Quantico careers

We’re starting a revolution in accounting. It’s been stuck in the past for too long. It’s not delivering for accountants or for our most innovative businesses.

I remember being really excited to start my career as a graduate. I didn’t know much about the profession but my parents and my teachers told me that I was getting into a safe and prestigious career. I couldn’t wait to get started.

It didn’t take long, however, for things to start unravelling.

I was shocked that the auditors a few years ahead of me talked about nothing but getting out. I was surprised that the accounting exams taught us all about how to do T accounts on paper, but nothing about software. It really came home to me when I told someone I was an accountant at a party, and I saw their eyes glaze over.

Accounting has tried so hard to make itself look safe and traditional, that it’s got bogged down in the past. And it’s criminally let down a generation in the process.

Our generation doesn’t want a safe and stable job for life. We want variety, impact and fulfilment.

But the problem isn’t just for graduates, it’s for businesses too. I remember when I took my first finance role in a startup. Despite having progressed quickly in a big firm, I was woefully unprepared for the day to day struggle of running a finance function in a rapidly growing business.

The most innovative companies in our economy are crying out for the skills that accountants should be provide. Instead they’re left with firms that describe themselves as “digital” but are still providing exactly the same services they have been for centuries.