Bank of England or NAO?

I have two offers of graduate employment. One at the Bank of England on the Graduate Development Stream and Supervisory section. And another at the National Audit Office as a trainee accountant.

Both positions pay around the same (£31K BoE, £30K NAO) in London. But the NAO allows you to work from Newcastle at a lower salary of £25k.

I am not sure which option to accept. At the NAO I will become a chartered accountant, and I've been told that's really valuable. While at the Bank of England, I will get to work on interesting projects (Regulating deposit takers). I am not quite sure about long-term career objectives, but I would like to be able to earn a high salary, and possibly get a board level/C-level position at a respected company. The Bank of England position is for 24 months, and the NAO one is for 3 years.

Auditing is not something that brings joy to me but I am confident in my abilities to excel at it. When it comes to the BoE, I am not 100% sure what I will be doing, but it sounds exciting. All help is much appreciated.

Reply 1

Jun_Tony_708

It is up to you, You need to look into auditing and decide if it is a possible career path for yourself and what opportunities you can get from this path. BOE is more prestigious in my opinion and you will have the opportunities to work on varied projects. The wage is irrelevant imo as it is all about experience initially. One thing to note is London is a lot more expensive than Newcastle. Have you asked what the opportunities are after the position comes to an end. Base your decision on the factors mentioned above.

Reply 2

Hetfieldisgod

What was the ac like?

Reply 3

Hetfieldisgod

Original post by Hetfieldisgod

What was the ac like?

For the nao? I have an upcoming ac so would like to have a decent understanding of what to expect!

Reply 4

Theking997

Original post by Hetfieldisgod

What was the ac like?

One of the tasks is group based, you need to discuss some information and decide what is the best decision to make based on. Another one of the tasks involves creating a kind of summary for some info they give you. And then you have the typical interview.

Reply 5

Hetfieldisgod

Ok awesome thanks for the heads up. Was it fairly easy and was there a relaxed atmosphere to it?

Reply 6

Theking997

Original post by Hetfieldisgod

Ok awesome thanks for the heads up. Was it fairly easy and was there a relaxed atmosphere to it?

Yes, they are very friendly

Reply 7

GroovyDrooovy

Hey does anyone know when I should expect to be contacted after an AC invite? My NAO portal updated today saying that I was invited but I haven't got an email yet

Reply 8

dcrantove

Original post by Theking997

I have two offers of graduate employment. One at the Bank of England on the Graduate Development Stream and Supervisory section. And another at the National Audit Office as a trainee accountant.
Both positions pay around the same (£31K BoE, £30K NAO) in London. But the NAO allows you to work from Newcastle at a lower salary of £25k.
I am not sure which option to accept. At the NAO I will become a chartered accountant, and I've been told that's really valuable. While at the Bank of England, I will get to work on interesting projects (Regulating deposit takers). I am not quite sure about long-term career objectives, but I would like to be able to earn a high salary, and possibly get a board level/C-level position at a respected company. The Bank of England position is for 24 months, and the NAO one is for 3 years.
Auditing is not something that brings joy to me but I am confident in my abilities to excel at it. When it comes to the BoE, I am not 100% sure what I will be doing, but it sounds exciting. All help is much appreciated.

Hey, I work for the NAO. I don’t think you need to worry about the nature of the work at either place. Professional qualifications are valuable, and if you qualify with an ACA you’ll never need to take a job at less than 55k (currently), and the financial & commercial knowledge you get from auditing and study transforms your understanding of businesses and the economy. I find my work interesting, but what you do in the first few years as an auditor doesn’t encompass the variety of what a career in audit, accounting, financial services or management might involve. However, you can choose to train as an accountant later in life. I’d go for the place where you get on best with the people, because that’s where you’re more likely to have success and enjoy your work.