Graduate Tax Trainee - December 2025 Start

PKF Francis Clark

  • Poole, Dorset
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 21 hours ago
In a nutshellYou'll join our three-year training programme to become a Tax Advisor (ATT/CTA). You’ll earn while you learn, gaining practical experience while studying towards your qualification. We cover the full cost of your training and exams, and our dedicated support will guide you every step of the way. We are ranked in the Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list 2025, making this a brilliant place to embark on your accountancy career.What you'll be doingAs a member of the private client team, you will be part of a team who develop close working relationships with the high-net-worth individuals they help navigate through their complex tax affairs. This ranges from income tax planning, to dealing with complex capital disposals, and helping families plan for succession.You will be supported to achieve the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) and the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualifications via an apprenticeship. This combination is the gold standard of quality for tax professionals.You’ll work alongside other departments providing the specialist in-depth advice required for the ever-increasing complexity of tax law. Tax is pivotal to so much accountancy work, so you’ll learn to interpret complex legislation and deliver solutions in a way that clients understand.You’ll be preparing profit and loss statements and tax returns, creating new accounting processes for companies, analysing financial information to find efficiencies, and saving. Our tax teams enjoy diverse and varied roles providing tailored tax planning and advice to clients ranging from large corporate companies to family businesses and individuals.About youYou’ll enjoy this job if you like….
  • Research and want to hone your investigation skills
  • Working with numbers
  • Being analytical and methodical in your approach to work
  • Talking to people
  • Becoming an expert
  • Being a team player, surrounded by a fun and caring team
Studying alongside working is demanding. As a trainee tax advisor, you’ll need to do regular independent study outside of working hours and to revise for your professional exams. It takes three years to qualify as a tax advisor, by which time you may be managing your own clients or leading a small team. Your development won’t stop once you’ve qualified. We’ve also got a set of programmes to take you to manager roles and beyond.Your developmentWe recognise that personal development training is essential in helping you to become a trusted business adviser, so you will receive support and learning not only for your professional qualification but also towards the skills and behaviours that are required to be a successful accountant. You will be allocated a buddy before you start with us. When you join us you will have a line manager and a student counsellor who will help ensure that you are on track with your professional qualification and career aspirations.What we're looking forYou might be an undergraduate, a recent graduate, or a graduate who has already established a career and wants to switch and start a new career in accountancy. You’ll be expected to demonstrate the following:
  • On track to achieve or have obtained a 2.2 or above in any degree discipline
  • Minimum of 112 UCAS points (obtained from three A Levels or equivalent excluding general studies)
  • Grade 4-9 or C or above in GCSE Maths and English
We recommend applying ASAP as we will be running a virtual assessment centre for this position in the Autumn for a December 2025 start date.Why work at PKF Francis ClarkAs the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers in South West England, PKF Francis Clark offers a breadth of opportunities to develop your career in the way that’s right for you.Established in 1919, we’ve grown to a team of nearly 1,000 people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton, Torquay and Truro. This means we’re big enough to do challenging work for exciting clients, but small enough to maintain our friendly and supportive culture.We work hard to ensure you can belong, be yourself and be brilliant as part of a forward-thinking team. This includes a flexible approach to hybrid working. And our focus on wellbeing and learning and development has been recognised nationally.For the past three years, PKF Francis Clark has been certified as a Great Place to Work and ranked among the UK’s Best Workplaces. In 2025, we climbed four places to 20 out of 100 large organisations on this prestigious list.We’re also in the UK’s top 10 Best Workplaces for Women (6 out of 100 large organisations), as well as being ranked among the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing (35 out of 100), Best Workplaces for Development (24 out of 100) and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services.All these lists are compiled by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work. Our rankings are a direct result of feedback from our people in a confidential, independent annual survey.The success rates of our trainees mean we’re also ranked 33rd in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025.While we’re proudly independent, we collaborate with colleagues around the world to enable our clients to succeed. PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms – together we’re the 12th largest provider of accountancy services in the UK. Being part of this international network provides opportunities to connect with like-minded accountants and business advisers in 150 countries.Your core benefits will includesFinancial benefits:
  • Pension
  • Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary
  • Group income protection
  • Health cash plan to help cover the costs of everyday healthcare
Health & Wellbeing benefits:
  • Option to buy 5 extra days holiday*
  • Counselling and support for you and your immediate family
  • Virtual GP for you and your immediate family
  • Cycle to work*
Other benefits:
  • Medicash Extras providing you with shopping and gym discounts
  • Gifts for career and family milestones
  • One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
  • Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation

PKF Francis Clark