Meet Ellis

Ellis has worked with PKF Francis Clark for the past four and a half years and is now an ACA Qualified Audit Senior based in our Poole office.

I looked at moving away to London for Uni and then again to get a graduate job, but I’d grown up in Bournemouth and didn’t want to leave my family, friends and the sea.

I worked for SuperDry in Bournemouth while at college and university as a way to earn money whilst studying. I knew I didn’t want to stay in retail and I was struggling to find something that appealed to me. Then I saw an advert for the accounting graduate scheme at PKF Francis Clark based nearby in Poole.

I wasn’t sure that accountancy was quite the right career for me, mainly because of the stereotypes that surround it. I have been with PKF Francis Clark for four years now and I love it. The best part of my job is working with the team and meeting new clients. I didn’t think I would fit the mould of an accountant, but at PKF Francis Clark I have found I can really be myself. Just because it’s a serious profession doesn’t mean you can’t get on with people around you and enjoy yourself.

I admit that when I came into audit I had an expectation that it would be a lot of mundane spreadsheet work. I was wrong. Sure, spreadsheets do play a part, but I soon realised audit is so much more than that. I’m using critical thinking and problem-solving skills to identify and assess risks, to developing and implementing audit procedures. No day is the same as the one before.

The opportunity of getting to work on a wide range of clients in a variety of industries, keeps my work fresh and challenging. And my team is great, we’ve got a real mix of people so we can always approach problems from different angles.

I am now a qualified accountant and I’m really excited to continue my progression in the firm.

More about our graduate accounting jobs

You can apply for our graduate accounting jobs whether you’re a recent graduate or you graduated years ago. We regularly have career changers join us as trainee graduate accountants, for example from roles in teaching, hospitality, management and the military.

With our ACA accounting apprenticeships you can become a brilliant Chartered Accountant (ACA). Much like Ellis, ACA apprenticeships are open to graduates with any degree. You’ll earn while you learn, working whilst studying, and we’ll support you all the way.

PKF Francis Clark are officially recognised as a Great Place to Work. The certification by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work follows a confidential survey covering all aspects of employees’ experiences. To find out more, head to our careers website: Accounting jobs – Careers at PKF Francis Clark

More about out Poole team…

Our Poole team offer full range of services for clients including audit, accountancy, company secretarial services, tax, VAT, payroll, corporate finance and financial planning. This breadth of service enables us to we work with some amazing clients!

Our people are fantastic and everyone here is extremely approachable and friendly. We keep everyone connected, with one-to-one’s, team meetings, all-office monthly comms, a quarterly employee survey, and twice yearly roadshows about our upcoming strategic priorities. We welcome and listen to feedback and act on it to make this a great place to work.

We recognise our role as a business within our community. We have a range of health and wellbeing initiatives, and a ‘green team’ focused on minimising our local environmental impact. Every team member can spend a day volunteering in their local community for a cause that matters to them. It can be anything but often people choose to go out and do a beach clean together.

We’re a really friendly team and we enjoy socialising together. Our recent events have included a boat trip around Poole Harbour with fish and chip supper and fireworks, meals out, and evenings of crazy golf and bowling.

Our vision is one of shared ambition with our clients. If you join us you’ll find that we’re ambitious for you. We believe that enabling our people to be successful is the key to delighting our clients.

And our neighbours in Southampton…