Public Sector Audit School Leaver Programme (Autumn 2027) - Bristol

Grant Thornton (UK); West of England; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £29,150

Fully-funded qualification

Partner sponsor

International exposure

AI tools access

Client interaction

Structured learning

In-person experiences

Career network

Job summary

Grant Thornton (UK) invites ambitious school leavers to join a high‑growth trainee programme in Public Sector Audit. From day one you’ll be involved with real data, supported by a Partner sponsor, and offered a funded professional qualification with paid leave and fees covered.

You’ll engage in meaningful client work and gain international exposure from the start. Powered by AI and digital tools, you will develop skills beyond the technical through hands‑on client interaction and structured

Qualifications

• Ambition to contribute to high-performance culture.
• Willingness to pursue a professional qualification.
• Strong commercial awareness and client focus.

Responsibilities

• Work with a variety of public sector clients and NHS bodies.
• Build client relationships and develop audit and financial reporting skills.
• Operate on live data, select samples, gather evidence and test controls.
• Apply judgement to policies and estimates used by clients.
• Analyze financial statements and internal controls.
• Study for ACA/ICAS/CFAB/ACCA/CIMA or DTS.

Skills

Commercial curiosity

Digital mindset

Adaptability

Problem solving

Collaborative communication

Proactive career

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Job Description: Go one better than Four. The industry is set to change. It's time to get with a new kind of programme. One that leaves traditional apprenticeship schemes behind. From the off, you'll see a future you want to stay for. Because we don't just recruit exceptional school leaver talent. We turn trainees into leaders. We're talking bigger opportunities, faster growth, and an experience designed to accelerate your career from the start.

Take the purple path What investing in talent actually looks like

• A market-leading salary of £29,150 and full benefits package
• A fully-funded professional qualification, including paid study leave, expert tuition, and all course fees covered
• A named Partner sponsor from day one to support you grow in your career
• International exposure, helping you build a global perspective early in your career
• Access to the latest leading AI tools and digital solutions from day one, building skills that will shape the future of your career
• Meaningful client interaction outside of the day-to-day - understanding how businesses operate and driving results which matter
• Structured learning built around the capabilities of a future Partner - taking you beyond the technical
• In-person experiences with your cohort of future leaders.
• One pathway, one cohort, and a network for life
• Access to additional opportunities as you reach your potential - from working with our Senior Leadership Team to shaping new initiatives
• Business Development responsibilities before you even qualify.
• Hands‑on opportunities to win work and support our growth ambitions

Powered by AI, driven by you We are investing £500m in digital transformation. Our leading AI tools drive efficiencies, handling time‑consuming manual tasks, which means you can focus on higher‑value work, faster. You'll get experience and training to progress rapidly, earlier than apprentices ever have before.

Powered by AI, you will spend more time on detailed analysis, professional judgement and the insights that genuinely add value for clients. You'll be the one in control, reviewing and challenging the quality of AI inputs and outputs to ensure our clients continue to receive an exceptional service. We're in the business of people, not just numbers. AI helps us work more efficiently, but it's our people who bring judgement, curiosity and care to every client relationship. As a trainee, you'll learn to use these tools while developing the human skills that will set you apart throughout your career.

A look into the role

Public Sector Audit: Audit is about giving people confidence in the numbers behind public services. As an auditor, you'll look closely at the financial records of public bodies to check they're accurate and complete - work that taxpayers, regulators, and the public all rely on. You'll get exposure to a wide range of clients, from central government to local authorities and the NHS, building the insight to understand how public sector organisations really operate.

As an auditor in our Public Sector team you will:

• Work with a variety of clients, from central government departments to local authorities and NHS bodies.
• Build strong client relationships, understand how each organisation delivers for the public, and develop your technical expertise in audit and financial reporting.
• Get hands‑on from day one, working with real data sets, selecting samples, gathering evidence from clients, and testing it to assess the real‑world impact of any errors on the business.
• Apply professional judgement to assess the policies and estimates clients adopt.
• Analyse financial statements and review internal controls, learning how companies manage money, risk and operations.
• Study for a relevant professional qualification (typically ACA, ICAS, CFAB, AAT, ACCA, CIMA or DTS) which will complement your technical knowledge, and prepare you for future career success.

Did you know: we are the market‑leader for Public Sector Audit, holding a 35% share of NHS Audits and partnering with over half of all UK councils. In addition to this, Audit was our strongest growing service line in 2025 with 11% revenue growth. Get to know our Head of Audit, Wendy Russell here

Who we're looking for

Our pathway moves fast. You'll be juggling the demands it brings, alongside an intensive professional qualification, so you'll need real drive and determination to keep pace and succeed. This is a distinctive pathway offering exceptional opportunities, but the work is demanding. We want people with the ambition to contribute to our high-performance culture, who see a real future with us beyond qualification, following the purple path. We're looking for people who bring:

• Commercial curiosity – genuine interest in our clients’ businesses and an eye for spotting opportunities to add value, from the start.
• A digital explorer’s mindset – curiosity for digital tools and data, and a drive to find smarter solutions early on.
• Adaptability – embracing change, asking good questions, and picking things up quickly when thrown in at the deep end.
• Strong problem‑solving skills – critical thinking, sound judgement, and attention to detail from your first live piece of work.
• Collaborative communication – listening well, adapting your approach, and building trust with clients and colleagues alike.
• A proactive approach to your career – taking ownership of your growth and seeking out opportunities rather than waiting for them to come to you.

We've got a flexible approach to academic entry requirements, and we'll consider these alongside your strengths and motivations. We're growing fast, and we want you to grow with us. With digital‑first innovation and a firm that's investing in its future leaders, this is your chance to shape what's next. Follow the purple path. It's the start of something bigger.

Our reward and benefits are designed to create an environment where our people can flourish. We are committed to building a culture where our people have access to the necessary benefits to help promote a healthy lifestyle and thrive. Besides a competitive salary, you'll receive our core benefits including:

• life assurance
• income protection
• private medical cover
• plus access to a range of voluntary benefits to choose from focused on health, family and wellbeing.

Our range of voluntary benefits allows to you to make choices that are right for you. Whether that’s a pension, making use of the shopping gateway for discounts, using the bike4work scheme, additional health benefits or accessing mortgage and financial advice, you can choose the benefits that work for you.

• pension
• shopping gateway for discounts
• bike4work scheme
• additional health benefits
• mortgage and financial advice

You are also able to choose when you take your bank holidays throughout the year. We want to support our people in celebrating holidays and occasions that are important to their religion, ethnicity, culture heritage or other parts of their identity and this is just one way we do this.