A FIRM of accountants has taken on a raft of new trainees and graduates and is on the lookout for more.

Twenty seven accounting trainees and graduates have taken up their roles at Armstrong Watson and the firm is looking for almost 30 more as it continues its commitment to investing in young people.

Among the new starters are 11 AAT students and one ATT apprenticeship student, in addition to 15 ACA graduates who started throughout the summer to work towards becoming chartered accountants.

The successful AAT/ATT candidates were carefully selected from a record number of 236 applications received for the positions available.

Based in Leeds, Skipton and Carlisle, they will join the accounting and tax compliance teams and will receive hands-on experience alongside classroom study as they work towards their qualifications.

Richard Andrew, partner and head of accounting, said: “We’ve continued to invest in our training programme throughout the pandemic and develop talented accountants of the future. I’m so proud of the training, support and development our trainees receive from our dedicated training manager Karen Blaylock.

“I truly believe our programme and the experience our trainees receive is unrivalled in the sector and I look forward to seeing this year’s intake develop over the coming years.”

The firm is now also on the lookout for its 2022 intake of ACA Trainee Chartered Accountants and AAT/ ATT apprenticeship students.

There are a total of 13 AAT positions available across offices in Leeds, Carlisle and Glasgow, and a further two ATT positions in Carlisle. Meanwhile, Armstrong Watson is looking for 14 graduates to join its audit and assurance team on the ACA training programme.

Paul Dickson, chief executive officer and managing partner, said: “We have a long history of growing our own talent and strongly believe in investing in our people as our people are our business, providing solutions to our clients.

"We invest in ambitious individuals who are keen to launch their careers and take advantage of the development we offer. With 17 offices across the North of England and Scotland and several different service lines supporting our clients, there’s a huge range of scope for career direction and development available to those who choose to join us on this exciting journey.”

For more information about the ACA applications process, visit www.armstrongwatson.co.uk. The closing date for applications is January 2. Applicants are asked to apply for a position at just one location, though multiple are advertised. To apply for the AAT/ATT positions, visit www.armstrongwatson.co.uk/careers/school-and-college-leavers.