Trainee Profile - Laura Shaw
Laura Shaw
Trainee Accountant
- What qualifications did you have on leaving university?
- Why did you decide to apply for our Trainee Accountant position?
- What trainee qualification are you now studying for?
- How are you enjoying your work at Bracknell Forest?
- What would you advice other trainees wishing to take up a traineeship?
What qualifications did you have on leaving university?
I finished university in June 2007. I studied a 3 year BA(Hons) in Business Management at Solent University in Southampton. Following my graduation I had a couple of temping placements within Eastleigh Borough Council HR team and then at the NHS in the Commissioning department.
Why did you decide to apply for our Trainee Accountant position?
I found the vacancy on the jobsgopublic website. However, since school I always loved working with maths and numbers as I like the way that figures are either right or wrong and there is no grey area. Although I can talk for Britain! subjects such as English were never a favourite of mine. Consequently, during my degree I decided I wanted to go into Accounting and so opted for the accounting units.
What trainee qualification are you now studying for?
Bracknell Forest Council is paying for me to study a CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) qualification for 3 years. I attend CETC college in Borough, London 2 days a week. The course content contains subjects such as financial accounting, management accounting and financial reporting. The course so far has been 100% exams and I’ve had no essays.
The advantage of doing the CIPFA qualification is that it is recognised in both public and private sectors, unlike the ACCA or CIMA qualifications where you can only work in the private sector.
The fact that my employer is paying for me to take the course motivates me to keep going as I realise I am not just doing it for myself but for the team as well.
How are you enjoying your work at Bracknell Forest?
I like the fact that I have the opportunity to move around the different finance departments of the Council. So far I have been working within the Corporate Services finance team and have moved around the different sections. For example, in the Treasury management team I worked on cashflow; in the Internal Audit team I updated the Corporate Induction Governance Guidance leaflet and was involved in the Overview and Scrutiny Report; in Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable I have been logging/scanning and sending out invoices. I have also worked on data entry and data analysis. I am therefore seeing all the different roles that the finance team deal with.
All of this means that I experience how finance works in all the different areas. At first it felt like a sink or swim situation as I was taken out of my comfort zone. However, now I see that it is actually helping me put into practice what I am learning at college and I seem to be learning more efficiently and effectively.
What would you advice other trainees wishing to take up a traineeship?
I have struggled to remember that I am a trainee and that I am still learning. Therefore my advice would be don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get something right, you’re a trainee and not expected to know everything - that’s the whole point of a traineeship!
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