TWO young accountants are celebrating after graduating from university with first-class degrees after five years of hard work.
Catherine Steur and Luke Turner joined JF Hornby & Co fresh out of sixth form college, after successfully applying for one of the company’s highly coveted apprenticeship positions.
Their studies have been fully funded by the firm, as part of its ongoing commitment to give opportunities to young people with a passion for numbers.
Now the pair are looking forward to long careers in accountancy, as they continue to work towards the ACA, a highly sought-after qualification awarded by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Managing Director Paul Hornby said: “It’s an absolute joy to see Catherine and Luke complete their degrees – and for both of them to have achieved first class honours is fantastic.
“I remember when they both joined us from Ulverston Victoria’s Sixth Form, fresh out of the classroom and keen to learn.
“They have both proven to be fantastic additions to the JF Hornby team throughout the last five years and I am sure their positive impact will continue for many years to come.
At one point, JF Hornby had seven trainees working towards chartered accountant status; three had joined with degrees, with the remaining four – including Catherine and Luke – joining straight from sixth form.
Catherine said: “The opportunity to work towards a degree whilst also learning on the job has been amazing. It has been challenging and hard work at times – especially throughout the pandemic – but to reach the end of the five-year course with a first class degree feels amazing.
“I’m really grateful for the time and money that the company has invested in my future and am looking forward to building on that over the years ahead.”
Luke added: “There have been so many benefits to joining JF Hornby after leaving college. We have degrees, five years of experience working in an accountancy environment and, rather than accruing significant debt, have been able to earn whilst learning.
“It has been hard work, but every hour has been worth it and I’m really pleased to now be able to focus on gorwin into my role with an amazing company.”
JF Hornby and Co services in the region of 2,000 clients and has a team of 50 based out of its offices in Ulverston.
The company offers a suite of services including accountancy, tax and tax planning, corporate finance, payroll solution and cloud accounting and works with businesses across Cumbria and beyond.
