“One of the reasons I love Ecovis, is finding a culture fit as well as a work fit.”
Hi, I’m Yann. I’m an Audit trainee at Ecovis and I joined Ecovis in July 2020.
What degree did you study and which university did you go to?
I studied Mathematics at the University of Exeter for three years
When did you start thinking about which industry to go into and realise your degree was relevant to accountancy?
At the start of my third year, I started looking at careers. The thing I really wanted to do was study alongside my work and the ACA was an ideal fit. I looked at a lot of accountancy roles and I thought Audit was ideal for myself, as you get to look at a lot of different clients. This was why I started to look at Audit roles specifically.
What skills from your degree have you been able to transfer into your role?
So I studied Maths at uni and there’s definitely a link with the numerical and problem-solving skills. But I would definitely say that I’ve learnt quite a lot of skills since university at Ecovis which have definitely been a good part. When I came in I hadn’t done any accountancy and had no accountancy knowledge. But Ecovis is looking for people from all sorts of degrees and I definitely think it’s a great base to learn your accountancy. I feel that on Day One, I didn’t have much knowledge, but then growing into the role, you have help from a lot of senior people and this definitely helps you within the role.
What advice would you give to students studying the same degree as you?
The most important thing I found, and one of the reasons I love Ecovis, is finding a culture fit as well as a work fit.
How have you found the transition from university to an ACA training role?
There are a lot of differences between university and an ACA role. Initially, at university, you have a lot of high-pressure exams and then, coming into an ACA role, the exams are more sporadic, but you obviously have to juggle them with work. That’s why I think Ecovis is a great fit. They give you a lot of time and support to study for those exams while you’re working. We have a good tuition course provider and they give you all the background knowledge and theory to help with your exams. But also, the people at the office can help and there are great support systems which help you get through your exams.
What drew you to Ecovis in particular?
I came in just before COVID, and we had an Assessment Day at Ecovis. I think from the minute I walked through the door, I definitely got the sense of what Ecovis is about. There are a lot of large clients and there’s a wide variety of work that we can get into. That was definitely a draw for me. But, also the culture came across straight away.
“The main drawing point for me was just how friendly everyone was and the sense that they can help you develop your career. I think that was a really important part of why I chose Ecovis.”
What do you enjoy most about your role?
What I like about my role is that Ecovis has clients in London, but it also has clients across the UK which we visit. On site visits, we get to see how businesses operate on the actual day to day level, which is great.
What do you enjoy most about working at Ecovis?
One thing I love about working at Ecovis, is the location of the offices. We’re based in Soho, which is quite a vibrant side of London, which I really enjoy. Our firm and culture, in general, is pretty great – so we’re always out and about in Soho!
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