There's no accounting for Edward!

BBC’s Apprentice is with us again! Let the stress, hilarity and mystery commence.

Why should Edward Hunter try so hard not to be an “accountant”? He trained in a large firm, but seemed very keen not to keep the label or even to use the skills you would think he had learned there.

As team leader he might have hoped that his volunteering for the first task would insure him against ejection from the boardroom. It didn’t.

Lord Sugar implored Edward to use his accountancy skills. Crunching the numbers was certainly missing from the process. But many accountants don’t like numbers and perhaps Edward is one of these?

It would be a mistake to assume his training at a large firm of accountants had much to do with maths or even accountancy as such. Not many accountants actually do accounting anymore.

But if he worked in audit I am certain he would have had experience of working with teams, possibly even leading one. However, the tasks are very regimented and the workforce exceptionally well-trained and briefed. So would he be.

Not so Apprentice Task 1. No one knows what they have to do before the task. There are no templates, no pre-populated plans to follow. Just a bunch of wannabees.

Edward needed to plan the task, engage the team and troubleshoot problems as they arose. He wasn’t able to do any of this. His arrival to the Boardroom for the inevitable grilling needed planning too. Once again he was lacking.

His modus operandi was “roll with the punches”. I think that means: “don’t think, just do.” And come on, we’ve all used that method of coping with life too.

Before we see the rest of the series then, let’s not forget what these hapless candidates for Lord Sugar’s partnership have put themselves through. I admire their courage!

Edward was the first to leave, and will be spared the rigorous examination that follows for the rest of them. I can’t wait!

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