Graduate audit trainee - ACA - August 2026

PKF FRANCIS CLARK; Poole; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accountancy firm in Poole is seeking graduates for their ACA trainee programme. This full-time role offers structured training, hands-on experience, and a path to becoming a Chartered Accountant. Trainees will work on audits, develop key skills, and engage with a diverse client base. Strong analytical and communication skills are essential. Benefits include financial support for training, a pension plan, and opportunities for career growth in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Pension

Health cash plan

Cycle to work

Volunteering day

Group life assurance

Qualifications

• You should be a bright, motivated graduate ready to build a meaningful career in accountancy.
• Dedicate time outside working hours for studying and exam preparation.

Responsibilities

• Help businesses understand their financial position and manage risk.
• Work with a diverse portfolio of clients including medium and large businesses.
• Prepare annual statutory accounts and tax calculations.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Problem-solving

Initiative

Education

2.2 degree or above

Minimum of 112 UCAS points

GCSE Maths and English (C or above)

Job description

Overview

In a nutshell
Join our ACA trainee programme and launch your career as a Chartered Accountant. This full-time, permanent role starts with three years of structured training and qualification support, offering hands-on experience, a salary, and a clear path to long-term growth. We’ll cover your training costs and support you every step of the way. As a certified Great Place to Work, we’re the perfect place to start your audit career.

Responsibilities

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.

• 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
• Be part of a high performing, supportive team

As you progress, you’ll take on more responsibility and have opportunities to make a real impact.

About you

You’ll enjoy this job if you like…

• 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

Studying alongside working is demanding. As an ACA trainee, you will need to dedicate time outside working hours for study and exam preparation. After the three-year training period, the next 1-2 years are key in consolidating your knowledge and leading more complex projects with the opportunity to move towards management.

Your development

We'll provide full support for your professional qualification and help you develop the skills and behaviours needed to succeed as a chartered 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.

What we're looking for

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

Entry requirements:

• On track for, or have achieved, a 2.2 degree or above in any discipline
• Minimum of 112 UCAS points (obtained from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies and EPQ)
• GCSE Maths and English at grade 4-9 (C or above)
• Willingness to travel to client sites and other offices as required

How to apply

We review applications on a rolling basis, so apply early. We may close the vacancy once we’ve received enough applications. You can only submit one application per recruitment cycle, and we’re unable to accept multiple applications for different roles.

We’re committed to creating an inclusive and positive experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, whether related to a disability, neurodiversity, or any other need, please let us know, and we'll do our best to support you.

Why work at PKF Francis Clark

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.

Your core benefits

Financial 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