Trainee Story Colm Keenan

Colm began his journey with DBASS to become a Chartered Accountant in July 2023.

Following my graduation with a Degree in Accountancy and Finance at Dundalk Institute of Technology in 2023, I began working as a Trainee Chartered Accountant at DBASS.

On my first day, I began my training with an overview of DBASS, their background and client base etc. At first, there was a lot of new information and systems to get used to but the training plan that was put together makes you feel more comfortable and not as stressed as you are when you see all the systems for the first time. My fear was that I would need to know how to work all these systems immediately, but that was not the case. 

For the first couple of weeks, I was given small tasks on each of the systems in order to gain more experience, and over time my knowledge of all of the systems grew and grew. In those first few weeks, and still today, I’m encouraged to keep asking questions, as the best way to learn is to ask questions. The team at DBASS were very supportive to me throughout this initial settling in phase and I continue to find all members of staff to be helpful and approachable should I have any queries.

I believe one of the best features of the DBASS Graduate Programme is that you are shown everything from a basic level. DBASS doesn’t expect you to know everything up to a certain standard before you start working with them. Learning from a basic level allows you to build a good foundation of knowledge that you can develop further throughout your time in DBASS. Every day in DBASS is a learning day, as once you are comfortable with your knowledge of a certain aspect of the work, you are then shown a different feature of the job. The continued training and development at DBASS is one of their biggest strengths.

I am currently working on one of the non-audit teams, and every day I am involved in the Accounts preparation and production for our wide variety of clients. I have also received training in Income Tax which allows me to lend a hand to the Tax team if needed. Being able to work with such a wide variety of clients who operate in so many different areas and industries is a fantastic opportunity. Getting an overview of how the tax team works gave me sense of how the Tax and Accounts teams need to work closely together to reach the best outcome for our clients. In other firms, I believe it is likely that I would be placed with a particular team, for example the non-audit team and would not get an opportunity to see how other departments operate.

As this is my first full-time job, I was very nervous when starting with DBASS, but I found everyone to be so welcoming and supportive which made me feel at home straight away. As my level of knowledge increases, I have become more confident in my own abilities and continue to grow supported by my colleagues.

In my opinion the Graduate Programme at DBASS is top-class and allows all trainees to perform to the best of their ability. I am extremely happy I joined DBASS, and I am looking forward to a long and rewarding career with them as I continue to work towards qualifying as an ACA Chartered Accountant.