Armstrong Watson continues recruitment drive with intake of trainees

Armstrong Watson Accountants, the business and financial advisers, has recruited an additional 26 new trainees across, including graduates and school leavers, across five of the firm’s offices.

The figure includes the appointment of 13 chartered accountancy trainees (up from 11 last year) and 13 trainees studying AAT/ATT.

The new budding chartered accountants and accounting trainees will join the accounting, audit and tax teams, and will receive hands-on experience alongside classroom study as they work towards their qualifications.

Paul Dickson, CEO and managing partner (pictured), said:

“COVID-19 has without a doubt had a devastating effect on many businesses, however, despite of – and also because of – the economic downturn, it’s more important than ever for business owners to seek professional and wide-ranging advice. With our depth and breadth of experience and services we are able to do this and we are finding that an increasing number of family-owned and owner-managed businesses are turning away from smaller firms, and at the opposite extreme, the top ten, and instead turning to us for this much-needed advice.

“To enable us to continue to support our clients it’s essential we invest in the next generation of accountants and advisers. We have a long history of growing our own talent and those who join us will not only have the opportunity to become future business leaders, but as a top 30 UK firm, they will work at the cutting edge of legislative and technical changes in accounting.

“Despite the immediate short term uncertainty that face businesses, including ours, we not only need to think about the current needs but we also need to think three to five years ahead and longer.  The AAT and ATT qualification takes around two years to complete and the ACA three years to become a Chartered Accountant, so we are taking a longer term outlook as we remain cautiously optimistic about the future of our firm.

“We strongly believe our people are our business and we invest in ambitious individuals who are keen to launch their careers and take advantage of the development we offer. With 16 offices across the North of England and Scotland and 13 different service lines, there’s a huge range of scope for career direction and development available to those who choose to join us on this exciting journey.”