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Location: Derby. Multiple positions available with flexible start dates throughout 2023, September typical.

Are you looking for an employer that will invest in you and reward hard work?

How about a supportive work environment with an ambitious team, inspiring company culture and exciting social calendar?

From summer parties and sports teams to after work drinks and our new book club, a graduate role at PKF Smith Cooper is more than just a job – you become part of our community.

At PKF Smith Cooper, you will join a multi-award-winning accountancy and business advisory firm based across the Midlands. We are a proud member of PKF International, the 11th largest network in the UK, which means our graduates benefit from global expertise and international connections as well as local knowledge. We work with clients of all sizes in a range of industries to solve some of their most complex challenges and help them achieve success. No two jobs are the same, so our graduates need to be able to adapt and up for the challenge!

Our team is our greatest strength, so training, development, and progression opportunities are not only offered to graduates but actively encouraged at PKF Smith Cooper.

Our Audit Graduate Scheme:

There is more to an audit career than analysing numbers – it’s about making a difference to the lives of the people behind the figures. As an audit graduate, you will really get to know our clients and build close relationships to better understand their needs. You will provide crucial advice on financial performance, business systems, culture, and risks to help every client achieve their objectives. Audit graduates join us on ACA or ACCA training contracts, which give you the chance to work with a variety of businesses across different sectors – from national companies to entrepreneurial start-ups – and develop your knowledge as well as your experience in the process.

You will gain valuable technical skills, broad commercial understanding, and in-depth knowledge of different industry sectors on your journey to becoming a qualified ICAEW (ACA) Chartered Accountant at PKF Smith Cooper.

Throughout our graduate programme, you will receive the specialist support you need to reach your full potential in audit. With an ambitious and supportive team behind you, you will become a key player in delivering and developing our audit services as the division grows alongside our wider practice.

The skills and experience you will bring:

Accountancy is a people-focused profession. While numeracy skills are required, our audit graduates need to be confident communicators to form relationships with colleagues and clients, therefore you will have a personable approach and demonstrate strong teamwork skills.

Due to the varied nature of working in audit, you will have the ability to organise yourself and your workload, balance the competing demands on your time, and take personal responsibility for the development of your career.

Your degree is a brilliant reflection of your hard work and commitment, but a strong work ethic and interest in advising and assisting businesses are more important to us than first-class honours. Whether you studied maths or fine art at university, all graduates are encouraged to apply for our audit scheme.

Benefits of training with PKF Smith Cooper:

Training with a firm like PKF Smith Cooper offers you depth and variety in your client assignments. Audit graduates benefit from exposure to a wide range of work with businesses of all sizes, many of them local to our offices.

Our partners take a direct interest in the development and progression of our graduates. We aim to equip every graduate with the skills they need to become a future leader – our managing partner started out at PKF Smith Cooper as a graduate himself, so who knows what you could achieve through our graduate scheme!

As a ICAEW and ACCA Approved Training Employer, we are recognised for our high-quality training and development.

You will join a thriving department in one of our high-performing teams across Derby, Nottingham, or Birmingham.

Why PKF Smith Cooper?

• Our ambitious and supportive company culture is built on our values: Engage, Empower and Excel. We celebrate personal growth and reward hard work through a variety of initiatives, including our Kudos Reward Scheme.
• Our Partners will support and champion your professional development and career progression.
• We work with ambitious businesses of different sizes across a variety of sectors – no two jobs are the same!
• We are multi-award-winning accountants and business advisors, ranked the 11th biggest firm by UK fee income in the Accountancy Age Top 50+50.

Based in our Derby office (with schemes also available in our Nottingham and Birmingham offices), our graduates benefit from the best of the north and south. The Midlands offer the buzz of the city with the charm of the countryside, from bustling high streets and vibrant nightlife to historic market towns and the rolling hills of the Peak District.

PKF International

As a member of PKF International, we are part of a prestigious global network of legally independent accounting firms. Located in the five fastest growing global markets, we have ground presence in 150 countries and span across many jurisdictions.

Operating in unison with member firms across the world, we share our ideas, expertise, and specialist resources to develop our specialist skills and services to better serve our clients.

What's in it for you?

Our benefits package has been shaped by our values and designed for our people. As part of Team PKF Smith Cooper, here are some of the things you can expect:

• A flexible working policy and dress for your diary scheme.
• A work-life balance – 25 days annual leave plus statutory bank holidays with the option to purchase additional annual leave, and your birthday off on us.
• Rewards for actively embracing and embodying our values through our Kudos Reward Scheme.
• Regular social events and annual, company-wide away days, giving you the opportunity to develop relationships with people beyond your team and office.
• Bonus referral schemes for introducing new talent or clients so that when we benefit, you do too.
• Life doesn’t stop at the end of the working day and neither do our benefits. We also offer life assurance, retail discounts, and a private healthcare scheme.

Application process:

Apply now to become an Audit Associate by following the steps at the bottom of the page. You can also find out about our other finance graduate schemes by visiting our graduate career website.

Applications will be reviewed as we receive them with successful candidates invited to a first interview. Due to the volume of applications we receive, unfortunately we are unable to provide specific feedback should your application be unsuccessful.

If you have any questions, please contact the team at [email protected]

Please note that whilst we welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply for our vacancies, we are unfortunately unable to accept applications from candidates requiring a visa to work in the UK.