Firm welcomes new intake of trainee chartered accountants

December 1st 2017

North East chartered accountancy firm Baines Jewitt has strengthened its practice with an intake of new recruits.

Grace Stobbs, Yuexin Jiao and Lewis Emers have all recently joined the Stockton-based company as trainee chartered accountants.

As well as gaining practical experience in the workplace, the new entrants are embarking on a three year professional training programme to become an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW).

This latest intake of employees brings the overall Baines Jewitts headcount to over 30.

Grace, 21, who lives in Ingleby Barwick, joined the firm directly from Durham University, where she graduated in Accounting and Finance in June of this year.

Talking of her appointment she said: "I was keen to stay in the area after I graduated, so I researched local accountancy firms. Baines Jewitt caught my attention. As well as being a well-established organisation with a great reputation, the company invests in the ongoing skills and qualifications of its employees. I am pleased to discover that everyone who works here is really friendly too."

Yuexin, 26, lives in Stockton and moved to the UK in 2012. As well as gaining a Bachelor Degree at Shanghai University, China - where she specialised in Economics - Yuexin spent six months at the University of Technology, Sydney, as an exchange student. Following on from this, she spent a year at the University of St Andrews, where she gained a Masters Degree in Finance, and a year at the University of Bath studying Human Resource Management and Consulting.

"Although I already have several qualifications, I'm excited to add another string to my bow. I hope to complement the great work that Baines Jewitt already does. In particular, on moving to Stockton I noticed there are a number of Chinese business start-ups in the Teesside area. However, many have language barriers when it comes to using local accounting services. I see this as an opportunity as a Mandarin Chinese-spoken chartered accountant located in North East."

"This is my first full-time professional accounting job and a great place to work. As well as the support of training towards an ACA qualification, I love the fact that Baines Jewitt has a long history and everyone is so welcoming, explains Yuexin."

Lewis, 25, from Stockton is also delighted to have joined the company. He explains: "I studied A Level accounting at college, which provided the first stepping stone towards my chosen career path. Following on from that, I went onto an apprenticeship with a small local accountancy firm, which gave me a good practical grounding in all areas of accounts, tax and payroll work.

"I was keen to further my knowledge and experience and was thrilled to be offered a position with Baines Jewitt as a trainee chartered accountant. Baines Jewitt is a really well respected firm in the Teesside area, so it is great to be working here whilst taking my qualifications to the next professional level. My aim is to become fully qualified by the end of 2020."

As well as practical experience in the workplace, all three recruits are receiving additional support towards their studies and exam preparation from specialist training company Kaplan Financial in Newcastle.

"We strongly believe in recruiting high calibre, enthusiastic people who are committed to attaining professional qualifications and can grow with the company", explains Don Adams, partner Baines Jewitt.

"Baines Jewitt's heritage can be traced back over a hundred years and we have excellent relationships with our clients, who trust our integrity and benefit from our wealth of experience. However, we also understand the importance of looking to the future and moving the company forward. That means having highly skilled employees in place for the next chapter in our companys history too.

"Chartered accountancy is an excellent career choice and we are delighted to welcome Grace, Yuexin and Lewis to our firm."