I think the only one of the big 4 accountancy firms without a head freeze on. I mean that in terms…read moreof recruitment, not that all accountants are tortured at work! Fabulous people-orientated firm with all the obvious perks of the training thrown in. Very health science/pharma biased client portfolio, so if that's your thing, this is the firm for you!

One of the big 4 accountant firms in Reading. Based in the big pink building next to the station…read more Fantastic employer with great development and training thrown in! Can work on anything from tax to corporate recovery (i.e. helping ailing companies to recover essentially). They have a very technology biased client portfolio and are considered the top of the top 4 in this area of expertise. So - if technology if your thing, then this is the firm for you.

Good location, right in the middle of the Reading high street area. This also gives them loads of…read morevery direct competition with at least a half dozen other large and small institutions including HSBC, Lloyd's and Co-operative. There are two ATM's outside (no fees for withdrawals!) and more inside as well as full teller services upstairs and banking associates downstairs. Some sort of BBC "headline news" with captions is running on multiple screens, so there's some entertainment while waiting. Opening my account took about 30 minutes, possibly delayed due to my being an American and not having any other banking in the UK. Within a couple of days, I got bombarded by mailed paperwork, explanations, fee schedules and all sorts of crap that I need to read through and decide if it needs to be kept. I didn't take a picture as I am sure someone would have thought I was casing the place for a later robbery. (Which I was not, you peanut gallery commenters!) Barclay's has a pretty easy-to-use Internet banking.

Very posh high street bank, would have thought you were in a London branch. Staff seem efficient…read moreand happy too help, no bad word to say.