakes are not huge, you have the opportunity to become close with all of the trainees in your year and in your audit teams. For me, working within teams where you genuinely get along with and have a lot of respect for your colleagues, really does make a massive difference. This has been my experience so far at UHY and I feel that that is really important in any workplace.

Another aspect I really like about my job is the continuous necessity to communicate with our clients. From speaking to the firms HR, to their accounts team and company Directors, you meet some very interesting people and most of the time they are more than happy to help you learn and grow so that you can understand their businesses better.

What level of responsibility do you receive as a trainee?
Given that UHY operates in the mid-tier market with clients of significantly different sizes, we are given a lot of responsibility throughout our training contracts. Each year seemingly brings new responsibilities, and it's this progression which helps our development over the course of the contract. I remember my very first audit, when I had to go and speak to the financial director of the company (who had worked there for 10+ years) about a particular accounting policy they had applied which was potentially incorrect. As you can imagine, it was a very nerve-racking experience and one that I definitely will not forget. However, the fact that I even had the opportunity to approach the company's financial director on my first assignment and have this conversation is testament to how much responsibility is given to the graduates.

Training & Profiles

So you want a career in accounting?
But what type of accountant do you want to be? Do you want to work in a particular industry? Do you want to work with exciting start-up companies? Large blue-chip corporations? Specialise in Automotive, Energy or Agriculture sectors?

One of the great things about working in accounting is the variety of work and the different types of people and businesses you get to work with, but initially all that choice can be a bit daunting.

UHY Hacker Young is a great place to start, as we’re big enough to work in the majority of industries, offering the full spectrum of accounting services, with teams around the country that will help you throughout your training, and steer you towards a truly rewarding career.

Our people provide business critical advice in a commercial and pragmatic way, harnessing the power of our collaborative partners and our passionate teams. We welcome applications from all ages and backgrounds and simply look for people who share our passion and enthusiasm to ensure that our clients flourish.

ACA training is highly varied and demanding and the training scheme has no ‘typical’ day. Nevertheless, we have tried to give you an overview of your training and an idea of the type of work you can expect to be involved in at the different stages of your studies.

There are three components to training in the London audit team;

The most obvious element is the need to study for and pass the professional exams. The firm provides full support, study leave and tuition costs, for the first attempts at all the exams and assessments that go towards the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) qualification. With first time passes it takes three years to complete your studies. Tuition is given by one of the leading external providers.

We also provide practical training internally. Immediately on joining us you receive two weeks of training in accounting, our business language, and in auditing. This lays the foundation for your first year’s practical experience.

We’ve put together a day in the life of an accountant to give you a feel for what it’s like working as accountant, or if you already have an idea about the direction you want to take, have a look at the training options.

When people think of training, the work experience, with its on-the-job learning, can be overlooked. But actually seeing clients’ businesses first hand, and benefiting from the advice and guidance of more senior staff as you serve those clients, is more important to your professional development than any amount of class room time. And we think the work experience here is pretty good.

Application Procedure

Opportunities
Whether you are a school leaver or a graduate, we have opportunities that will suit you. Our apprenticeship and trainee programmes are designed specifically to give you the best on the job experience, and UHY is the perfect training ground for you to qualify as an accountant.

What we’re looking for
We are looking for the Partners of the future. Someone that has excellent communication skills that can actively engage with clients. Someone that is ambitious, passionate and wants to progress within practice.

Following completion of our application form, which can be found on our dedicated website, our recruitment team will acknowledge receipt and contact you with further information. Please note all applications received are manually reviewed and processed.