Lloyd Dowson

Company profile

Lloyd Dowson has over 40 years’ experience in the accountancy industry. They provide a full range of services to their clients including accounting, audit, tax, payroll, human resources and business advisory. Lloyd Dowson work locally, regionally and nationally and have two offices located in Bridlington and Scarborough. 

Long history of training

Lloyd Dowson has been a training office for almost 30 years. They have a long history of training staff with the ICAEW. Lloyd Dowson offer AAT training as well as the ATT and CTA qualification, they value highly the qualifications where students must demonstrate their competence and expertise. Lloyd Dowson clients greatly value the support and advice they receive from professionals within the business who have made a strong commitment to their studies and have worked hard to get where they are in the profession. 

Here Tracy Meredith-Baker tells of how she began as a trainee with Lloyd Dowson and progressed to become a director/shareholder. "I feel extremely proud to have started as a trainee accountant with Lloyd Dowson in 1994, working up to my current position as director/shareholder. I also hold the role as Responsible Individual for audit at Lloyd Dowson." 

"We are fortunate at Lloyd Dowson to be able to offer them a diverse range of work covering accounts, audit, taxation and payroll as well as offering our trainees wider personal development experiences, both inside and outside of the normal work environment. I feel as well as gaining an academic qualification, our trainees also gain the skills necessary for their post qualification role within Lloyd Dowson."

Gold Trainee Programme - go Lloyd Dowson

Lloyd Dowson recently launched their new trainee programme for school leavers. The ‘Golden Opportunities with Lloyd Dowson’ (GOLD) Programme is designed to encourage school or college leavers to join the Lloyd Dowson team. It introduces them into the world of work with help, guidance and advice every step of the way within a supportive and positive working environment. 

The programme was designed along with the support from sixth form students at a local school. This input from the students ensured that Lloyd Dowson closely aligned expectations as an employer with the priorities of young people. 

Training opportunities

There are many opportunities for trainees once they have embarked on a study path. Lloyd Dowson ACA trainees are regularly involved in business workshops within local schools and colleges where they talk about their career journey. This enables the trainees to develop their presentation skills and to be an integral part of raising the profile of accountancy as a career choice whilst highlighting the many benefits of working within the accountancy profession. 

Lloyd Dowson have their first ICAEW student following the Level 7 Apprenticeship route. This enhanced programme supports the training culture at Lloyd Dowson. Their trainees learn skills which will support them throughout their accountancy career, as well as obtaining the academic qualification as a Chartered Accountant.

Trainees are also encouraged to mentor new members of the Lloyd Dowson team. New team members greatly benefit from their skills and experience and they see the value of the ACA qualification and the many avenues of opportunity the qualification provides. It also allows trainees to develop as ‘rounded’ business professionals with the ability to problem solve and think analytically. It is a great incentive for new recruits to aspire to the qualification. 

Advice for clients

The modules covered across the ACA qualification give trainees the skills and confidence to provide advice to clients. Modules which have really stood out for Lloyd Dowson are the Business Planning Tax module and the Case study, both of which are fully applied within the workplace. The Business Planning Tax module builds on all the tax knowledge learnt and then teaches the skills to be able to advise clients on technical issues, taking into account the full picture of issues a client may face. The case study exam has also helped to condense knowledge learnt and apply this to the clients situation. Trainees are encouraged to think of commercial and other aspects of how to advise clients, not just technical accuracy. 

Our training success

Recent successes at Lloyd Dowson for ACA trainees includes, Jess Close who fought off strong international competition to win a prestigious award from the ICEAW, after gaining a first-place result for the Certificate Level Law exam as part of her Chartered Accountancy studies and Danielle Keeping who was named ‘Young Accountant of the Year’ at the Humberside and District Society of Chartered Accountants award ceremony.