WARRINGTON, UK, July 30, 2026 – Caroola Accountancy has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s leading apprenticeship employers after moving up to 34th place in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2026. The latest result marks the company’s sixth straight appearance in the national rankings, recognising its continued investment in apprenticeship opportunities, programme diversity and learner success.
The rankings, produced by High Fliers Research, place Caroola ahead of several much larger organisations, including the Bank of England, the NHS, Lloyds Banking Group, Capita and NatWest. Among accountancy firms, it also ranked above Wescotts, Menzies, Monahans, Azets and PKF Francis Clark.
Caroola’s rise has been steady over recent years. After entering the Top 100 in 2021, the business climbed to 50th place in 2023, improved to 40th in 2025 and has now reached 34th.
A key driver behind this progress has been the work of Accountancy Academy Manager Katie Wild, who established Caroola’s in-house Academy following its launch in Warrington in September 2023. Since then, more than 30 apprentices studying AAT, ATT and ACCA qualifications have progressed through five intakes. The Academy has achieved an average first-time exam pass rate of more than 80%, exceeding the Department for Education’s reported national apprenticeship achievement rate of 65.4% for 2024/25 by over 15 percentage points.
Wild and her team have also created a structured development route that allows apprentices to advance within the company. Members of the first intake have already qualified as accountants at Caroola, reaching milestones that often take considerably longer elsewhere. Recruitment for a sixth intake is now underway, with the next cohort expected to begin in late summer 2026.
The latest recognition follows several significant milestones under Managing Director Paul Goodwin. Earlier this year, Caroola became the first UK accountancy practice to introduce opening hours until 7pm. The business also maintains an Excellent 4.8 Trustpilot rating from more than 6,400 verified reviews and recently launched a digital onboarding process that more than doubled online conversion rates. Goodwin says investing in people has been fundamental to the company’s wider growth.
Employing more than 300 people, Caroola supports clients across accountancy, payroll and employment services through brands including SJD Accountancy, Nixon Williams, First Freelance, ClearSky Accounting, Parasol and baa accounting.
Reflecting on the achievement, Wild said the ranking is the outcome of a long-term commitment rather than one individual project.
“When we launched the Academy in 2023, our ambition was to create genuine career opportunities that would take apprentices all the way to becoming qualified accountants within Caroola. Seeing our first cohort achieve that shows the programme is delivering exactly what we intended.”
She said the Academy’s combination of professional qualifications, practical workplace experience and monthly development sessions has contributed to an average first-time pass rate of 80%.
“The national average is 65%. We are achieving 80%. That success comes from the dedication of our Team Leaders Katie Rodgers and Simon Millington, together with the wider business that supports every learner.”
Commenting on Caroola’s position above organisations including the Bank of England and NHS, Wild added:
“Those organisations operate on a completely different scale, but this recognition shows the quality of our apprenticeship programme stands alongside the very best. Everyone involved should be incredibly proud.”
