Tax doesn’t have to be taxing!

Posting by Ruth Sharp, Business Career Academy Co-ordinator

The latest intake of students into the Business Career Academy are still finding their feet, but there’s nothing like throwing them into the deep end, including a recent visit to an accountancy firm.

First they went through a nerve-wracking selection process with representatives from Lloyds TSB, then they met their ‘Partners in Business’ or mentors (from local businesses), and then it was a trip to London for Career Academies ‘Capital Experience’. The latest business experience has been a visit to Birmingham-based accountancy form Grant Thornton.

Maria O’Donnell, who is also a mentor to one of the students, hosted the students at their Edmund Street offices last week. She gave the students a talk and a tour of the business.

The presentation centred around the different aspects of accounting that Grant Thornton deal with, from large corporations to individuals such as footballers and from tax management and audits to buying and selling businesses.

The different routes for getting a job at Grant Thornton were explained, which was useful to the students – many of whom harbour ambitions to pursue careers in accountancy. The school leaver route was explained to the students, as well as the post-graduate route into employment. This included a lot of detail on the study required for accountancy, but also the rewards of working at Grant Thornton.

Maria also spoke to the students about possible career progression within Grant Thornton and this was quite motivational for our Business Career Academy students, particularly given their career plans.

Grant Thornton have been a great supporter of the College Career Academy programme since it was launched in 2010 and this visit was just one more example of that support.

As well as more visits like this, this new group of students can look forward to guru lectures from key business representatives, mentoring meetings and eventually 6-week paid internships. The first cohort of Business Career Academy students did all this last year and have been a help and inspiration to this new group of students.