The Accountancy Practice sector in Scotland has long held a strong reputation for quality in professional training and the delivery of audit, tax and advisory services to the business and not-for-profit communities.

In addition to the presence of Big 4 and Top 10 national firms in the region, Scotland has a highly successful independent accountancy firm cohort offering a similar infrastructure and quality of delivery to rival these well-known names.  Supporting the PLC community, high growth international businesses, and budding entrepreneurs, a career in the accountancy profession can offer a varied and technically stimulating role with lucrative career prospects.

Scotland’s Top 30 firms account for over 10,000 qualified employees across our major towns and cities. As we move ahead from the financial downturn, some obvious gaps have emerged in terms of talent and succession planning in the accountancy profession due to a reduction in the intake of graduate trainees between 2010 and 2013.

In particular, we are seeing a high demand for next generation Partners, especially in Assurance and Tax, where a retiring population of experienced Partners will leave a gap in leadership expertise in the near future. In addition to strong technical skills, we see sales and stakeholder management capability as being key attributes for a successful career in the accountancy profession of the future.