An employee from Blackburn based accountancy and business advisory group, Pierce has gained the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) ACA qualification to become a Chartered Accountant.
Daniel Burrows, 22, from Blackburn has been studying alongside his role at the firm for the past four years after opting for this route over university.
The qualification will be a springboard for Daniel’s role within the audit and accounts team.
Daniel said: “When I was 18 I went to university but quickly decided that it wasn’t the right route for me. I found out about Pierce through a family friend and I jumped at the chance of having the opportunity to learn while I earn.
“To gain the qualification I had an exam every three months which was difficult to fit in around my full-time role but I had lots of support from my colleagues. One of my colleagues was six months ahead of me in my training so understood exactly what I was going through and gave me a lot of advice and support.”
Now he is a Chartered Accountant, Daniel will spend time developing his role within the audits and accounts team at Pierce.
He added: “The qualification is a springboard for my career and I now will spend time focussing on my role. I will split my time between accountancy work in the office and visiting clients to conduct audits.
“I really enjoy going out and meeting clients. I work on a broad portfolio of clients which includes companies in the manufacturing and textiles industries which I find really interesting.
“I’m delighted with my qualification and really glad that I chose this route instead of university. For me it worked really well as I have gained a qualification, had four years’ experience at work and haven’t got into debt.”
Linda Wilkinson, senior manager at Pierce said: “Daniel has worked extremely hard and has been so committed to his studies. The whole team at Pierce is so proud of him for gaining chartered status and it is very well deserved.
“He has a bright career ahead of him at Pierce and I know he will continue to thrive within his role. He is an exemplary employee and I know he will be supportive to future trainees going through their studies.”