Christopher John Alan Wilding
Organisation: Business Sense
“Overall, the experience was positive, the tasks allocated to me were relevant and appropriate in helping me learn more about the real life completion of accounts."
Chris Wilding who is currently studying for a Business Economics Degree at Swansea University completed a Work Taster at Business Sense in Swansea last year. During the experience Chris gained an insight into the day to day operations of a small accountancy practice;
“Working at Business Sense provided me with a lot of opportunities given the diverse amount of services and products they offer. Day-to-day, I would typically help audit small and local businesses, this would mean totalling revenue and expenses, reconciling bank statements and working with current tax law alongside HRMC to help businesses minimise their tax liability.”
“Overall, the experience was positive, not only were the tasks allocated to me relevant and appropriate in helping me learn more about the real life completion of accounts. All the staff were very friendly, the owners would regularly speak to me throughout the day and ask me specifically if there was anything I wanted to know or learn about. If there were any tasks I didn’t enjoy so much I would ask to try something different and it was never a problem.”
Thanks to the experience he gained Chris has been able to make some important decisions about his future career and the aspects of accounting he prefers;
“Personally for me, it certainly has not changed my mind about becoming an accountant. Having been allowed the privilege to work in so many different areas of accounting during my taster, there are areas which I did enjoy more than others. I have decided that I enjoyed working within Tax minimisation and HMRC rather than management accounts with sage software.”
“In an increasingly tougher job market, employers are looking more and more for individuals who stand out and have gone beyond their academic achievements, although it does sound very cliché and you may hear it a lot from graduate recruiters, it is critical that you show that by having relevant work experience you have learnt and applied the skills and core competencies that are needed in the potential role you are applying for.”
