 Staff stories
| Cathy Bree |
 | Cathy obtained a degree in Economics from UCL, so accountancy seemed the obvious choice, but it was the people she met during her interview process that swayed her decision in favour of PKF.
“I received offers from several larger and smaller firms, but at PKF there seemed to be a relaxed atmosphere in the office and I felt that I would be happy working with the people. On top of this, I really wanted to go travelling before I started my career and PKF were flexible and supportive, deferring my starting date for a year. This made me feel really valued right from the start. |
“I started in the Assurance and Advisory department, along with a number of other new starters. I was surprised at the number of people who had degrees in non-relevant subjects. Before being sent out to any clients, we were sent on a series of courses to give us the basic knowledge, including several technical courses. During my first few months we were sent on a week-long residential course with all the new starters from the other offices. This was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the country, many of whom I am still in touch with now.
“Most of my assignments have involved between 2 and 5 team members and the length varies from 1 week to 2 months. This means that you get to work with a variety of students, all with different skills and personalities and at varying stages of the learning curve. I got support from those more experienced, and then before long it was me supporting others! In my first year alone I worked with a large percentage of the students and made loads of friends.
“I am now in my third year and have been the audit senior in the majority of my assignments for the last 8 months. At first this seemed like a scary prospect, but due to the great support network there are always peers or managers I can turn to if I need help with anything – even if that means grilling them after a few beers on a Friday night!
“Thinking about taking my career forward, I am considering seconding to PKF Australia for three months over the summer. I have also been looking into PKF’s Management Consultancy department, which is another popular choice among former students. I feel that I definitely made the right decision in joining PKF. The knowledge and skills that I have developed in just a short time have given me a great start to my career – whatever I decide to do to in the future.”
| Ilan Cohen |
 | Ilan graduated in 1999 from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, with a BSc (Hons) in Finance and Economics, before coming to London and joining PKF in early 2006.
“I always wanted to do something in Finance, but wasn’t sure exactly what career path was best. Initially I wanted to get a graduate position in investment banking, but when I arrived in London and began speaking to various people who had already started their careers, I realised that training in an accountancy firm provided the best overall grounding in business, irrespective of where one ultimately works. |
“PKF seemed a good choice, as a firm that would provide me both with a wide variety of clients, and also with an opportunity to assume responsibility sooner than might be possible in a Big Four firm. PKF has been great in this respect, allowing me to get exposure to AIM companies, large central Government entities, pension schemes and investment funds. Also, the size of the audit teams tends to be quite small – usually not more than two or three people – which allows you to see a lot of the total job and understand more about how the organisation works and what the key risks are.
“I have enjoyed all my client work to date. The clients have all been quite different, which has made for a very stimulating learning experience. I would encourage any trainee to get as varied experience as possible so that you can make a more informed decision about what to specialise in later.
“Aside from all the positive learning experiences on the job, by far the most fun aspect is provided by the people that you train with. Pretty much everyone is outgoing with a great sense of humour, and this really helps to make the office social and enjoyable. Everyone works hard but nobody takes things so seriously that they can’t take time out to have a laugh – or lend a hand to somebody who needs a help on a job. There are also a number of social activities that run during the year, which normally involve most or all of the firm, and these are well attended and great fun.”
| Lindsey Huzar |
 | Lindsey studied business at the University of Sheffield before coming straight to PKF on a training contract.
“I went to university not knowing, like most other people, what particular career I wanted to go into. My business degree covered many different subject areas such as marketing, human resources and economics, but I soon realised that accountancy was the area that interested me most. I liked working with numbers, relating it to the business environment and the satisfaction of getting my balance sheet to balance! |
“I researched possible careers in accountancy and got some work experience in an accounts department over the summer after my second year. This confirmed that accountancy was the career for me and in my third year I started applying for graduate training contracts.
“I wanted to start work straight after university while I was still in the studying frame of mind. I was also tired of living off a student income and couldn’t wait to get earning! I decided to work in audit because I wanted to be out of the office, meeting new clients. Also, audit exposes you to all areas of a business, giving you a broad knowledge base from which to further your career.
“I had a number of offers but I chose PKF because it was in a position to offer me experience at a variety of clients of all different sizes, across a wide range of industries, while also being able to offer me a friendly working environment. The PKF training contract is with ICAS too, which offers block study rather than day release. This meant I would be able to focus on my studies rather than have to fit my studying around work commitments.
“Since starting at PKF I’ve found that everyone really is as friendly as I expected. On my first day everyone was genuinely happy to help and this has continued, confirming that PKF really does have the supportive culture to help its people develop and excel.”
| Fiona Thomson |
 | I joined the Glasgow office's graduate training programme in 1992 after graduating from Heriott Watt University in Edinburgh. I heard of PKF via the university's recruitment service, which gave me the ICAS directory of firms in Scotland that recruit and train students. PKF was advertising five positions, and it appealed to me to be one of five students instead of one of 25, as was the case with some of the larger firms listed in the brochure. |
During the interview process, I was struck by how friendly and approachable the partners and staff were. Everyone was on first name terms, which was not the case in some of the other firms that had interviewed me. The training programme was well organised, with regular residential training courses to supplement the block release classes at the Institute. This enabled us to meet other students from the other offices and develop personal skills. Since qualifying in 1992, I have been based mainly in the assurance and advisory services department and became a partner in 2001 (the only female partner in Scotland) at the age of 30.
I enjoy working with our clients which range from small start-up businesses to fully listed public companies. Our main client base in Glasgow is owner-managed businesses that often don't have in-house financial controllers or finance directors. They come to us for advice on a wide range of business issues, making our work varied and interesting – no two days are the same.
But I believe the best thing about PKF are its people. They are what make us different and allow us to provide a high-quality service to our clients. It is much easier to get up for work in the morning when you get along with the people you work with.
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