Adam Stanley

Why did you apply for an internship and how did you come to join SRLV?

I had a degree place to study business at Portsmouth University but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my career. It’s hard to know this at 18, especially when there are so many professions to choose from.

I secured some intern experience as an assistant in the music & entertainment team at Gelfand, Rennart & Feldman, which became part of SRLV shortly afterwards. It was a three-month placement, but I was offered a full-time position before the end of my term. I decided to defer my university place and have been here ever since.

As an intern, what appealed to you most about the client work?

I’ve always loved music and gone to gigs, the theatre and cinema. As an intern, I liked the cultural aspect of the creative industries I was working in and the business side of things fascinated me.

When you understand all the budgets involved, going to clients’ gigs can be quite eye opening. What were itemised costs on spreadsheets are there right in front of you, from stage lighting to rigging. It’s easy to find yourself in the pits counting heads, thinking about venue capacities and what the break-even points are.

After nearly two decades in the business, what makes it interesting for you now?

Wherever my career goes in the future, I’ll always be working with clients in the creative space. It’s an industry that’s always evolving, with so many interesting sides to it, such as copyright and royalties. I can’t imagine what it would be like handling business management for industries outside of this sector.

What are the main benefits of doing an accountancy internship?

Whatever profession you go into, having an accountancy internship on your CV is a ‘foot in the door’ that gives you the best chance of getting a job once you’ve graduated. It’s valuable experience of the workplace and will help you to decide whether accountancy is the right career for you.

Whilst most of our interns do go on to become accountants, if you don’t, you’ll still benefit from the experience as you’ll get ideas for other careers, as well as the sorts of companies that you might like working in.

Our interns get actively involved with client work across many creative sectors. Finding the same level of practical experience at other professional firms might not be as straightforward; for example, my experience of legal internships (as an unqualified solicitor) was mostly shadowing others doing the work.

What qualities are useful for interns to have and can you share any tips/advice?

Being able to pay close attention to detail is one of the qualities we look for in our interns. Our company culture also encourages people to strive and go above and beyond. Don’t forget that the interviews are an opportunity for you to learn and show us how much you’ve applied yourself, so do plenty of research and prepare questions to ask us.

Are there any aspects of intern work that applicants should be aware of?

I’m always very frank with interns when it comes to how fundamental their job is. One of the first tasks you’ll have as an intern is inputting receipts. Thankfully, this is more of a digital process nowadays, but the importance of accurate record keeping is still as paramount. It’s the first level of information we have about our clients and lays the foundations for everything that follows; if you input high-quality data, you’ll get high-quality outputs and reporting from that.

Is there anything particularly special about an internship from SRLV?

Our interns gain incredible experience throughout their placements, working alongside partners for stakeholders across the creative industries, such as musicians/recording artists, actors and many other creative industry clients. As we’re one of the top three accountants for music & entertainment in the UK, there aren’t many firms offering opportunities like this.