Champion Accountants invests in next generation with six new trainee appointments
Champion Accountants has welcomed six trainees across the North West, continuing its long-standing commitment to developing home-grown talent and creating career pathways into the accountancy profession.
The latest cohort has joined Champion’s teams across Manchester, Chester, Blackpool and Preston, with five joining as Audit & Accounts Trainees and one as a Management Accounts Trainee. They will combine hands-on experience with study towards their AAT professional qualifications.
The six appointments build on a trainee programme that has become an established pipeline of talent for the accountancy and business advisory group.
Over the past 20 years alone, Champion has supported more than 100 trainees through the programme, with several of the group’s Partners having started their own careers as Champion trainees before progressing through the business.
Others have gone on to build successful careers in industry, including reaching Finance Director positions, with some subsequently returning to Champion as clients – reflecting relationships that continue long after their time with the firm.
The 2026 cohort includes Dylan Davies from Chester, Fraser Brooks from Urmston and Leo Goring from Preston, who have joined as Audit & Accounts Trainees with Champion’s Chester, Manchester and Preston teams respectively.
Marcia Rutter and Thomas Davies, both from Blackpool, have taken up Audit & Accounts Trainee roles with the Blackpool team, while Wigan-based Harry Johnings has joined as a Management Accounts Trainee at Champion’s Manchester headquarters.
Ged Cosgrove, Group Managing Partner at Champion Accountants, said: “Developing our own talent has been part of Champion’s culture for many years. We don’t see our trainee programme simply as a way of recruiting people into junior roles; we want to give ambitious young people the foundations on which they can build genuinely long-term careers.
“Technical development is obviously a major part of the programme, but becoming a great adviser takes more than technical knowledge. From day one, we want our trainees to learn how to communicate with clients, understand businesses, work as part of a team and develop the confidence to contribute their own ideas.
“Each new generation also brings a different perspective into Champion, so the learning very much goes both ways. We’re delighted to welcome Dylan, Fraser, Leo, Marcia, Thomas and Harry and look forward to seeing where their careers take them.”
Management Accounts Trainee, Harry Johnings, said: “I’d spoken to friends who had taken the accounting trainee route, so I knew it was something I was interested in pursuing.
“When I applied to Champion and met the team at my interview, I got a really positive impression and felt it was somewhere I could learn and develop.
“Even from my first week, it’s been clear that everyone is knowledgeable and willing to share their experience. I’ve already felt really supported as I start to learn more.
“I’m looking forward to developing my skills, meeting clients and seeing where the opportunity takes me.”
