Audit trainee - AAT and ACA programme for School & College Leavers - August 2026

PKF FRANCIS CLARK; Devon and Torbay; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accounting firm in the UK is seeking bright, motivated school and college leavers to join their trainee auditor programme. Participants will work towards their AAT qualification and progress to ACA while gaining hands-on audit experience. This role requires strong analytical skills and effective communication, with responsibilities including audit project participation and preparing statutory accounts. The firm offers a supportive work environment with benefits like pension and health cash plans.

Benefits

Pension

Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary

Health cash plan

Option to buy 5 extra days holiday

Counselling and support for you and your immediate family

Virtual GP

Qualifications

• Minimum of 112 UCAS points from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies and EPQ.
• Grade 4-9 or C or above in GCSE Maths and English.
• Willingness to travel to client sites as required.

Responsibilities

• Develop technical and commercial skills while managing audit projects.
• Identify key issues and risks using analytics tools.
• Prepare annual statutory accounts and tax calculations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Minimum of 112 UCAS points

Grade 4-9 in GCSE Maths and English

Job description

Overview

Join our fast-track programme designed for ambitious school and college leavers who want to qualify as a Charted Accountant. You'll start by working towards your AAT qualification, then progress quickly to ACA, all while gaining valuable hands-on audit experience. We're proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work for the third year running, making this an excellent place to launch your audit career.

What you'll be doing

As a trainee auditor, you'll play a key role in helping businesses understand their financial position and manage risk. You'll work with a diverse portfolio of clients, including commercial businesses, from owner-managed to listed entities, charities, educational establishments, and professional firms. You will:

• Develop technical, commercial and interpersonal skills
• Work in small project teams (typically 2-5 people) on audits lasting 1-3 weeks for medium sized and large businesses
• Identify key issues and risks, using analytics tools and software to interpret data, draw conclusions, and make recommendations
• Gain experience in preparing annual statutory accounts and tax calculations, and assessing forecasts and projections

Studying alongside working is demanding. As an AAT/ACA trainee, you will need to dedicate time outside working hours for study and exam preparation.

Your development

We'll provide full support for your professional qualification and help you develop the skills and behaviours needed to succeed as an accountant. Before you start, you'll be assigned a buddy, and once you join, your line manager and student counsellor will help you stay on track with your professional qualification and career goals. Entering the work environment can be daunting. But the support network here at PKF Francis Clark is endless. Everyone from you, your Manager to the Partners is treated respectfully and is made to feel valued. And you'll be joining with lots of other trainees just like you.

• Taking initiative and achieving goals
• Communicating effectively, both verbally and in writing
• Building strong relationships and working collaboratively
• Working with numbers and solving problems
• Being analytical and methodical in your approach

Bright, motivated school and college leavers ready to build a meaningful career in accountancy. This programme offers structured development, early responsibility, and long-term progression.

You'll be expected to demonstrate the following:

• Minimum of 112 UCAS points (obtained from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies and EPQ)
• Grade 4-9 or C or above in GCSE Maths and English
• Willingness to travel to client sites and other offices as required

As the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers in South West England, PKF Francis Clark offers a breadth of opportunities to develop your career in the way that's right for you.

Established in 1919, we've grown to a team of nearly 1,000 people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton, Torquay and Truro. This means we're big enough to do challenging work for exciting clients, but small enough to maintain our friendly and supportive culture. We work hard to ensure you can belong, be yourself and be brilliant as part of a forward-thinking team. This includes a flexible approach to hybrid working. And our focus on wellbeing and learning and development has been recognised nationally. For the past three years, PKF Francis Clark has been certified as a Great Place to Work and ranked among the UK's Best Workplaces. In 2025, we climbed four places to 20 out of 100 large organisations on this prestigious list. We're also in the UK's top 10 Best Workplaces for Women (6 out of 100 large organisations), as well as being ranked among the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing (35 out of 100), Best Workplaces for Development (24 out of 100) and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services. All these lists are compiled by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work. Our rankings are a direct result of feedback from our people in a confidential, independent annual survey. The success rates of our trainees mean we're also ranked 33rd in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025. While we're proudly independent, we collaborate with colleagues around the world to enable our clients to succeed. PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms - together we're the 12th largest provider of accountancy services in the UK. Being part of this international network provides opportunities to connect with like-minded accountants and business advisers in 150 countries.

Benefits

• Pension
• Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary
• Group income protection
• Health cash plan to help cover the costs of everyday healthcare

Health & Wellbeing benefits

• Option to buy 5 extra days holiday
• Counselling and support for you and your immediate family
• Virtual GP for you and your immediate family
• Cycle to work

Other benefits

• Medicash Extras providing you with shopping and gym discounts
• Gifts for career and family milestones
• One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
• Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation