Pierce employee drives career forward after gaining chartered status

An employee from leading Lancashire-based accountancy and business advisory group, Pierce has become a Chartered Accountant after gaining the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) ACA qualification.

Lewis Withnell from Chorley completed the chartered qualification after combining studies with his role at the Blackburn firm.

The qualification means that Lewis will develop in his role within the audit and accounts department by taking the lead on assignments and assisting other trainees’ development.

Lewis said: “Since I started my A-levels I knew that I wanted to become a Chartered Accountant. I was keen to get cracking so a month after joining Pierce, I started studying.

“At Pierce, training and study comes first which is such an unusual but fantastic approach that has been really beneficial to me. It has enabled me to focus primarily on my studies and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.

“Whilst a lot of the studying is done independently outside of work time, our work diary is generally planned around our study days and we get time off for college and exams. We have an enthusiastic group of trainees and we share tips and help each other along when needed.

“We receive further support from our training manager and directors and we have regular reviews to discuss progress and our professional development.”

After gaining chartered status, Lewis’ next steps in his career is to focus on his development within the firm and help new trainees after being assigned a role to help them develop during the early stages of their training.

Lewis added: “My aim now is to concentrate on progressing in my current role and spend time on my hobbies of running and playing football. I’ve completed a number of 10km and half marathon runs, but next on the list is the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in May next year, so long as I don’t get any more injuries!”

Jimmy King, managing director of Pierce said: “Everyone at Pierce is immensely proud to see Lewis gain chartered status. He has worked tirelessly over the past four years, so it is well deserved.

“We are very much looking forward to our other excellent trainees following in Lewis’ footsteps and adding to the number of qualified accountants and business advisers at the firm.

“Lewis is a really talented individual and he has bright career ahead of himself at Pierce.”

Pierce, which recently celebrated its 90th birthday, has 65 employees who cover all areas of accounting and business advisory services providing not only the critical numbers, but most importantly the advice that goes alongside them, whether it’s protection of assets, business consultancy, structuring, R&D and much more.