Champion Round-Up | By Ged Cosgrove, group managing partner
Developing our people has always been a big part of what we do at Champion, and this month there’s plenty to celebrate.
We’ve welcomed six new starters as part of our long-standing trainee programme. Dylan, Fraser, Leo, Marcia and Thomas have joined us as Audit & Accounts Trainees, while Harry is our new Management Accounts Trainee. A very warm welcome to them all.
They’re in good company. More than 100 trainees have started their careers with Champion, and it’s something we’ve always been incredibly proud of.
From day one, the aim has been to give young people the skills, experience and confidence to build successful careers – whether they choose to build those careers with Champion or eventually take them elsewhere.
We’ve seen trainees progress through the business to become Partners, while others have gone on to become Finance Directors and senior leaders in industry. What I’m particularly proud of is that those relationships often continue long after someone leaves Champion. You’ll hear from a few of our former trainees in this month’s edition, including one who went on to become an FD and is now on the other side of the table as a Champion client.
Of course, development doesn’t stop once you’ve completed your traineeship. Lifelong learning is hugely important in our profession, so I’d also like to give a special mention to Harry Royle in our Manchester team and Matt Singleton in Blackpool, who have both recently become ACCA qualified. Congratulations also to Chester-based Lottie Birchall and Amelia Broderick in Preston, who have both achieved their AAT qualifications.
Studying towards professional qualifications alongside a full-time role is no mean feat. It takes a huge amount of commitment and resilience, so congratulations to all three on a fantastic achievement.
For me, investing in people isn’t simply about developing the next generation of Champion. It’s about giving people the foundations to build long, successful careers, wherever those careers ultimately take them. Seeing what people go on to achieve – both within Champion and beyond it – is one of the best measures of whether we’re getting that right.
