Don’t make a move before checking out our round up of Leeds’ best professional services companies.
Leeds is one of the UK’s top destinations for professional services, with the big four all setting up camp in the city alongside a stellar selection of local firms. We’ve rounded up the best of the best. Whether you’re looking for your first job in the industry, or you’re searching for a fresh start somewhere new, these are the companies you should be looking at for your next professional services role in Leeds.
PwC
Credit: PwC
PwC is a professional services giant with offices around the globe. Offering everything from financial audits to employment law, they work with companies from a huge range of industries. Their Leeds office is open plan and collaborative, with team members working on a hybrid basis. Fantastic staff perks include summer working hours, which means finishing at lunchtime on a Friday, and flexible benefits of each individual’s choice.
Fostering a supportive culture is a key priority of the firm – you’ll be assigned a buddy and a career coach when you join, who’ll be in charge of looking out for you pastorally and making sure that your well-being is prioritised. The training and development provided is world-class, widely acknowledged to be one of the best in the industry, and resulted in PwC being named by The Times Top 100 as the best private sector graduate employer.
KPMG
Credit: KPMG
Another one of the Big Four, KPMG provides a huge breadth of professional services, from audit and consulting through to deal advisory, tax and law. Its huge Leeds HQ at Sovereign Point houses around 1,000 staff members, making it one of the firm’s largest offices outside of London. They offer careers at all levels, from vacation schemes, apprenticeships and graduate programmes, through to roles suited to experienced professionals.
Alongside incredible training opportunities, they have an outstanding employee proposition based on five core tenets – doing work that matters and being able to come as you are, thrive, learn for a lifetime and make your mark. Hiring managers use strength-based assessments when recruiting early careers talent, centred around eleven behaviours, while encouraging applicants to demonstrate their authentic selves to show how they align to KPMG company values.
Sagars
Leeds-based accountancy firm Sagars is one of the top local professional services companies to work for. They focus on four key areas – audit, business advisory, private client and corporate tax – working with companies across a broad range of sectors, from charities and not-for-profits to manufacturing. Based in an open plan office at Gresham House, employees work flexibly on a hybrid basis, allowing them to fit work around their lives and commitments.
Their graduate programmes are highly-acclaimed, helping university leavers achieve qualifications while learning on the job in a supportive environment. Whichever level you join at, an impressive training culture ensures that you’ll be nurtured through the duration of your career and helped to reach your full potential. Applicants are encouraged to be adaptable, a good team player and always willing to go the extra mile – a good sense of humour is cherished.
Blacks Solicitors
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Leeds-based law firm Blacks Solicitors provides a wide range of legal services to clients across Yorkshire and the UK. With 28 partners and around 195 working out of their HQ on King Street, the firm has a close-knit culture and an open door policy, ensuring team members at all levels have their voice heard. Dedicated to providing exemplary customer service, they’ve even got a unique four-hour callback policy, helping clients get support when they need it.
There’s a real focus on social mobility and opening up opportunities for people from all backgrounds to enter the world of law. On top of working within schools across the region, Blacks Solicitors runs a popular solicitor apprenticeship scheme, alongside a well-respected graduate programme for university leavers. A packed social calendar includes everything from volunteering and charity work to lunchtime seminars from organisations like Andy’s Man Club.
Azets
Azets UK is a top ten accountancy firm and specialist business advisor to SMEs. With 90 offices nationwide, Azets provides a range of professional services to clients across various sectors including education, healthcare and retail. By combining a personal approach with the latest technology, Azets works closely with its clients to help save them valuable time. Key clients include Fazenda, Martin House Hospice and Silver Cross.
The wide range of clients on their books keeps the work varied and interesting – no two days are the same. A collaborative culture flows through the team, with staff always going the extra mile to help one another out. There are plenty of opportunities for school leavers, apprentices and graduates here, and if you’re looking to kickstart their career in accountancy, they encourage you to apply for entry level roles, even without any prior industry experience.
EY
EY is a global professional services firm with more than 365,000 employees working across 150 countries. Their Leeds team works on everything from assurance and consulting to strategy and transactions. On the back of an investment into regional businesses, EY recently appointed six new partners in in Leeds. It’s also a great destination for early careers, with 41 graduates and apprentices hired in Leeds in 2022 – an increase of 32% on the year before.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are a big priority at EY. Ambitious goals are supported by targeted actions to drive progress, including mentoring, sponsorship and leadership schemes for high potential female and ethnic minority employees. Environmental issues are high on the agenda too. The firm recently sponsored Yorkshire Sustainability Week, and they work with local decision makers to shine a light on eco challenges facing the region.
Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is one of the world’s largest professional services networks, with a thriving office right here in Leeds. The firm provides audit, tax, consultancy and advisory services to outstanding and diverse clients across a broad range of sectors. There’s a focus on clients who are innovating, investing and growing in the Yorkshire region, so the work is varied and interesting, with projects ranging from transformation in the public sector to complex restructuring deals.
The firm’s passion is its people. Each and every team member is supported to develop their career. Training is tailored to the individual, and an in-house business school offers plenty of opportunities for up-skilling. There’s a key focus on mentoring younger colleagues, along with a firm-wide aim to take on as many school leavers as graduates. A wealth of social mobility success stories demonstrates a commitment to attracting talent from a wide talent pool.
BDO LLP
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BDO LLP is an accountancy and business advisory firm that specialises in tax, audit and assurance, and a range of advisory services. Operating in 18 locations across the UK, and employing 7,500 people, the firm offers integrated solutions to help businesses navigate a changing world, with a client base made of entrepreneurial, high-growth businesses. As the UK member firm of the BDO international network, which operates in 164 countries, it enjoys a global reach.
At BDO, people are encouraged to be themselves and supported to be successful by delivering high quality in all they do. By adopting an agile approach to working, BDO offers flexibility about when and where people work, while still ensuring the team remains connected and delivers a high-quality service to clients. Employees also enjoy an impressive range of benefits, as well as significant scope for progression and development.
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