Ruth Wallace, CA Student (TPS)

KPMG LLP

Ruth, who studied accountancy and marketing at the University of Strathclyde, knew she wanted to be a chartered accountant from an early age. She chose to train with ICAS as she felt it has an enviable reputation worldwide and her university degree gave some exemptions at the Test of Competence stage.  Ruth is completing her training contract with KPMG where she works as a tax assistant.

What does being ICAS trained mean for you?

The workload can be intensive, but as long as you’re willing to put in the work for the exams, it’s achievable.  ICAS also provide really good support from their lecturers and KPMG has a dedicated Tax Business School which also supports us throughout our exams.

I’ve no doubt the qualification will open up opportunities for me later in life.  I am also studying for a tax qualification, which is very specialist, so I appreciate the wider accountancy knowledge ICAS provides

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The people I work with!  We have various social events throughout the year and working as part of my team where we all get along makes my job much more enjoyable. Also at KPMG I have a wide range of clients of different sizes and from varying industries.  I mainly work in the office but during my first year I was given the opportunity to visit Luxembourg to work on site at a client which was pretty amazing!