From Summer Intern To Chartered Accountant

Colin McCrann joined Consilium Chartered Accountants as an intern. We sat down with Colin to find out what life is like for an intern at Consilium and how it shaped his career as a Chartered Accountant (CA).

Colin McCrann

Manager

Internships at Consilium Chartered Accountants…  

I got to the end of my degree in Physics and decided science wasn’t what I wanted to do in my career. So, I started looking at other options.

I started a 12-week internship at Consilium. The internship was a great way to try out accountancy and see if it was definitely for me. 

During my internship, I talked to other trainees, senior managers and partners, and built up my knowledge of the CA qualification and what it was like to work at the firm. 

Halfway through the internship, I was offered a training contract and I was more than ready to accept it.

The work done by interns at Consilium… 

An internship is a snapshot of what training for your CA qualification will be like. You aren’t there to do the teas and coffees! 

The approach is very much that interns are there to do real, practical work that they are going to learn from. The work you do as an intern is part of what someone who is a full-time member of staff would be doing.

You are doing work that is for clients and will contribute to their annual accounts, VAT returns or audits. It is real work and proper experience, which is how an internship should be.  

What’s the working culture like? 

It was a really positive experience for me. Right away you could sense the culture of the firm was really positive. It wasn’t the rigid, corporate workplace I expected but a relaxed and enjoyable place to work. 

Everyone is part of the same team and I didn’t feel like being there was an inconvenience to people which can sometimes be the case with internships. From trainees right up to the Partners, people took time to answer my questions. 

Colin on training to become a CA with Consilium… 

The team right up to Partner level were very supportive. Everyone is aware of the challenge you face and try to be as accommodating as possible to help you get that balance between work and study, and ultimately pass your exams. 

Consilium’s ethos is very much that managers and qualified colleagues are always available to help with questions or difficulties you might be facing in your training. Everyone is really approachable.   

Thinking about an accountancy internship?

If you are considering an internship with Consilium, definitely do it. There aren’t any downsides to it. It gives you a great insight into what it is like to work for Consilium; you get to know the staff, learn more about the profession and experience a working environment. 

Final thoughts…

For me, this career pathway was perfect. The fact I’m still here says a great deal. Many CA’s finish their training contract, especially within larger firms, and they leave immediately. 

That’s definitely not the case at Consilium and I’m really looking forward to the next stage of my career in Consilium’s Corporate Finance team.

Learn more about summer internship opportunities and Graduate training placements with Consilium.

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