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Exeter-based accountants take a lead in keeping and training the region's graduates
Bishop Fleming wins unique IIP record & excellent exam results
Bishop Fleming, the Exeter based accountancy firm with the South West’s widest spread of offices, is helping to buck the trend for South West graduates to leave the region, with over 70% of this year’s graduate intake from the South West. The firm is also the UK’s first accountancy firm to win re-accreditation as an Investor in People (IIP) for the 5th time.
According to Barbara Wood, Bishop Fleming’s Director of HR: “Bishop Fleming was the UK’s first accountancy firm to achieve the IIP standard, back in 1992, and is the first to have retained that accreditation for 15 years.”
The latest IIP re-accreditation acknowledged the firm’s extensive staff training policy and graduate development programme, and the appointment of Caroline Smale as Training & Development Director to demonstrate the firm’s commitment to continuous professional development.
“At a time when many UK accountancy firms are trimming their graduate and training programmes, Bishop Fleming is investing extra time and money in boosting career-development.
“Every one of Bishop Fleming’s 200 staff, working at our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth, Torquay, and Truro, has access to learning and development. This is a crucial factor in attracting and retaining quality staff”, said Barbara Wood.
The firm’s decision to move from Exeter’s city centre to the edge of the M5 has also boosted Bishop Fleming’s recruitment.
“Several of our most recent high level appointments have been influenced by the move of our Exeter office to Exeter Business Park. The quality of our new building and its easy access to the M5 have transformed the commute”, she explained.
“We share the concern of other Exeter employers that too many of the region’s graduates move away to start their careers elsewhere, so we have made a point of trying to attract and retain Exeter’s graduates and have already commenced our 2008 chartered trainee recruitment campaign on our website”, said Barbara Wood.