Corporate Trainee Jonathan Masters recently gained his AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) qualification which, he says, has helped him gain ‘a broader accounting knowledge’ allowing him to assist clients in more areas.
Studying during a pandemic wasn’t pain sailing though.
“I would say that my studies were definitely made more difficult during the pandemic, mainly because when the exams were cancelled I ended up accumulating a number of exams that I needed to sit and then had to take many of them within a short space of time,” Jonathan explains. “In some insistences, I also had a large gap in time between learning the syllabus and taking my exam, due to the exams being postponed.”
Jonathan joined Charter Tax in 2018 and, before this, had completed A levels in Maths, Physics and Business Studies at Bexhill College. He also spent a period working part-time as an apprentice mechanic for a company specialising in historic Jaguar racing.
He turned to accountancy as a career though, because he ‘enjoys learning how businesses function and I like problem solving and have always been fairly good with numbers’. Jonathan adds: “I was also attracted by the prospect of training and gaining qualifications, while working and earning.”
As part of the Corporate team at Charter Tax, his main roles include preparing VAT returns, bookkeeping, accounts preparation and occasionally the preparation of personal tax returns and assisting the payroll department.
Asked why he enjoys working at Charter Tax and what makes the firm different, Jonathan says: “There is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere but also a very high attention to detail when it comes to the work produced. There is also opportunity to be involved with a large variety of work; you are not forced to specialise in a certain area, which happens with some other firms.”
When he’s not working, Jonathan’s main hobby involves riding motorbikes and competing in enduro, motocross and trials competitions.
“I also enjoy messing around with cars or anything mechanical and spending times with mates,” he adds.
Having completed his AAT qualification, Jonathan is now enjoying a summer free of studying before embarking on his ACA studies, which are scheduled to begin in September.
