Danielle Pike
Manager
Accounting & Finance I University of Leeds
Internship
Job Offer
Start date
ACA Qualified
My Story
What was your internship at SRLV like and how did it benefit you?
Over the year, I assisted one of the music partners, who had some very high-profile clients, and carried out a range of work, covering payments and bookkeeping, VAT returns, tour accounting and business management. I came away with a huge amount of experience and was asked to come back by one of the partners and offered a job in the music team for when I graduated.
How did your experience compare with other firms?
As an intern, you get to know everyone in the office. At a Big Four firm, there are much larger teams for each specialism so it’s harder to meet people across the business. SRLV is also the right size for interns to get more varied experience; for example, they can do VAT work, as well as prepare accounts and collate information for personal and corporate tax returns.
What training/support were you given?
You have to be prepared to learn on the job, but there are always people in the team or around the office to help you; whether it’s an assistant manager or a partner. If you don’t know the answer, you’re encouraged to ask questions. I have friends at other accountancy firms who say they would get into trouble for not knowing the answers.
There’s a family atmosphere here. All the partners are approachable; you can talk to them about life or share a joke. It’s not just about work, which is rare in a corporate setting.
Danielle Pike | Manager
My tips
What advice would you give someone who’s unsure about doing an internship?
It’s great for your CV, improving business knowledge and confidence. Aside from the client work, you’ll get to learn useful office skills, such as answering the phone and talking to lots of different staff and clients. Having experience of prioritising client work and managing ‘to do lists’ also helped me to be more organised during my final year at university.
How did you find the move to London?
There are so many job opportunities in London. It’s a great city to work in and made a nice change from university life, plus I was also getting paid.
Did anything surprise you?
One of my tasks was organising payments and asking partners for their signatures. They were all very approachable and even at the start, I was never scared of going to see them. I got to know the partners a lot better than my friends did at other firms.
Do you have any tips for the application/interview process?
Our culture is very people-focussed. It’s a sociable place to work so demonstrating strong communication skills in your interview is key.
My life at SRLV now
What’s your career at SRLV been like so far?
After graduating in 2017, I joined SRLV as an assistant in the music team and began my ACA training. As well as studying at my own pace, I’ve had the freedom to choose my career path. After qualifying, I wanted a new challenge and decided to move across to the personal tax team in 2020. I was fully supported to do this by both teams and made the transition within three months.
I’m now three years in and was promoted to assistant manager in 2023, and have just been made a manager. Whilst I’m still looking after music clients, I’ve been able to specialise in different areas, such as foreign entertainers and sports professionals coming to the UK, and am working closely with one of the tax partners.
What’s a typical day like for you now?
There are no quiet days, especially in tax! I’m learning all the time; tax legislation is changing constantly and there are always current issues, such as the Budget. It’s a great area to get into.
What’s the social life like at SRLV?
There are half a dozen interns starting together each year and everyone’s made to feel very welcome. It’s a community and there’s always something happening so you get to meet people quickly. We have a social committee organising regular monthly events, including sports activities, drinks on the roof terrace, pizza Fridays and breakfast mornings; there’s something for everybody.
What do you like most about working at SRLV?
There’s a family atmosphere here. All the partners are approachable; you can talk to them about life or share a joke. It’s not just about work, which is rare in a corporate setting. The partners are also open to everyone’s ideas and views on how to improve the firm.
I’ve always had a good work/ life balance, whereas friends, who I know at other firms, haven’t had this. It can also get very competitive when you’re a trainee at larger firms in terms of what exam results you get and the hours you work. It’s not like that here; we encourage each other to do well and everyone has a life outside of work.