Our DSG Spotlight is designed to showcase those at DSG who have achieved fantastic things with us. Corporate business advisor Leah Gaskell is recently ACA qualified after seven years of hard work at DSG. Here, she looks back on her career achievements to date and explains why university isn’t the only option.
When I finished my A-levels back in 2013, I found myself having to make a difficult decision. I knew university wasn’t the right route for me but wasn’t sure which career path I wanted to follow. Having always enjoyed maths in school and business studies during A-levels, a career in accountancy seemed like the best option for me.
I lined up an interview with DSG that summer and, as many of my friends started university, I began my first full-time job. For the first three years, I worked on the accounts team towards my AAT, before moving to the audit team to work towards my ACA for the next four years.
Working alongside studying has been intense, but it’s great to get the practical experience alongside the technical knowledge, and to spend time around such talented accountants. The past seven years have also broadened my ideas about what accountancy is. With each new client you really have to get to know everything about them and the industry they operate in, while keeping a finger on the pulse with the fast-moving financial world around us. It’s fascinating to dig into these different spheres and support businesses to achieve their goals. No two days are the same and the great thing about a career in accountancy is that there is no set path to achieving your qualifications – you create your own route.
For many leaving school this year and thinking about their future, university may not have seemed like the best option. With that being the standard route for so many, it’s easy to think that there aren’t other routes, but that isn’t the case.
There are great options out there for school leavers and I feel so pleased to have found a company like DSG to kickstart my career. It may have been difficult at times, but the feeling of qualifying at the end has made all those hours worth it, and I can’t wait to see where my journey with DSG heads next.
To explore the options available for school leavers at DSG, visit here
