Big Four beaten as other trainees rank other practices highly
Firms outside of the Big Four compete with them on sentiment among trainee members, according to new survey
SEVERAL PRACTICES have scored highly when compared to the Big Four as top employers, according to All About School Leavers.
Smith & Williamson was ranked first, with Mazars second, in the survey which asked trainee members of staff for feedback on accounting and professional services firms. EY was the highest ranked Big Four firm, in third place.
Other high-ranking firms outside the Big Four include MHA MacIntyre Hudson, RSM, and Grant Thornton. PwC is ranked sixth.
“Developing trainees is at the heart of what we do,” said Rakesh Shaunak, chairman of MHA MacIntyre Hudson.
“Around a third of our people, excluding partners, are being developed in their roles, and in the course of the last year, we have taken on our largest ever intake of students, this having grown from 30 to 70 in eight years.”
Amber Westmoreland of EY won the School or College Leaver of the Year award. “It’s really exciting to win an award – I definitely made the right career choice. I chose the school leaver route because I didn’t want to go to university when I left college.
“When I found out there was a route to get a professional job – one that I would have thought you’d need a degree for – without having to go to university, I jumped at it.”