ICAEW Higher Apprenticeships in Accountancy: Assurance/Audit or Tax

Achieve your ambitions, work in any industry, anywhere in the world by becoming an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with our higher apprenticeship programme.

If you don’t want to go to university, accountancy apprenticeships are a great way to get your career in accountancy, finance or business off the ground. Our Higher Apprenticeship will help you to kick-start your career while offering you an exciting alternative to university.

We offer Higher Apprenticeships in Assurance/Audit and Tax, which will develop your technical understanding of accounting theory while giving you relevant practical experience in the workplace at the same time. You will also work towards ICAEW’s Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (ICAEW CFAB); which is also the first six modules of our chartered accountancy qualification, the ACA. This means that once you have finished your Higher Apprenticeship, you’ll be eligible to progress onto the ACA qualification to become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

If you choose to continue onto the ACA, you will build on the skills and expertise you gained during your Higher Apprenticeship. Once qualified as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, you will have the technical ability and professional experience the business world demands, opening doors wherever your career takes you.

Lauren Burley, an Audit Trainee at BDO LLP, shares her story

I decided to do a Higher Apprenticeship because I knew that I didn’t want to go to university, yet I really wanted to continue learning and do something that would help me to achieve a career in finance.’

‘I chose the Higher Apprenticeship in Assurance/Audit because I wanted to get straight into a role in accountancy, and after considering the other options I really got a feel for a role in Audit. I liked the idea of getting out and about and working with different people almost on a weekly basis, whether it’s a client or a new audit team. I have always been independent, so earning a wage, whilst working for an outstanding company, and gaining a qualification, ICAEW’s Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (ICAEW CFAB), at the same time really appealed to me.’

‘Throughout my apprenticeship, I have most enjoyed working with a range of different companies and people. This has really developed my confidence and given me a broad understanding of the business environment. I have also enjoyed how social the office and working environment is. This has added to my enjoyment of the apprenticeship, especially as most of my friends followed the traditional university route. I don’t feel I am missing out on the social aspect of university life.’

‘The most interesting client I have worked with so far is a manufacturer of plane engines and ejector seats. It was really interesting to see them being made, and I also got to travel across the British Isles to work with this client. At one of the sites you could see the ejector seats being tested, which is something you definitely don’t see every day!’

Visit the ICAEW website for more information on ICAEW Higher Apprenticeships