Smith & Williamson Graduate Schemes
Updated 13 March 2021
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Which Areas Does the Firm Offer Graduate Schemes?
The firm hires graduate trainees for each of the following lines of service:
- Assurance & Business Services
- Corporate Tax
- Forensic Services
- Private Client Tax Services
- Investment Management
Assurance & Business Services
Most of S&W's work in this area involves external audit, along with a range of other business advisory services.
As a graduate, you’ll work to a large extent on the audit side, which means checking that numbers stack up with fact and providing advice to your clients.
Corporate Tax
This department helps to make sure companies are tax-efficient through advice and consultancy.
Forensic Services
Four key areas make up the work of Forensic Services:
- Dispute Resolution deals with business and share valuations, claims for consequential losses, breach of contract and a range of claims from fatal accident to professional negligence.
- Insurance Services involves loss of profit claims through fires or other such incidents, risk analysis and advice, and claim support.
- Investigations look into asset tracing, corporate fraud investigations and VAT investigations.
- Forensic Technology centres around computer investigations, such as unauthorised system access (hacking), e-discovery, corporate litigation support and fraud and money laundering investigations.
Forensic Services teams are either instructed by lawyers on behalf of their clients or directly by corporates.
Private Client Tax Services
If you work in this line of service, you will be helping individuals with their personal tax affairs, their businesses and trusts.
S&W has two main areas within Private Client Tax:
- Compliance
- Special/advisory
The aim of compliance work is to provide a timely and accurate tax return in which the firm deals with HM Revenue & Customs to meet the legal obligations for the client.
Special/advisory work looks at tax liabilities, tax return analysis and drawing together all financial information for overviews of financial position.
Investment Management
S&W's Investment Management service comprises an institutional fund management team, 30 private client teams and an institutional bond sales desk.
The largest part of the business is the private client side, providing predominantly discretionary services to a variety of clients including on and offshore private clients, SIPPs (private pensions), trusts and OEICs.
Training
Graduate trainees on each of the five S&W lines of service will receive internal and external training for three years. During this time, you will also study towards a professional qualification.
If you join Assurance & Business Services, Corporate Tax or Forensic Services divisions, you will study for the ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant) exams.
Private Client trainees will work towards the ATT (Association of Tax Technicians) and then CTA (Chartered Tax Adviser) exams.
Investment management trainees will study for the IMC (Investment Management Certificate), followed by the SIIM (Securities and Investment Institute Masters) in Wealth Management.
Career Progression
Once you have completed your training and passed your exams, you’ll become an assistant manager. There are then opportunities to move into different areas of the business at S&W and to take secondments both in the UK and abroad.
