What It's Really Like to Be a Trainee Accountant (at Sampson Fielding)

The trainees and newly-qualified accountants at Sampson Fielding share their experiences.

Introduction

If you are thinking about a career in accountancy, job adverts will only tell you so much. What does a trainee accountant actually do on a Tuesday morning? How much study support is there really? And does anyone genuinely help you when you get stuck?

We asked our own trainees and recently qualified team members exactly that. Here is what they told us, in their words, about life as a trainee accountant at Sampson Fielding.

Real client work from day one

There is no filing-and-photocopying phase here. Our trainees are on live client work from the start and the range is wide.

Alexandra Thomson-Glover, now heading into the final year of the ACA/CTA joint programme, spends her days on VAT returns, payroll, statutory accounts and Corporation Tax computations — alongside regular client meetings. Even before he qualified, Xander Dyer's work covered accounts preparation, Corporate tax, Bookkeeping and monthly management accounts, increasingly on transaction-heavy sets of accounts relating to digital assets. In personal tax, Tiya Patel puts it simply: "varied work is always given so no day is the same" — and you are "able to get involved from day one".

That variety is one of the things trainees mention most. As Alexandra explains, "You learn about different industries through your clients, and the tasks themselves range from talking to clients to getting stuck into the work itself, which keeps things interesting."

How the work grows as you do

A good training contract should stretch you at the right pace. Every trainee we spoke to described the same progression: straightforward work while you learn, then genuine responsibility as your experience and exam passes build.

"At the beginning, you're given the easier work, as you're still learning," says Alexandra. "As you progress, you get harder work and also start to build stronger relationships with clients. I manage some clients myself, which is very rewarding — I've worked my way up to managing them."

For Xander, the shift has been towards advisory: "more complex, more advisory, more focused on deliverables and end product to client with greater client engagement." And once you qualify, the growth continues in a different direction. Alice Davies, who qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2026 after becoming an ATT in 2024, now combines portfolio development with "taking on a management role by training and mentoring graduates during their training."

ACA and CTA study support: how it actually works

Our trainees study for the ACA, ATT and CTA qualifications, and the firm structures study time around client work rather than expecting you to fit it in around the edges.

That means paid college time for tuition and revision courses, plus study leave. Alexandra also takes a couple of days before each exam to focus purely on revision. Tiya's ATT/CTA route splits college into roughly a week of learning and half a week of revision per exam. Alice sums up the arrangement: "You study alongside your full time working life and get study leave to go to college."

Outside those blocks, client work carries on as normal — so honest expectation-setting matters. Some evening and weekend revision comes with the territory of any professional qualification.

The honest bit: juggling exams and a live workload

We asked what the hardest part is. Nobody dodged the question.

For Alexandra, it is the time commitment outside work: "it does mean you can't always be as social as you'd like." Her answer is balance — the gym, coffee with friends, and keeping perspective. "It always feels worth it when you pass — it makes all the hard work and sacrifices worthwhile."

Xander names it as "time and energy," managed by setting expectations, leaving on time, using the occasional lunch break to revise, and taking holiday just before exams. Tiya's advice is the most practical of all: during exam season, leave work at a sensible hour to protect your revision — and "let people know if your workload is too much."

Alice adds: "ensuring you have a good revision plan, making time for exercise and seeing friends is crucial to keeping you on track."

The common thread is that asking for help with workload is normal at Sampson Fielding, you won’t get a black mark for doing so.

The support that makes the difference

Ask our trainees what they value most and the answer is consistently the people.

"Everybody in the team is very approachable and willing to help with any queries you might have," says Alice, who credits a colleague with helping her prepare for her Application and Professional Skills case study exam by working through different scenarios together. Tiya describes managers sitting down to explain an unfamiliar topic, followed by ongoing discussion and open questions.

Alexandra has found particular value in the people a year or two ahead of her: "they've probably struggled with the same topic and can relate to where you're getting stuck. They've helped me overcome issues or explained a particular topic in a new way."

And on the job itself, Xander is unequivocal: "Everyone helps with every bit of work."

Work our trainees are proud of

Ask about proud moments and you get a good sense of the level of work on offer.

Alice recently completed tax advisory work on the new inheritance tax rules taking effect from 6 April 2026, examining the impact on Business Property Relief and the planning options available to mitigate it. Tiya took full ownership of a client's personal and estate tax returns, coordinating directly with lawyers, HMRC and the client.

Alexandra's pride comes from turning chaos into order: taking messy statutory accounts and Corporation Tax computations, often against a tight deadline, "and turning it into something accurate and presentable." Xander, characteristically, says he is proud of "any large spreadsheet that does what it's supposed to — and saves me time."

Thinking of applying? What to expect

If you are considering a trainee accountant role with us, here is the summary our team would give you.

Expect focused, deadline-driven client work with real responsibility attached and expect support alongside it. As Alexandra puts it: "It's a firm where people give up their time to help you succeed, and I don't think I'd be where I am today without that support. You're given real responsibility, but there's always help on hand when you're struggling."

Expect variety, because your day follows the client work and deadlines in front of you. Expect a proactive approach to client relationships, as Alice describes: managing tax affairs, meeting compliance deadlines and thinking about the wider reliefs available. And expect a sociable office, Xander notes that colleagues "have slowly forced me to pick up football chat."

In one sentence

We asked everyone to sum up working at Sampson Fielding:

·         "A nurturing, supportive environment that backs you through both your working life and your exam qualifications, surrounded by great people and constant learning." Alexandra Thomson-Glover

·         "A collaborative, proactive and determined team that never loses sight of having fun along the way." Alice Davies

·         "A varied, hands-on environment that keeps you on your toes with new challenges every week, backed by brilliant colleagues who make work life enjoyable." Tiya Patel

·         "Good fun, especially the beers, and plenty of things to learn from some clever people." Xander Dyer

Start your accountancy training contract with us

If that sounds like the kind of trainee accountant role you are looking for — real client work, structured ACA and CTA study support, and colleagues who make time for you — we would like to hear from you.

Please let us know if you are interested in trainee and graduate vacancies at Sampson Fielding in the future https://www.sampsonfielding.co.uk/contact