Corporate Audit Services Graduate ACA Programme (March 2025)

Get your career off to a great start by joining a Moore Kingston Smith training programme, enabling you to study toward professional qualifications while gaining on the job experience. Through our Level 7 apprenticeship, gain the ACA qualification and become a ICAEW Chartered Accountant while working with a variety of businesses as part of our Corporate Audit team.


We’re an accredited training firm, committed to giving everyone who joins us first class training in a personal and friendly working environment. Completing our comprehensive apprenticeship training programme over three years will equip you with the knowledge and skills required to excel in the role and deliver our stellar client service.


Our corporate audit team focuses on mid-market private, listed and private equity backed businesses. Our clients vary in size and maturity from multi-billion-pound UK-headquartered groups with global operations, to smaller high-growth businesses with significant financial backing – and everything in between. Due to the size of the clients we work with, audits can take from a couple of weeks up to a couple of months.


Of our 100-strong team, just under 50 of these are trainees, meaning while the team is big enough to provide lots of opportunities, you’ll receive plenty of support along the way. There’s a core focus on your growth and development with regular 'Training Tuesdays', 'Lunch and Learns' and ‘Feedback Fridays’, on top of the firmwide training programme offered to trainees.

Key Responsibilities

From the get-go, you’ll work with our clients who choose us because we understand them so well. So, you’ll get to know their businesses and understand their challenges. We encourage you to take responsibility early on, and you’ll get to grips with all aspects of the role. While you’ll predominantly sit within our Corporate Audit team, you’ll also gain experience across other teams, sectors and services.


In addition to internal and external training, you’ll learn on the job through a range of key responsibilities including, but not limited to:

• Building an understanding of audit testing and approach when assisting the audit team.
• Supporting with drafting of close out audit meeting agenda and points for discussion.
• Preparing and reviewing a basic set of company accounts with reference to the relevant Financial Reporting Standards/Statement of Recommended Practice and legal requirements.
• Assisting with managing client expectations and deadlines.
• Supporting drafting of recommendations to management following audit fieldwork completion.
• Attending client meetings with the wider team.
• Accurately and efficiently processing client accounting information using relevant software.
• Using initiative to suggest innovative ideas to improve systems currently in practice with regards to client or people matters and a platform to be heard in regular team meetings.
• Sustain awareness of all relevant ISA requirements and MKS internal policies in producing audit files.
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of double entry/bookkeeping.
• Working with other trainees to deliver assignments and assisting in their personal development.
• Attending client gatherings or client seminars on an ad hoc basis and to pursue specific areas of interest.

Your third year will bring the opportunity to add more strings to your bow with other experience through secondments. Trainees have moved into our data analytics, tax, corporate finance and digital transformation teams, while some choose to stay generalist.


Whatever path you choose, we have clear progression routes, and there’s plenty of opportunity to take your career in the direction you desire at Moore Kingston Smith. In fact, many of our partners started our as trainees here and through hard work, commitment and drive have gone on to leadership roles.

Who are we looking for?

The ACA training programme is open to graduates from any degree discipline, whether straight out of university or someone looking for a career change or return to work.


Skills this role requires:

• Enthusiasm for building strong relationships and collaborating with clients and colleagues, with close support from your manager.
• A proactive, results-driven attitude that ensures excellent client service.
• Strong commitment and reliability, enabling you to balance your studies and exams (with paid study leave) alongside your full-time role and responsibilities.
• A growth mindset and adaptable approach, with a willingness to continuously acquire new skills and knowledge, supported by your manager, apprenticeship coach and dedicated early talent team.

In order to be eligible for the programme, you will also need:

• Have obtained at least 112 UCAS points from three A-Levels, or equivalent qualifications
• Have achieved a 2:2 or above, from a degree in any discipline
• Be available and permitted to work in the UK, from the start date of the programme

Recruitment process

We recruit on a rolling basis, so would encourage you to apply at your earliest convenience to avoid missing out. The application process is made up of four stages:

1. Application
2. Interactive assessment
3. Virtual interview with one of the Early Talent team
4. Final interview in the office which you’re being considered for

If your application is progressed, we will reach out by inviting you to complete an interactive assessment online with more information on how to prepare and what to expect.


The Early Talent team are here to support you throughout the recruitment process and on the training contract. In confidence, we can discuss the individual support and adjustments you may need. A few examples of the support we can provide include, but are not limited to: providing extra time in our interactive assessment or sharing interview questions ahead of time. If successful in securing a place on our training contract, we will organise a confidential call to discuss how we can work with you on the training contract to enable you to perform at your best. To have a confidential conversation with the Early Talent team before applying, please contact earlytalent@mks.co.uk

About Moore Kingston Smith

At Moore Kingston Smith, we create lasting success for our clients, people, and communities.

Our clients and people have influenced our story and shaped us into the leading multi-disciplinary professional advisory firm we are today. Listening to the needs, ambitions and challenges of our clients, we develop innovative, bespoke solutions to help them thrive in an ever-changing world.

Understanding the individual needs of our clients is only possible through strong relationships built on trust – and that’s where our people come in. We’re proud to have built a genuinely integrated team of experts, working together across multiple disciplines to deliver quality results. Our people are the key to our sustainable success, and we are committed to developing outstanding leaders who collaborate to deliver on our promises.

With global reach, we help our clients to achieve lasting success at local, national and international levels, through the Moore Global network. We are the London firm of top 10 accounting and advisory network, Moore UK.

Come and join us to make a difference.