Plato founded the first Academy in 387 BC, in the groves of Academos and this learning school became known as Plato's Academy. The Academy flourished for over 900 years and to this day remains the longest established learning facility in the world.
Grant Thornton founded its own Academy in 2003 AD to promote and coordinate our learning abilities. Its objectives encompass developing a culture of self-development, enhancing commercial and personal awareness and enabling our talented people to deliver excellent client service. We view this as the bedrock for trainees' future attitudes to CPD. At Grant Thornton, chargeable time is about today's profit and loss account, while time spent on CPD is about the balance sheet of the future firm. It's time spent working 'on the business'.
It is no secret that exam success is a prerequisite for professional success in today's business world. We attract first class students who desire to excel academically and professionally. Through the provision of focused exam tutorials aimed at ensuring academic success, the Academy enhances their learning experience by building on the training already provided by the relevant professional bodies. One of our key strategic objectives is for Grant Thornton exam results to be in the upper quartile in exam results nationwide, especially those of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
The Academy provides regular training programmes for graduates incorporating technical and personal skills training, giving our staff the tools to become excellent business advisors. We also encourage and actively support participation in relevant external courses through our Further Education Sponsorship Programme, ICE.
Training in Grant Thornton starts immediately on our specialised induction programme which runs for the first month of a trainee's career and focuses on building the necessary skillset for a long and fruitful career in Grant Thornton. The course focuses on book-keeping, auditing, interpretation of financial statements and our proprietary audit methodology.
In addition, presentations on all aspects of the firm give trainees the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the workings of the firm. Real-life examples are used to enable new staff to hit the ground running when the training is complete.
As with any training programme, the barometer of success is the numbers of winners' medals. We are happy to report that in the last five years in excess of 400 staff have gained professional qualifications in their relevant disciplines including ACA, ACCA, AITI, QFA, LIA and ICSA. In 2006 we achieved a record 100% pass rate at FAE level!
After our staff qualify, the Academy continues to support staff enhance their knowledge, with in-house presentations and with talks from specially selected external speakers as well.
At Grant Thornton, with the support of the Academy we can help our people be the best they can be, so we can be the best we can be!
Louise Kelly ACA is a Director in Grant Thornton, Dublin.
For information on CPD courses and events please see the ICAI website.