The UK member firm of RSM, a global accountancy network. Its head office is at 25 Farringdon Road, London, and it offers AAT-ACA fast-track and apprenticeship routes.
RSM UK is a firm of accountants and business advisers. Its main job is helping middle-market businesses, meaning companies bigger than a small local firm but smaller than the giant household-name corporates. Wikipedia lists its work as audit and assurance (independent checks that a company's accounts are accurate), risk advisory, outsourcing, tax, consulting, restructuring, transactions and legal services, for private, public and not-for-profit clients. In plain terms, RSM helps organisations keep their finances honest, plan ahead and make big decisions with confidence.
Walter Howard founded the firm in 1865. It became Baker Tilly in 1988 through a merger, bought the trading operations of RSM Tenon in 2013, joined the RSM network in 2014 and adopted the RSM name in October 2015. Its headquarters is at 25 Farringdon Road, London, and Rob Donaldson is listed as chief executive. A 2020 ranking cited by Wikipedia put it seventh-largest in the UK among business advisory firms. A 2021 AAT Comment case study said RSM had around 3,800 partners and staff in the UK, with access to more than 41,000 people in 116 countries through the wider RSM network. Those numbers are several years old, so treat them as a guide.
RSM's conduct and culture statement says: "we believe how we do what we do is as important as what we do" and "We want to instil confidence in our clients to make decisions about their future." It names five values: respect and uncompromising integrity; succeeding together; excellence in all we do; impactful innovation; and acting responsibly. It also says it aims to be the leading professional services provider in the UK and globally. These are the firm's own statements of intent, not independent findings.
The firm's main services are audit, tax and consulting. Its statement also mentions a Speak Up Hotline for raising concerns, and the RSM UK Foundation, set up in 2018, which supports community causes. The firm says it holds the security standards ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus. RSM's UK work sits inside the global RSM network, which lets UK teams work with colleagues overseas on clients that operate internationally. No client names were given on the pages we read.
For young people, RSM runs a long-standing apprenticeship route. A January 2021 AAT Comment case study describes school leavers starting with the AAT Level 3 bookkeeping certificate, then the AAT Level 4 diploma within about 24 months, then a three-year ACA programme through the Level 7 Accountancy Professional Apprenticeship. That means about five years, two qualifications and no student debt, in the words of one audit manager quoted. Apprentices work on real client jobs alongside their studies and are given time off for college and exams. RSM's current Tax School Leaver listing (Bristol, September 2027 start, as at 2026) asks for at least 112 UCAS points from three A levels, or equivalents, no prior tax study, and the right to work in the UK; the training begins with the ATT tax qualification and moves on to ACA or CTA. Pay was not stated. The firm says its early careers programme expects over 800 people starting out this year, and it says it holds outstanding employer status in the Best Companies survey (2023 results). Check rsmuk.com for current vacancies.
Website: www.rsmuk.com
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