A YOUNG man who decided to follow a career working with figures rather than joining the family media business has just scooped a major accolade.
While his father and his brother, Ceidiog and Gareth Ceidiog Hughes, spearhead public relations company Ceidiog Communication with its a host of high profile clients across the UK, 28-year-old Gruffydd Ceidiog Hughes worked out a future in accountancy was best for him.
And just over two years after joining Coxeys, one of North Wales’s leading accountancy firms as a trainee, he has just become a fully qualified chartered accountant.
Gruffydd said: “Although I did a stint of work experience with a local newspaper when I was younger, I became very interested in the idea of going into accountancy while I was at university and decided to leave the world of the media to my Dad and brother, where I know it’s in very safe hands.”
Gruffydd, who lives in Wrexham, is originally from Denbigh, where he attended Ysgol Twm o’r Nant, eventually moving on to Ysgol Glan Clwyd in St Asaph.
After A Levels he won a place at Bangor University in 2006 from where he obtained a BA in Business and Marketing followed by an MBA in Management.
After leaving college, Gruffydd spent two years with the Pendine Park care organisation in Wrexham where he worked in administration, accounts and IT.
His inspiration for a career in accountancy came from a two-week work placement with Coxeys in 2012 following which he was offered a permanent place and a training contract.
He spent his first year with the company, which has offices in Wrexham and Saltney, gaining hands-on experience of the job before his training began in earnest.
Over the past two years Gruffydd has been studying hard for his Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) qualification.
And after passing a string of exams he has joined the ranks of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Gruffydd explained: “In all there were 15 separate exams I had to take covering every aspect of the job, including accounts, audit, tax compliance and planning and financial reporting.
“There was also a case study for which I had to analyse and explain the financial workings of a typical company.
“It was hard work, especially fitting in all the study alongside a full-time job, but I’m delighted to now be able to officially call myself a chartered accountant.
“I will now continue to work with a variety of clients ranging from small firms to large multi-national companies located in Wrexham and farther afield.”
Gruffydd, who away from the office is a keen Liverpool FC fan of many years standing, added: “Coxeys is a great company to work for and the on-the-job training I’ve been given here is first class.
“My colleagues have been very supportive throughout my training and I’m now qualified for a career I always wanted to follow.
“My aim is get a general feel for the business and perhaps one day specialise in an area such as taxation.”
Coxeys director Anthony Lewis was full of praise for the dedication Gruffydd has shown to obtaining his qualification.
He said: “He’s been with the company for three years, coming in as a very willing trainee to complete his articles.
“He has worked extremely hard for his ACA qualification while also working full-time and all that work has now paid off.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Gruffydd to our team of nine qualified accountants and he can now look forward to a long and rewarding career in the profession.
“Coxeys encourages on-going training at every level of the organisation, a fact which helped us to become the first firm of accountants in Wales to win the Investors in People Gold Award four years ago and subsequently to have it renewed.”
