Crunch launches on-site accountancy academy

BRIGHTON-BASED online-only accountancy firm Crunch has formally opened its own on-site, in-house academy in which it will develop its own talent.

The AAT-approved programme will see trainees given both classroom and on-the-job training before progressing to work with live client data.

Eight recruits have been taken on for its inaugural year, but in a Best Practice profile in February, managing director Darren Fell (pictured) said as many as 12 could be brought in in future years.

Within three months, the students could have passed through a number of modules and find themselves on a ‘pod’ – Crunch’s name for their eight-strong teams of staff. The firm has grown rapidly in its five years and recently won its 5,000th client.

Crunch Accountancy training manager Laura Hughes, who is running the new programme, said: “By providing the training on-site at Crunch, we can offer a much more flexible and modern programme. Our apprentices will not only be learning accounting, but also communication, software and marketing skills. They’ll learn how startups and freelancers work, and how best to support these new businesses.”