Your Career

II-1 APPOINTMENT STRUCTURE

Throughout your career with Grant Thornton, you will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and develop a broad range of competencies. As you gain experience and demonstrate the capability to perform at higher levels, your advancement will be recognized through appointment to positions of increased responsibility.

We set no limit on the number of staff who can be promoted each year to any title including Partner. Experience and the development of your core competencies will determine when you will be considered for a promotion. The major factors in this decision are an assessment of your current work performance, a judgment of your capability to meet the challenges of the next position and whether you possess the relevant professional designation or academic qualifications.

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II-2 NATURE OF WORK PRIOR TO A CA DESIGNATION

One of the most appealing elements of a career with Grant Thornton, to many university graduates like yourself, is the quality, responsibility and variety of experience you can expect to gain in your early years with our firm.

In our firm students generally begin their training in Assurance and Business Advisory Services. In this service line they will work on a wide variety of assignments and with a number of different partners and CA's. Students are assigned at different times to audit, accounting and tax, and as a result they obtain a wide diversity of experience.

In your first year you can expect your assignments to include:

· completing, on your own, a full set of financial statements and corporate income tax returns together with a supporting file for a small business client;

· performing detailed audit procedures as part of an audit team of two to four staff members under the direct supervision of a senior staff member;

· preparing personal income tax returns; and

· assisting periodically with assignments in specialty areas.

After your first year, you can expect your responsibility level to further increase. By the end of 24 - 30 months in the office, most staff members have advanced to the stage of being in full charge of medium-sized audit assignments, and regularly providing accounting, tax and business advisory services directly to entrepreneurial owners/managers.

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II-3 USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology will play a significant role in your work at Grant Thornton. We use a number of Windows-based programs to automate our business processes and network our offices. Microsoft Word and Excel are among the most common software programs that we use on a daily basis, as well as several specialized programs that relate specifically to the public accounting industry. These tools assist us in performing audits, preparing tax information and analyzing the systems of our clients.

As technology evolves, so will its use within our firm. In fact, we can now compile an audit engagement without producing a single sheet of paper. A major step in this direction was the development and introduction of a program called CBEAM and GTI Explorer, which allows our staff to produce client-ready financial statements directly from information in their audit files. Training in the operation of these programs is provided during our orientation process.

Technology is also a significant concern of our clients. Virtually all clients have implemented information systems to help them compete in today's technologically advanced business environment. As you service these clients, you will constantly be working with computer technology and learning about all the various ways this technology is applied to business activities today.

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II-4 FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Grant Thornton is a major national public accounting firm in Canada, and a key part of Grant Thornton International (GTI), this allows us to be able to provide our professional staff with opportunities across Canada and around the world. Over the last year we have had a number of our staff participate in secondment opportunities on three continents.

In addition to working around the world you will also have the opportunity to specialize in service areas such as tax, financial advisory and business risk. Examples of the type of work performed in each of these service areas includes:

Tax - corporate and personal tax planning, international and U.S. cross-border tax planning, domestic and international tax compliance, GST and commodity tax advice and estate planning.

Financial Advisory - business valuation, conflict resolution, litigation support, forensic accounting, security consulting and investigations, acquisition and sale of businesses, financing, corporate recovery and insolvency, due diligence and personal financial planning.

Business Risk - strategy and business planning, operations and productivity, management effectiveness and succession planning, internal audit and risk management, information systems audit support and assessment of IT controls, enterprise risk management, governance and general controls assistance, regulatory compliance reviews.

As Grant Thornton continues to grow and develop, you can look forward to having these options open to you when planning your career and future with us. Whatever your career ambitions, you can pursue a dynamic career with us!

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