There’s so much opportunity within the business you don't have to go outside to progress.

Hitting the ground running – training with ifac’s Graduate Programme

I had the advantage of having worked with ifac before when I applied to the training programme. I joined the Tullamore office as an intern in the summer of 2016 and then again in 2017 during my final year of college. And then I just loved it so much that I came back, and I started the graduate programme then in 2017.

We went to Tipperary for our training, and it was great. We had our main trainers, Edel and Lorraine, but people from every department came down over the 4 weeks to help us get up-to-speed. The biggest benefit was getting to bounce off each other, learning in a very immersive way – and then you have a network across the country afterwards. I’d still be in contact with the other graduates from that year-group today! Some are in Cavan or Mayo but we still cross paths on different projects.

The biggest benefit was the open-door policy. I realised within the first couple of months that you can go to anyone in the office with any question and from then on, I knew this was going to be a great place to work.

There’s support in your office, anyone is always happy to help, but there’s also national support. The different departments will constantly offer training and make sure you’re up to speed on any new developments, make sure you understand.

You’re constantly growing

There was a lot of trust from day one. When I arrived in the Tullamore office, straight away I had my little portfolio of 15-20 clients – and they were mine, everything from preparing accounts to meeting with the clients – I wasn’t pigeon-holed. Now, my portfolio would be 200-250 clients but it was gradual at the start which was a great help.

When ifac launched their Corporate Finance services it was something I really found myself interested in, so when the opportunity came up for the team to grow it was great to have that avenue available to me. But even then, there's different roads; the tax department, financial planning, there are so many opportunities within the local office that I know you'd be working with different people, but it's all within ifac.

Making a difference in my community

Working in the local community makes a huge difference - local people in the local area, working for local businesses. I always feel any money that's saved would technically go back into the community, so, you're kind of working for the local economy really. But that's what I like about ifac - local people, local businesses.

Job satisfaction would come from the clients too. When you do something for them, particularly if it’s a unique solution, and they are satisfied with the job, it is worthwhile seeing that.