SO DOOM AND CONFUSION persist. It seems that, three years after the first, we're on the brink of another banking crisis and I for one am worried about my Dad's pension (although he seems to be more worried about having enough beer money).

But there is at least one group of people for whom this time of year signifies a time of hope, expectation and the start of the next phase of their lives. They are of course all the new joiners to accountancy firms across the country.

Our own intakes started in September and our London office intake is due in next week. I've been rather involved in the recruitment this year, interviewing a number of candidates, which has proved to be a highly enjoyable experience (for me at least, I can't speak for them!). I also managed to volunteer myself to write a new case study for our national graduate recruitment, and also for our AAT joiners (more on these another time).

There are quite a number of people at our firm who have come through the second route and it has always been a popular means of entry, even in times when it was ‘less fashionable'.

In the past couple of years, and particularly this year, there has been a noticeable increase in the proportion of school leavers coming in, and personally I think it's an excellent opportunity for young people (or those looking for a career change) to enter the profession, particularly in this time of high student fees and the squeezed job market for graduates.

It's also good for the firm - after all, they get to train someone for 5 years, rather than three, which can often lead to a great level of technical proficiency and also makes staff resourcing slightly less of a headache in the longer term.

That said, it's not an easy route, and it takes a significant commitment from the entrant - which some school leavers aren't necessarily ready for. I actually have a healthy amount of respect for those who come in at this level, because I know that when I was leaving school there was no way I would have been able to shoulder the responsibility of full time work and study, being into more ‘frivolous' pursuits...

So to those thinking of entering the profession via the non-graduate route, I would say go for it - provided you're fully prepared for the challenge. And to those firms thinking of using it (and I've noticed some of the others have started doing so in earnest) I would also say go for it, but don't forget the graduates. A balance between the two seems to work best.

LAST TUESDAY afternoon one of our clients informed us that they were closing their office early, on police advice, and that we should all go home.

After a nervous walk to the tube station, all the while expecting to see an angry mob coming around the corner, I made it onto a Jubilee line train heading for home. Then the inevitable happened. The train was delayed, and at first no reason was given. So of course my imagination went into overdrive.

After a few days of hearing stories from friends and watching in fascinated horror the images on the news, seeing streets that I knew subject to a sea of human destruction, I was expecting the worst...

It turned out to be a signal failure. In fact, thankfully, the threatened violence in London didn't happen that Tuesday as we now know. It was a different story in other cities, and that night I watched the news as Manchester city centre, a place I know from having worked there recently and visited friends there, suffered from similar violence.

But now it seems that the troubles have abated, hopefully for good, and the clean up seems to have brought out the best in many people, including HMRC and the ACCA.

But what is really frustrating me now is the attitude of many in the aftermath, particularly in the media and in Westminster. All they seem to be interested in is assigning blame, with the poor police force at the top of their list.

Is it not a sad reflection on our current way of life that nothing can happen these days without someone being to blame? It's all around; in the various TV ads for personal accidents, or in the tag line for the Tonight programme that promises to find out who's to blame. We do seem to have become a blame culture.

Don't get me wrong, when someone is negligent or criminal then they should be held to account, no argument there, and I firmly believe that all those taking part in the riots are in this category.

But why is it that whenever anything goes wrong these days the focus is on whose fault it was and how they can be punished? Why can't we shift the focus? Instead of: 'Who's to blame and how can they be punished?' Why not consider 'What went wrong and how can we fix it?'

Why do we always require a scalp? Why does the boss always have to resign? Has nobody considered that in some cases said boss might be the ideal person to rectify a situation? Instead of always seeking to blame and punish should we not be seeking to turn adverse situations into opportunities for learning and development?

It's a case by case thing obviously, but I will say this: next time something goes wrong, someone makes a mistake, or things simply blow up in your face, don't let your first thoughts be about whose fault it was and who's going to get the blame.

Instead, focus on what happened, how it can be fixed and what can be done to avoid it in future. Think of it as an opportunity to learn and improve yourself, and those around you. I'm not saying there won't be occasions where someone really is at fault and deserves sanction, all I'm suggesting is, don't let it be your first thought.

Think about why it happened, how you can fix it and, even better, how you can gain from it.

Apologies if I'm being a bit preachy (to those who know me this will come as no surprise) but the current coverage in many parts of the media is really getting on my nerves...

