I began my journey in Financial Accounting and Advisory Services (FAAS) team after completing my Accounting and Finance degree and accepting an offer in the Grant Thornton Graduate programme 2021.
The FAAS team is made up of five different service lines that specialize in a wide variety of industries for large multi-national companies. Because of this, I found myself exposed to people and clients with varying backgrounds and experiences on a regular basis. On any given day, there are different projects and engagements occurring which allow trainees to gain exposure to areas they are most suited for and interested in.
Speaking to other members of the FAAS department, you often hear one group could be working on an audit for a tech firm while another are completing global compliance reports for a different set of multi-nationals and a separate automation project may be in progress to improve business processing for another client. I am currently assigned to help prepare and review financial statements for large investment funds domiciled in the US with exciting opportunities in the future to train and meet our clients abroad!
The exam support we receive is brilliant. Exam success is encouraged by all the extra material and lecturers that are provided by Grant Thornton as a whole and the ample amount of study leave that is available. I recently passed my CAP2 ACA exams thanks to the support of my managers and peers with-in the FAAS team. I’m now looking ahead to completing the FAEs next year.
The social aspect of the team is great fun with everyone being so approachable and friendly. We have a five-side football group that occurs weekly which consists of different level of staff from trainees, seniors and directors, which I enjoy part taking in to stay active and grow my relationships with my team outside of work. As a department, we have organised Sports and Social events every quarter, which consist of overnight away days, special dinners and team-building sports events. These events are a great opportunity to meet FAAS team member from across the offices in Ireland. There’s always something to look forward too with FAAS!
I am extremely happy to be a part of FAAS because of the variety of roles available with-in the team, the abundance of opportunities to progress and the friendly colleagues that make up the team.