What’s your view? …on the biggest lessons learned in training

In every issue of The Bottom Line, we ask students for their thoughts on a particular topic. This month, we want to know: What skills do you pick up from training that exams hasn’t covered?

Savannah Kivlehan

Audit Associate
KPMG

The Chartered Accountants Ireland exams are great at testing your technical knowledge, rules and ability to solve problems under pressure. But there’s a lot they don’t cover that you only really learn through training.

On the job, you pick up how to use judgment in real situations where the answer isn’t always clear-cut. Training also helps you develop strong communication skills, like explaining financial information in a way clients can actually understand.

Most importantly, exams don’t teach you how to build a relationship with your clients, gain their trust or manage different personalities and expectations. It is during training that you learn teamwork, how to manage deadlines and how to balance competing priorities.

These practical, people-focused skills come from real experience, making training just as important as passing the exams.

Rachel Finn

Corporate finance associate
Grant Thornton

Chartered Accountants Ireland exams are designed to measure technical knowledge and structured problem-solving but training develops broader professional skills that are not easily examined.

A key part of training is building a professional network—forming connections with colleagues, managers and clients. These relationships provide support, guidance and opportunities for learning that extend beyond formal instruction.

Developing a strong network also enhances career progression, as it opens doors to new roles and industries over time.

In addition, working closely with others strengthens collaboration and communication skills. This ability to build and maintain professional relationships is essential in practice, yet it is something that cannot be effectively assessed through exams alone.

Egle Urbonaite

Audit Associate
EY

The Chartered Accountants exams are just the starting point of a professional career.

While the exams aim to replicate real-life scenarios, nothing compares to working in an actual environment where your knowledge is consistently put to the test. However, there are many skills the exams cannot assess, one of the most important being leadership.

A training contract offers invaluable opportunities to develop these skills as students progress and take on greater responsibility each year.

It is one thing to read about leadership and delegation, but another to apply them while managing heavy workloads, guiding individuals with different personalities and meeting deadlines without sacrificing work-life balance.

Although personal development is limited through exams alone, training provides continuous opportunities for growth through hands-on experience and regular one-on-one feedback from superiors.