SUNDAY NIGHT saw the conclusion of the epic battle that has held us captivated for some time now. No, not the golf (well done Darren!) but The Apprentice, although I must admit the final itself was a bit disappointing. There was no big task, just the typically painful interviews (and man were they painful in places), and although they were entertaining it did seem like a bit of an anti-climax.

That aside I must confess that, much as I enjoyed the grilling that each candidate suffered, I also felt a huge amount of sympathy for each of the finalists. It's very easy for a TV programme to show people choking on answers and being picked up on flaws in their work.

But, before you condemn them as idiots, take a step back and think about anytough job interview you've been in (especially one that's started to go a bit sour) or a piece of work you've done that a Manager, Teacher or Lecturer has torn to pieces despite your thinking it was a masterpiece... It happens to us all.

I can't help sharing Lord Sugar's disappointment in Helen's business plan. Her penultimate task (MyPy a pie shop/fast food hybrid) was a gift wrapped business idea, why didn't she go with that? Or is that perhaps a bit too cheeky? I don't know, but I would have given it a go, sometimes a bit of audacity is the way forward.

Hire 'em all

Perhaps the most disappointing thing was that they didn't all get hired. Was I the only one sat watching the telly and urging Lord Sugar to take them all on? Think about it, they're a bit like a business ‘A-team', each with their own strengths which would complement the others' weaknesses.

Tom is clearly the most creative but not brilliantly organised or focused. Susan is highly focused and also creative but perhaps naïve, lacking in ‘big picture' experience and some softer people skills.

Jim could sell any sandy cliché in whatever desert you chose and then charm the pants off it, but seems to rush in and lacks a plan. Helen is astoundingly organised and a real achiever but perhaps not dazzlingly creative.

Creative engine

Therefore you have Tom and Susan working together as your creative engine - one bringing the other back to earth - Jim as your sales output and helping Susan with her softer skills, and Helen sitting behind them all organising and pulling all the strings, keeping them on track and generally productive.

Perhaps working like that would also allow each to learn from the other and shore up their own weaker points. One final comment I would make is to say: don't judge any of the candidates too harshly (well except for one of them but I won't mention who....).

Anyone who has taken part in a leadership/team building course or challenge (I did one that involved CB radios and Lego, it was not easy) will understand that such tasks are far more challenging than they appear on the TV, or (having re-read that last sentence) sound when written in a blog.

ONE OF THE biggest challenges that accountancy firms have to deal with is finding the right people.

Now, with tuition fees going up (not going to get into whether it's right or wrong just now, I'm undecided - ideally education should be free, but then again why shouldn't those who benefit the most pay for it, I do) it looks like we'll be seeing fewer graduates in future.

Should we be worried?

There are some who would point out that there are many more applicants than jobs anyway, in fact the sheer numbers of applications at the moment make it harder (and more costly) for firms to unearth the best talent. Perhaps the higher fees will help ensure that only the best and most determined graduates are applying to be our future.

Others would say that if, as many fear, entire sections of society (notably the poorer ones) are excluded, we'll be missing out on a huge pool of talent and potential.

Furthermore instead of being swamped we'll be starved of suitable candidates, making it harder to find strong employees for the next generation (more cost).

Still more would share their concerns and point out that higher fees will push young people into work much sooner than perhaps they would like, bringing into question whether they have the maturity and perspective both to decide on what they really want to do and be able to perform effectively in the work place (even more cost).

Some may see gap years as a soft option, others (myself included - I have a personal bias) believe that in many cases they lead to much greater benefits in the future.

There's going to be plenty of well-intentioned parents out there pushing their kids into work, but if it's not for them they could be unintentionally wasting several years of their children's lives (and yes, adding to our costs).

What's my point? Well, as you may have guessed by my cunning subtlety, I think there's a decent possibility that it could cost us money. And let's face it, we're accountants, we don't like that sort of thing.

So what are firms going to do to secure the right people for the future?

One increasingly popular strategy is spotting talent and building relationships earlier; this helps firms find the right people and start equipping their recruits with the skills required from an early stage. A number of firms now offer degree courses with work placements; not just the Big Four but mid-tier firms are now exploring this option too. But it can be an expensive option, especially for smaller firms.

So now it seems it's time to go back to school. Firms are now starting to recognise the benefits of building a relationship at the earliest stage.

