Partner Sinead Donovan talks about the support offered to Trainees.

Being a partner in Grant Thornton is so much more than just doing my client work. Whilst this is the cornerstone for me, the firm and my fellow partners are clear that to be a complete professional you need to be rounded in how you act in our professional community.

This means that the firm not only are supportive but indeed encourage us all to get involved in:

  • team management and development;
  • representative roles in industry and the profession; and
  • representative roles in the wider community.

How we as partners, directors, managers, staff or trainees choose to embrace this is up to ourselves.

For me, this means I am able to give time to training the accountants of tomorrow. 

  • I do this by; sitting on the firms Exam Success Committee. This is a partner group who ensure that we have in place the required support for all staff who may be sitting exams – so that we enable our people to achieve their top results.
  • I do this by; acting as training partner for the FAAS team, ensuring that our 45 trainees in the team are supported, mentored and guided in their on the job training.
  • I do this by; sitting on the Board of Accounting Technicians Ireland and ensuring that the firm has a voice at the table of one of the best entry routes to the profession 
  • I do this by; being on the officer group of the Institute of Chartered Accoutants in Ireland where I can ensure that the syllabi in the most prominent of accounting qualifications is relevant to the accountant of today and that I bring that knowledge to the trainees in the firm. 

The accountant of today is vastly different to the accountant of 10 years ago. The profession is vastly wide and offers a huge array of experiences to trainees such as forensic accountancy, consultancy, cyber, assurance, change management etc…

This diversity of work means we need a diverse population of trainees and we welcome and applaud different styles, personalities and views.  

At Grant Thornton we truly believe in bringing your whole self to work and the profession and the firm is definitely welcoming and desires a diverse body of trainees.