As the friendly face of accounting, we're always keen to showcase our hard working team so you can get to know the faces who make up our business. Our newest member Ben reveals how he decided on an apprenticeship in accountancy.
Name: Ben Pogson
Job title: Apprentice Accountant
- Describe yourself in three words:
Over thinker, realist, ambitious.
- What is your dream holiday location and why?
My dream holiday location is the countryside of Italy. I love the setting of vineyards and all of the winding roads (I'm a car fan so this is suited to me).
- Favourite film character?
Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
- Why did you choose accountancy as your apprenticeship?
One of my family members is an accountant whilst many others are bookkeepers. My family encouraged accountancy as a career due to my enjoyment of maths and problem solving. They also explained how positive my future could be within this job role.
- What attracted you to the role at Sheards?
Sheards is an extremely modern accountancy firm which specialises in cloud accountancy, a field which I am particularly interested in. In addition to this, they offer a friendly environment with both co-workers and clients. The staff at Sheards made me feel very welcome and comfortable from the first interview.
- What are your main responsibilities as part of your job so far?
So far, my job role includes book-keeping for multiple clients and submitting VAT returns for them monthly, or quarterly. At the moment, I am working in the cloud accounting team with Mia and am currently learning about the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), where contractors deduct money from a subcontractors payments and pass it to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
- What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
Outside of work, I thoroughly enjoy taking part in sports such as swimming and football. As well as this, I work out on a regular basis.
On weekends, I tend to travel and spend time with my friends. I also frequently watch F1 racing and can't wait to go to Silverstone at some point in the future!
- Tell us a bit about yourself and your career journey so far:
I have always had peculiar career goals! When I was younger I really wanted to be an architect. However, I came to the realisation that I had a more logical brain rather than a creative one. After this, I became interested in engineering, but it wasn't the right career path for me.
At college I chose the more traditionally academic subjects of maths, history and physics to ensure the availability of several career paths. Recently, I decided that I would like to go into a job role involving business or economics. Accountancy particularly stood out for me as it involved both maths and business.
I also used to have a part time job as a milk man which meant getting up at 3am! Sad to realise that there weren't many career prospects around the farming industry and that it is a slowly decreasing industry.
To read and learn about the rest of our team, visit the team page.