I know that recently here we've been running the PKF Experience, where we've been building relationships with local schools and inviting pupils in to gain work experience, and also learn a bit about professional life and some career skills.

Working with schools also has the added benefit of being able to promote non-graduate routes, such as the AAT course, as a viable alternative to university. Because of the fears over university fees, this is proving an increasingly popular option, with both students and firms - our own intake has greatly increased in the past few years.

Traditionally, university campuses have been the battle ground of recruiting firms, but as the impact of tuition fees is felt there are many who expect to see this shifting to the school yard, and I think I'm one of them.

I KNOW THIS is supposed to be an accountancy blog and not a football blog but I can't help myself this time - sorry. I was planning to use my next blog to enter into the student fees debate (definitely accountancy-related, think of the number of graduates you work with), but that can wait for another day.

Instead, I am sitting here late on a Monday night, watching as one of the biggest transfers in footballing history takes place (in the full knowledge that events might change and make this totally irrelevant by the time it's published, and that Robert Peston has beaten me to it).

No, Man Utd haven't put in a bid for Lionel Messi (c'mon Sir Alex you know you want to...), but American Billionaire Stan Kroenke is dipping into his not inconsiderable bank account and making a bid for Arsenal football club, valuing it at the best part of £900m. The last of the ‘Big Four', (see, an accountancy analogy) not to be owned by a private investor.

Now, nine hundred million quid is a fair amount of money for a company whose main business is eleven blokes kicking a ball around a nice bit of grass. But obviously these days football clubs are much, much more. They're big business, and Mr Kroenke is bidding for one of the biggest.

Putting my accounting hat on and forgetting my football hat for a second; Arsenal (much as I hate to admit it) do seem to be one of the best run clubs around. Last year they posted a PBT of c£46m, albeit in no small part thanks to the sale of property developments, but bear in mind they still had another 210 properties to sell. Mind you if they had any sense they'd rent them out (try finding a decent flat to rent in London at the moment, they're like gold dust).

They have a very shrewd business mind in Arsene Wenger, who's turned the club into a factory producing assets worth many times more their initial cost (another analogy, see definitely an accountancy link there), Cesc Fabregas will likely turn a profit of c£30m-£40m when he's sold. They are also in the enviable position of having a stadium full to capacity week in, week out; the basic rules of supply and demand teach us that this means they can earn even more money by putting their prices up (and although an immediate price rise wouldn't be wise for a new owner, I'm willing to bet it happens in the near future). They're one of the few clubs that will find it relatively easy to comply with the new ‘financial fair play rules', which will hopefully go some way towards making owners run clubs like the modern businesses they should be.

They don't seem to have managed to exploit the international markets with the same success of other clubs (travel around South East Asia, you'll see more Man Utd shirts than at an FA Cup semi-final), but I'm willing to bet Stan has a plan for this, and his connections in the US mean he's well placed to exploit that market.

On the face of it he's paying a lot of money for his investment. I'm not going to sit and do a maintainable earnings calculation, but even a quick mental calculation puts the PE rather higher than your usual sports/leisure type of company. And there's an argument that the organisation is overly reliant on a key individual (Mr Wenger - much as I should hate him for being a moaner I can't help but think he'd make a good CEO).

But it's a company with a sound infrastructure, a strong and growing brand and apparently plenty more potential for growth in the future. And that's how Mr Kroenke's probably looking at it, for all his statements about the fans and history of the club. And to be honest I can't blame him.

Of course he has to get past Mr Usmanov first so this could get really juicy...

I'M A Man Utd fan, so it's fair to say my week didn't get off to a great start. But that said it could be worse. If I were a Plymouth Argyle fan I'd be facing the very real prospect of losing my club.

There are plenty of people out there who couldn't care less, they're probably sick to death of hearing about football, but for many others it is a very important part of their lives. In the words of Bill Shankly: "Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."

I'm also an accountant (obviously otherwise I wouldn't be writing here), so when the two collide I find it fascinating. Obviously it's too big a subject to tackle in a single blog, Accountancy Age has a whole section dedicated to it, but I thought I'd share a couple of musings. After all football club finances have been increasingly under the spotlight in recent times, with a seemingly increasing number of clubs falling on hard times and going into administration.

Often it's HMRC who push for the order, tired of not being paid their dues. But I don't see them as the ‘bad guys', after all they just want what's due to them, and in many cases they've shown considerable patience in the past.

