Exploring Careers in Public Practice and Industry: Pros and Cons

Understanding Public Practice: A Gateway to Diverse Opportunities

Public practice refers to professional services offered by firms that provide accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services to a variety of clients. This can range from owner-managed businesses, charities, and growing mid-market groups through to larger corporates and international structures. This sector is renowned for its diverse opportunities, as professionals work with different industries and clients, gaining a wide range of experiences at every stage of their career.

One of the key advantages of public practice is the exposure to various business environments and reporting frameworks. From UK GAAP and IFRS to sector-specific regulations and complex group structures, professionals develop a breadth of technical knowledge that can be difficult to replicate in a single-industry role. This not only enhances skills and knowledge but also allows professionals to build a robust network of business owners, finance leaders, and fellow advisers, which can be highly beneficial for career advancement—whether you choose to progress to manager and partner level in practice or eventually transition into industry.

The Allure of Industry Careers: Stability and Growth Potential

Industry careers, on the other hand, involve working within a specific organization, where individuals contribute to the company's internal operations and strategic goals. One major draw is the stability that many industry roles offer, often accompanied by predictable hours and a more structured work environment. This can be particularly appealing to professionals who value consistency in their schedule, clearer boundaries between work and personal life, and the ability to plan ahead without the peaks and troughs that often characterise busy season in practice.

Additionally, industry roles frequently present opportunities for career growth within the same organization, allowing employees to develop expertise in specific areas and potentially rise through the ranks as they gain experience. Over time, professionals can build deep knowledge of a single business model, sector, or group structure, positioning themselves for progression into senior finance, commercial, or leadership roles. For some, this clearer, more linear career path and close alignment with one organisation’s long-term strategy can provide a strong sense of purpose and continuity.

Pros and Cons of Working in Public Practice: A Balanced Perspective

Working in public practice comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, professionals enjoy a dynamic work environment with the chance to work on various projects, which can be intellectually stimulating and rewarding. The fast pace, constant client interaction, and exposure to different sectors often accelerate both technical development and softer skills such as communication, stakeholder management, and commercial awareness. For trainees in particular, this can mean a steeper learning curve, earlier responsibility, and greater visibility with partners and clients than they might expect in many industry roles.

Public practice can also offer clearer promotion frameworks, with defined routes from trainee through to senior, manager, and potentially partner level. For those who are ambitious and motivated by progression, chargeable hours, business development, and client satisfaction provide tangible measures of performance, making it easier to demonstrate impact and build a long-term career within the firm. In addition, many practices invest heavily in professional training and qualifications (ACA, ACCA, CTA, STEP), which can significantly enhance long-term earning potential and career mobility.

However, public practice often demands long hours, especially during busy seasons, which can lead to burnout. Balancing client needs with personal life can be challenging, and this is a significant factor to consider when choosing this path. Deadlines driven by audit timetables, filing dates, and transaction pressures can create sustained periods of intensity, requiring resilience and effective time management. The client-facing nature of the work can also mean navigating competing priorities, last-minute requests, and travel between sites, all of which can add to the pressure.

For some, the expectation to juggle exams, client work, and internal responsibilities at the same time can feel overwhelming, particularly in the early years. In smaller teams, a single departure or sickness can materially increase workload for those who remain. While many firms are investing in flexible working, technology, and wellbeing initiatives, it is important to recognise that public practice will rarely offer the same level of predictability as a typical industry role. Understanding your own tolerance for intensity, and the level of support and flexibility offered by each firm, is crucial when weighing up the pros and cons of staying in—or moving into—public practice.

Evaluating Industry Roles: What You Gain and What You Sacrifice

In industry roles, the benefits include job security, a more stable work-life balance, and opportunities to specialise in a particular field. Employees often enjoy perks such as health benefits, retirement plans, and, increasingly, hybrid or flexible working arrangements, all of which can enhance overall job satisfaction. For many, the ability to plan holidays outside traditional busy seasons, avoid timesheet pressures, and work within more predictable reporting cycles (month-end, quarter-end, year-end) can significantly improve wellbeing over the long term.

There is also the potential to build strong internal relationships across finance, operations, commercial, and leadership teams, contributing to strategic projects and seeing the direct impact of your work on a single organisation’s performance. Over time, this can lead to broader business exposure—such as involvement in budgeting, forecasting, systems implementations, or M&A activity—which may not always be as visible at earlier stages in practice.

Conversely, working in industry can sometimes lead to a narrower scope of experience, as professionals may find themselves focusing on one business model, one sector, or a limited set of responsibilities without the variety that comes from public practice. This can limit exposure to new ideas or practices from different industries, regulatory environments, and client types. In smaller or more static organisations, progression opportunities can be tied to organisational growth or senior departures, meaning that career moves may be less structured and less frequent than the promotion cycles often seen in practice.

There can also be a risk of becoming highly specialised in a particular system, process, or niche internal role, which may make future moves more challenging if you later decide to change sector or return to practice. As automation, AI, and shared service centres continue to reshape finance functions, roles that are heavily transactional may evolve or be restructured, so it is important for industry professionals to continue developing analytical, commercial, and strategic skills to remain competitive in the longer term.

Making the Right Choice for Your Career Path: Key Considerations

When deciding between a career in public practice or industry, it's essential to reflect on your long-term career goals, work style preferences, and personal life aspirations. Start by thinking about what you want your career to look like in five to ten years: Are you aiming for partnership, a Head of Finance or CFO role, or a more specialist technical path in tax or audit? Consider how each route aligns with your preferred pace of work, appetite for responsibility, and tolerance for change.

You should also be honest about what aspects of work are most important to you, such as flexibility, variety, and stability. Public practice may suit you if you are energised by working with multiple clients, enjoy a steep learning curve, and are comfortable with busy seasons in exchange for accelerated development and clearly defined progression routes. Industry roles may be a better fit if you value predictable hours, a stable environment, and the chance to go deeper into one business model, sector, or group structure over time.

Location, commuting time, salary expectations, and study support (if you are still qualifying) are also practical factors that can make a real difference to day-to-day satisfaction. Think about your preferred team culture, the level of mentoring and support you will need, and whether you want a firm or organisation that is investing in technology, automation, and data—particularly if you are interested in cloud accounting, analytics, or more strategic finance work in the future.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on individual priorities and circumstances, and it is worth remembering that your decision is not necessarily permanent. Many professionals move between practice and industry over the course of their career, using skills and qualifications gained in one environment to create opportunities in the other.

Engaging in informational interviews with professionals from both sectors can provide valuable insights to help guide your decision-making process. Speak with current trainees, recently qualified accountants, and managers who have either stayed in practice or transitioned to industry, and ask specific questions about workload, culture, progression, and what they would do differently if they were making the decision again. Where possible, seek perspectives from firms and organisations similar in size and sector to those you are considering, as experiences can vary widely between, for example, a Big Four practice and a regional firm, or between a large listed corporate and a fast-growing SME. This first-hand insight, combined with an honest assessment of your own priorities, will put you in a much stronger position to choose the path that best supports both your career ambitions and your life outside of work.