Gain a head start in your career and join our audit and assurance team on a 12-month Industrial Placement. You ll be provided with excellent training, alongside our first-year graduate trainees, to build on the knowledge and experiences you have already gained in the classroom. This will enable you to work across a variety of sectors, support a wide range of high-quality clients and build a great foundation for your future career in accountancy.
What you'll be doing
One thing we can guarantee is that no two days will be the same. Every client is different, so you ll be challenged with new opportunities daily. You ll be supporting high-quality clients, from start-ups, AIM-listed companies, and inspirational not-for-profit organisations.
In audit and assurance , you ll regularly visit clients premises. You ll be part of small project teams (typically 2-4 people) auditing a wide range of medium sized and large businesses, typically for one to two weeks at a time. This is a great way to learn and develop technical, commercial, and personal skills. You ll identify key issues and risks facing our client businesses each year and use data analytics tools as part of ensuring information reported is accurate and reliable. You ll also gain experience in preparing annual statutory accounts and tax calculations, as well as assessing forecasts and projections.
Our hybrid working enables you to split your time between the office, home, and client sites. Whilst on placement with us you ll attend the office frequently for formal training and on-the-job learning and with our caring and open culture you ll very quickly feel like a valued member of the team.
About You
You ll enjoy this opportunity if you like .
- Being analytical and methodical in your approach to work
- Working with numbers
- Solving problems
- Talking to people
- Becoming an expert
- Being a team player, surrounded by a fun and caring team
Your development
In support for you achieving the skills and behaviours required to be a successful accountant, you ll be trained alongside our first-year graduate intake and will work with our experienced professionals on real client projects.
At the end of your placement, if all goes well and you have demonstrated the skills and qualities to be a successful accountant, you may be offered a place on one of our three-year graduate apprenticeship programmes to become a Chartered Accountant (ACA) to gain the prestigious chartered status.
What we re looking for
You ll be:
- A second-year undergraduate university student on a four-year degree completing a work placement in your third year
- Predicted 2:2 degree in any discipline
- Minimum of 112 UCAS points (obtained from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies)
- GCSE Maths and English at grade 4/grade C or above
We recruit on a rolling basis for our opportunities and consider applications as we receive them. We recommend applying ASAP as we close roles early if we receive enough applications to fill all our opportunities.
Why work at PKF Francis Clark
As the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisors in South West England, joining PKF Francis Clark brings opportunities to develop your career in a direction that interests you.
Having celebrated our centenary in 2019, we re a team of nearly 1,000 people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton, Torquay and Truro.
Our culture is flexible and supportive, enabling you to be the best you can be. We work hard to ensure you can be yourself, develop and be part of a forward-thinking team that makes brilliant things happen. But don t just take our word for it.
PKF Francis Clark is certified as a Great Place to Work . In 2024, we climbed nine places to 24 out of 105 large organisations on the list of the UK s Best Workplaces .
We re also ranked among the UK s Best Workplaces for Women (33 out of 90 large organisations), Best Workplaces for Development (30 out of 100) and Best Workplace for Wellbeing (44 out of 100).
Workplace culture experts Great Place to Work also highlighted PKF Francis Clark as a top achiever among the UK s Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services .
And in recognition of our outstanding training programmes for graduates, school leavers and career changers, we ve been ranked among England s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for two years running.
Whilst we re proudly independent, PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms together we re the 12th largest provider of accountancy services in the UK. Being part of a global community of business advisors in 150 countries provides opportunities to expand your horizons by connecting with PKF colleagues around the world.
Your core benefits
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
• Bonuses for career and family milestones
• One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
• Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation
Please note
These benefits are provided via a salary exchange and are subject to employee s post exchange hourly rate remaining above the national minimum wage
What happens next
To apply for the 12 month Industrial Placement - August 2025 start role click the Apply now button below. It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete your application.
If you would like an informal chat about the role before applying then please contact Joe Mitchinson on: .
PKF Francis Clark is an Equal Opportunities employer with a strong and passionate commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We re dedicated to fostering a work environment that supports, inspires, and respects all individuals. We do not discriminate based upon age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or any other applicable legally protected characteristic.
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and all aspects of employment at PKF Francis Clark are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. We re committed to providing reasonable adjustments or accommodations for applicants, so if you need assistance or support during the recruitment process please let us know. We promise to reply to all applications.