One group of people I really feel sorry for (apart from the fans obviously) are the FDs and FCs of the clubs. Think about it; these people can be in an impossible position. A team that's relegated (which is often either the trigger for administration, or triggered by the administration) faces the prospect of its revenue disappearing practically overnight (TV money, diminished gate receipts, less merchandising etc. - it all takes a hit).

How on earth are they expected to budget for that?

They've got pressure from all around to pay a wage bill that can be c80% or more of their total income in the year, and find a couple of million to pay bonuses to people just to turn up to work?

Not a position I envy (although I'd be up for the challenge if Man Utd are hiring). As an accountant ‘prudence' should be my middle name, but as a fan I dream of Sir Alex going on a £100m spending spree in the summer; pity the FD who has to reconcile these polar opposites.

The other thing that I really can't understand is the system of deducting points from a team in administration. OK, so initially it was supposed to be a deterrent (it's not working, guys), but in actual fact all it seems to be is a metaphorical kick in an uncomfortable place when they're already down. Often it dooms the club to a lower league and even greater financial difficulties, not to mention scaring off potential rescuers.

This rule really needs to go because, as much as it's a cliché, the people who really suffer when a club goes under for good are the fans (and the poor support staff who all lose their jobs and never get a mention), and it's ultimately self defeating.

As I said, it's much too great a topic to cover in one little blog, so hopefully I'll get the chance to explore some ideas in future blogs (once the ‘busy' season turns into the ‘not quite as busy' season that is - the auditors out there will understand me).

FIRST OFF a rather belated Happy New Year to one and all. I've been meaning to post for ages but a combination of Christmas, Swine Flu and coming back to a veritable mountain of work after the holiday has managed to keep me thoroughly distracted up until now (the mountain's still there, in fact it seems to be growing, I've just decided that it can look after itself for a little while).

For my first blog of the New Year I considered having a look back at 2010, but then I figured it wasn't the best year and that would only depress people, especially if you're an English football fan.

Instead I decided to write a rather witty (well I thought so) piece about the taxation of Romanian witches, but then the Romanian senate backed down, presumably in fear of being cursed (curses apparently being a more effective means of protest than throwing fire extinguishers). So that put paid to that, shame really as I had a rather nice joke about ‘Customs and Hexcise' lined up.

So therefore I'm going to have to bore you with a bit of self congratulation.

You see last week I finally qualified (Tuesday to be exact). So despite this supposedly being the most depressing time of year, and a colossal pile of work on my desk, I'm feeling rather good about life at the moment! Although I did realise that if I put all the letters after my name together it spells ‘stupid' in Japanese...

Anyway in an effort to spread a bit of my happiness around (and let's face it a bit of joy wouldn't go amiss at the moment) I'm going to suggest that everyone take up the BBC's ‘Happiness challenge'.

Basically all you have to do is:

Ten minutes of ‘daily mindfulness meditation' (basically sit down and think for ten minutes);
Express some gratitude to someone everyday (never hurts to say thank you); and
Perform 3 daily acts of kindness (I'd consider three a minimum)

Apparently if you follow these simple steps then you're on the path to happiness and contentment. That said I've just found out I'm getting kicked out of my flat (not my fault honest) so if the above fails I might hire a Romanian witch.

The news is full of economic doom and gloom these days, especially if you're a graduate or school leaver looking to get into work for the first time, and with the spending axe being sharpened to a diamond edge, ready to hack and slash its way through the nation's finances, it's probably not going to get any easier in the short term.

Therefore I thought I'd share a few pearls of wisdom (well rough pebbles) on how to get yourself ahead of the, ever increasing, pack when it comes to getting yourself through the accountancy door. To do this I've asked the people who make the hiring decisions for their input, so it comes from the horse's mouth.

One: get some (sector specific) work experience; the value of this really cannot be overstated. Not only will you have an insight on what it's really like in the sexy world of accountancy, you'll be able to show you've developed the beginnings of a work ethic, you'll have a much better knowledge of what the job's all about and you'll hopefully develop some extremely useful contacts within a firm that you can exploit at a later date for advice and a helping hand. Perhaps most importantly, if you make a good impression at the firm, you've put yourself way ahead of all the other applicants who no one at the firm has ever met, been bought a drink by or trusted with a piece of real work. It is also the easiest way of following all my other advice in one go!