- What are some typical tasks & responsibilities for starters Accountancy?
Sylke: “As a starter, you get a variety of tasks to work on, allowing you to learn a lot on the way. For example, booking invoices, checking financial statements, building accountings of clients, making year-end corrections, reporting to your leadership and helping other team members where possible. Nobody expects you to do a perfect job from the get-go. And you’ll always receive constructive feedback and tips from more experienced colleagues.”
Joyce: “It’s a common misconception that starters only have to do operational tasks. At BDO, within the first month, you get the chance to come into contact with clients. We take starters directly on a journey to learn how to give advice, think together with clients and see the bigger picture. As a consultant accountancy, you really need to get to know the client, not only their financial statements but what they do and stand for.”
- Do you use a lot of skills in your job which you learned while studying?
Sylke: “During my Master’s degree in applied economics – accountancy, we focused a lot on the theory about accounting. And even though we discussed a lot of practical cases, it still remained abstract. Now I see that the theory doesn’t reflect how it’s done in the ‘real’ world. But within my job at BDO, I’m combining both theory with the practical side of accounting, which makes it so much more interesting and tangible.
There are certain skills you need, however, which I didn’t learn at school. In particular, creating analytical insights and trying to understand what certain numbers mean. On top of that, it’s super important to be able to communicate well: with other colleagues about what I’ve been doing, or dealing with feedback… Those kinds of things took me a few months to get used to, but I’m constantly getting better at all of them!”
Emma Lynn: “As you’re constantly dealing with other colleagues and clients, communication skills are very important indeed. Consultants should be able to give clear advice in an understandable way. Other skills you don’t really learn at school but are very useful for this job are motivation, a good work ethic and a positive attitude of course.”
- What are the most frequently asked questions by applicants for this function?
Emma Lynn: “Specifically about this job, I get asked how many junior consultants we are hiring and in general what they can expect from this job. But the main question I get asked is: why did I choose to work here, why BDO? So then I tell them about the flexibility of the company: you get more responsibility, learn a lot and create more impact along the way. The question of teleworking also often arises, especially since Covid. As a junior consultant accountancy, you get to switch between working at the office, at home or at a client. Which creates a good work-life balance with a focus on your wellbeing and on disconnecting.
Lastly, one of the most important questions for candidates, and rightfully so, are the growth opportunities as a consultant accounting and within BDO in general.”
- Can you tell us a bit more about how you can grow as a Junior consultant accountancy?
Emma Lynn: “There are a lot of ways to grow within BDO. Not only as a consultant accountancy or professionally but also concerning your personal development. With a lot of ambition, it can go pretty fast but nobody is pushed in a certain direction. Everyone can have their own tempo, nobody is expected to grow at a certain speed or to a certain level.”
Joyce: “To grow as a consultant accountancy, you should always be eager to learn and discover new things. If you want, you can learn something new every day, not one day is the same. Of course there’s also the possibility to get your official title as accountant from the ITAA (Institute for Tax Advisors & Accountants).
At BDO, it’s not mandatory to get this title. You get to deal with so many different topics, tools, clients and sectors, which makes your job a constant learning process by itself already. If you do want to take part in the ITAA exams, BDO will reimburse the costs for this of course.
Sylke: “The most important way for me to learn and grow is by asking things. Start by figuring something out for yourself. And if that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to ask your team how a certain tool works, what certain numbers mean… I think that’s the best way to boost your learning process and become a true expert in accounting!”
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