Your future as a successful accountant starts today.

WHO WE ARE

WHATWE DO

WHYCHOOSE CHAMPION?

Champion Accountants is one of the UK’s leading accountancy groups. We have four practices spanning the North West, in Manchester, Preston, Blackpool and Chester, and our trainee opportunities cover all these locations.

We’ve an experienced team of more than 100 accountants, tax advisors, business growth specialists and more. In fact, many of our managers and partners have been with us since they were trainees themselves, with our focus on nurturing talent helping our team members to build exciting careers with us.

We are the trusted advisors to a growing portfolio of individuals and businesses spanning a number of sectors, including sport, manufacturing, legal, education, not-for-profit, property, retail and more. We deliver excellent service by helping our clients to realise and reach their full potential.

No two days at Champion Accountants are ever the same, with every client being different and the service they receive unique to them.

We give our trainees the opportunity to start a fulfilling and rewarding finance career and embark on a path to becoming a fully qualified accountant. Our trainee programme helps A Level students, or equivalent, to achieve their full potential, within an accountancy group that’s both supportive and progressive throughout all stages of your career.

The role of an accountant is far greater than just the numbers, with many of our trainees now the trusted advisors to some of the UK’s most exciting businesses, helping to make a real difference to what they do.

careers@championgroup.co.uk www.championgroup.co.uk 0161 703 2500

Our trainees of today are our managers of tomorrow. Every year we recruit A Level students, or equivalent, into our training programme, which is one of the most successful in the areas where we operate. We are an ACCA Platinum approved employer, we work closely with the ACCA to make sure we meet, and exceed, their high standards set for staff training and development.

We look for people who have a strong academic background combined with the desire to start a career in accountancy, and in return, we provide you with an excellent training package, a wealth of progression opportunities and a number of other benefits.

Accountancy is also so much more than just maths and whilst we look for trainees who have a keen interest in maths, finance, business or similar, we also seek out people who are confident, motivated, a team player and can solve problems.

You’ll learn new skills every day whilst on the job, helping you to gain real world experience and put your study into practice. You will also attend college to gain industry recognised qualifications on an evening study basis during your AAT programme and receive 20 days study leave throughout your ACCA study programme.

Unlike university routes, we will pay for your study programmes, worth more than £16,000, and we’ll also provide you with a competitive salary (compared to the industry average), while you learn.

So many young people leave university with thousands of pounds of student debt and no industry experience. To become an accountant, a degree doesn’t allow you to reach qualified accountant status immediately. Whilst there are some exemptions, even university graduates must then go on to study many of the same modules and take the same exams as our trainees.

As a Champion trainee, you will also have 3-4 years’ industry experience under your belt, compared to those who attended university, which is required to sign off as a fully qualified accountant, meaning you will also be a big step ahead than those who have only studied accounting in books.

We do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Our above vision statement underpins everything we do, from the service we provide to our clients, to how we look after our team members.

Our people are our biggest asset and whilst lots of businesses may say that, at Champion Accountants it rings true. Attracting, developing and retaining great people is part of our ongoing success and we pride ourselves in the way that we look after our team members.

At Champion Accountants, you’ll be part of a professional, friendly and fun team. As soon as you join, you’ll be working directly with clients to ensure you are a highly valued member of our team and also start to build your own professional relationships.

With our backing and support, you will grow and develop into a trusted advisor to our clients. We nurture talent at all levels, as your personal and professional development is always our priority. In return, we look for commitment and motivated trainees who want to be part of a successful business and share our vision and values.

An exciting accountancy career is only a click away.Trainee success stories“I went to St John Rigby College in Wigan to study accountancy, yet was always itching to get out there into the world of work, which was when my tutor suggested I consider an apprenticeship.

“I first worked in Manchester Metropolitan University’s finance department as an accounting apprentice where I studied for my AAT qualification. Whilst I was able to move around into different departments, which gave me some good exposure, it just wasn’t fast paced enough for me so I looked to get out of the public sector and into practice.

“I joined Champion as an audit & accounts semi senior and from day one, instantly hit the ground running. I’ve achieved fully qualified ACCA status and I’ve been encouraged to take advantage of the wealth of training and progression opportunities available within the group. I’ve since moved over to management accounts and within two years of qualifying I now manage a growing team, a growing client base and report directly to our group managing partner.

“At 18, it’s difficult to understand what opportunities are out there, which is why I believe that a lot of people are attracted to university. Unfortunately, the university route isn’t all it’s painted out to be as I know plenty of friends who have graduated and struggled to find a job in their field of study.

“Some young people are put off because of what they think a ‘traditional accountant’ is like, but the modern accountant is much more than just a number cruncher and instead a trusted advisor. The majority of my role involves me actively working with my clients to assist them with making informed strategic decisions, in order to grow their business. Champion has encouraged me to be decisive, trust my instincts and pushed me to progress and without that, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.”Brittany Jackson, former trainee now turned client manager

“I was pushed into the university route by my school so went to the University of Chester to study Sports Science as I’d always been interested in fitness and sport. Yet it wasn’t long before I threw in the towel and focused instead on gaining a career.

“A friend of mine was already working at Champion as a junior tax advisor, which is how I heard about the trainee programme. I didn’t study Maths at A Level and wasn’t particularly fond of it at school, so it’s almost ironic how I fell into this path.

“You can be taught the required maths and accountancy skills but what really underpins what I do is having confidence, working as an effective team member and having good problem solving skills, so that I can make a real difference to my clients and add value to them and their businesses. I’d advise all young people who are applying to our trainee programme to practice their interview techniques so they can really shine, as a successful accountant must be a good all-rounder.” Nathan Jones, former trainee now turned client manager

Apply today.To apply for a trainee accountant position in one of our four offices in Manchester, Chester, Preston or Blackpool, please email a copy of your CV and a covering letter to careers@championgroup.co.uk.

For more information, contact:

careers@championgroup.co.uk

0161 703 2500

www.championgroup.co.uk

Manchester1 Worsley CourtHigh StreetWorsleyManchesterM28 3NJ

Chester2nd FloorRefuge House33-37 Watergate RowChesterCH1 2LE

Preston4 Nile Close Nelson Court Business Centre Riversway Preston PR2 2XU

BlackpoolUnit 2 Olympic Court Boardmans Way Whitehills Business Park Blackpool FY4 5GU

@ChampionAccount www.championgroup.co.uk

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