In a nutshell
Join our ACA trainee programme and launch your career as a Chartered Accountant. This full-time, permanent role starts with three years of structured training and qualification support, offering hands-on experience, a salary, and a clear path to long-term growth. We’ll cover your training costs and support you every step of the way. As a certified Great Place to Work, we’re the perfect place to start your audit career.
What you'll be doing
As a trainee auditor, you’ll play a key role in helping businesses understand their financial position and manage risk. You\u2019ll work with a diverse portfolio of clients, including commercial businesses, from owner-managed to listed entities, charities, educational establishments, and professional firms.
You will:
* Develop technical, commercial and interpersonal skills
* Work in small project teams (typically 2-5 people) on audits lasting 1-3 weeks for medium sized and large businesses
* Identify key issues and risks, using analytics tools and software to interpret data, draw conclusions, and make recommendations
* Gain experience in preparing annual statutory accounts and tax calculations, and assessing forecasts and projections
* Be part of a high performing, supportive team
As you progress, you’ll take on more responsibility and have opportunities to make a real impact.
About you
You’ll enjoy this job if you like….
* Taking initiative and achieving goals
* Communicating effectively, both verbally and in writing
* Building strong relationships and working collaboratively
* Working with numbers and solving problems
* Being analytical and methodical in your approach
Studying alongside working is demanding. As an ACA trainee, you will need to dedicate time outside working hours for study and exam preparation. After the three-year training period, the next 1-2 years are key in consolidating your knowledge and leading more complex projects with the opportunity to move towards management.
Your development
We\u2019ll provide full support for your professional qualification and help you develop the skills and behaviours needed to succeed as a chartered accountant. Before you start, you\u2019ll be assigned a buddy, and once you join, your line manager and student counsellor will help you stay on track with your professional qualification and career goals.
What we're looking for
Bright, motivated graduates ready to build a meaningful career in accountancy. This programme offers structured development, early responsibility, and long-term progression.
Entry requirements:
* On track for, or have achieved, a 2.2 degree or above in any discipline
* Minimum of 112 UCAS points (obtained from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies and EPQ)
* GCSE Maths and English at grade 4-9 (C or above)
* Willingness to travel to client sites and other offices as required
Why work at PKF Francis Clark
As the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers inSouth WestEngland, PKF Francis Clarkoffersa breadth ofopportunities to develop your career inthewaythat’sright foryou.
Established in 1919,we’vegrown toa team ofnearly 1,000people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton,Torquayand Truro.Thismeanswe’rebig enoughtodochallengingworkfor excitingclients,but small enough tomaintainourfriendly and supportive culture.
We work hard to ensure you canbelong,be yourselfand bebrilliant aspart of a forward-thinking team.This includes a flexible approach to hybrid working. Andour focus on wellbeing and learning and development has been recognised nationally.
For the past three years, PKF Francis Clark has beencertified as a Great Place to Workand ranked amongthe UK’s Best Workplaces.In 2025, we climbed four places to 20 out of 100large organisations on this prestigiouslist.
We’realsointhe UK’stop 10BestWorkplaces for Women(6out of 100large organisations),aswellas being rankedamong theBestWorkplaces for Wellbeing (35 out of 100), Best Workplaces for Development (24 out of 100) and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services.
All theselistsare compiled by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work. Ourrankings area direct result offeedback from our people ina confidential, independentannual survey.
The success rates of our trainees meanwe’realso ranked 33rdinThe Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025.
Whilewe’reproudly independent, wecollaboratewith colleagues around the world to enable our clients to succeed.PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms 2 e2 0662 13202033 being part ofthisinternationalnetworkprovides opportunities toconnectwith like-minded accountants and business advisersin 150 countries.
Your core benefits will include
Financial benefits:
* Pension
* Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary
* Group income protection
* Health cash plan to help cover the costs of everyday healthcare
Health & Wellbeing benefits:
* Option to buy 5 extra days holiday*
* Counselling and support for you and your immediate family
* Virtual GP for you and your immediate family
* Cycle to work*
Other benefits:
* Medicash Extras providing you with shopping and gym discounts
* Gifts for career and family milestones
* One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
* Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation
How to apply
We review applications on a rolling basis, so apply early. We may close the vacancy once we’ve received enough applications. You can only submit one application per recruitment cycle, and we’re unable to accept multiple applications for different roles.
We’re committed to creating an inclusive and positive experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, whether related to a disability, neurodiversity, or any other need, please let us know, and we ’ll do our best to support you.
ClickAPPLY NOWto submit your application.
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