Career coach | What employers want
‘I look for hard working candidates who share my values’
Hannah Campbell FMAAT of TaxAssist explains why today’s jobseekers need to be dedicated and customer-focused, and how the launch of Making Tax Digital (MTD) next year could bring opportunities for newly qualified AAT students
Words Jessica Bown
Whether you are on the hunt for your first, second or third job in accounting, understanding what employers are looking for makes it a lot easier to put together a strong application.
Here, Hannah Campbell, who is director of a four-site TaxAssist franchise in the Edinburgh area that focuses on helping small businesses and individuals with their tax and accountancy needs, offers her advice to anyone looking for a role in accounting. If you want to know more, check out the AAT Careers Hub.
Q
What do you think accounting recruiters are looking for in 2025?
“Most modern accounting practices are fast-paced places to work. As a result, a lot is expected from the teams who work there,” says Campbell.
“With the introduction of MTD next year, firm owners and directors – including myself – will want to grow their teams.
“However, they will need people to have a general understanding of the working environment and day-to-day aspects of an accountancy practice, so that they can hit the ground running after initial onboarding.
“The good firms will then reward this through a mixture of above-average salaries, benefits, personal and professional development opportunities, and anything else they are willing to offer to make it a great place to work.”
Q
What are the four top traits you seek when recruiting people for accounting roles?
“The key things I think are important are a positive attitude, a good work ethic, coachability and problem-solving abilities.”
Q
When you are sifting through a pile of applications, what makes a candidate stand out from the crowd?
Campbell wants people who can hit the ground running, so she looks for people with accounting practice experience.
“I know a lot of jobseekers in our industry struggle with this,” says Campbell, who completed her AAT and ACCA qualifications before joining TaxAssist in 2014 as an assistant practice manager.
“But unless it’s a junior role or you are joining a team where there is a load of spare capacity to let you get up to speed, practice experience is really going to help you stand out, especially with MTD coming next year.”
“The key things I think are important are a positive attitude, a good work ethic, coachability and problem-solving abilities.”
Q
What qualities do you look for at the interview stage to help you make your final decision?
“We have a really great team and culture,” says Campbell. “My staff know there are training and career progression opportunities for them if they work hard, and I am supporting multiple employees through their AAT and ACCA studies.
“When interviewing, I always try to understand whether our values are aligned; I want my team to get behind and believe in what I am trying to achieve for us as a business and for our clients.”
She also seeks out job candidates with a customer service focus.
“Any accounting firm should be able to prepare a VAT return or tax return well,” she adds. “So what matters is how we make our clients feel, what stress we can take away from them.”
Q
How important are qualifications?
There is no doubt that you need relevant qualifications to even be considered for most accounting roles. For Campbell, AAT qualifications are a big plus.
“I love seeing AAT qualifications on the CVs I receive from candidates as I feel AAT training provides the most transferrable knowledge for small business accountancy and taxation in the UK,” Campbell says.
“The things I speak to my clients about and help them with are things I learnt while doing AAT and running my business, not things I learnt from continuing my studies beyond AAT.”
However, the right qualifications are just one of the qualities she seeks when choosing someone to join her team.
“Qualifications aren’t everything,” she adds. “And qualifications alone can’t match experience in an accountancy practice.”
Q
While AAT apprentices have workplace experience under their belts by the time they qualify, this isn’t always in practice, and not all AAT students choose the apprenticeship route. What is your advice for students keen to gain the type of experience you seek?
Whether you are just qualified or you have been working in business and are now keen to make the switch to practice, Campbell’s top tip is to be prepared to do a bit of work for free at first.
“If you are looking to get into practice, I would recommend approaching some local practices to see if they have any opportunities for you to volunteer or spend some time shadowing the accountants working there,” she says.
If you prove your worth, you might even end up getting a job out of it.
“I’ve had two permanent employees – one of whom is still with us – who started their careers this way,” Campbell adds.
Just make sure the work experience you get during this time is valuable – as a trained bookkeeper or accountant, the firm should be able to find you some useful work from which you can gain knowledge and experience.
TOP TIPS
The opportunity of MTD
A quick recruitment search indicates that some UK employers are already looking to take on accountants and finance professionals who can help to ready their businesses for MTD.
Positions recently advertised online included:
“For that reason, there are several stages to our interview process. We start by looking at how good they are analytically. For example, what do they notice after looking at a set of numbers?
“Then we also ask them to present their ideas back to us the way they would present them to a client.”
- A senior accountant in Belfast whose main duties include “preparation of VAT returns for clients using accounting software to comply with MTD requirements”.
- A tax manager in Hatfield who can “drive innovation through tax technology, managing tools such as Meridian, Alpha CT and MTD platforms, and leading upgrade projects”.
- A hybrid-working accounts assistant/bookkeeper based in Manchester whose key responsibilities include “supporting clients with MTD for Income Tax (from April 2026)”.
- A part-time management accountant based in Cambridge whose role involves “ensuring compliance with FRS 102, UK GAAP, MTD and other financial regulations”
- An assistant accountant in Bournemouth whose duties will include “bookkeeping, VAT returns and MTD”.
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