ICAEW after CIMA exams

Is doing ICAEW after completing CIMA exams worth it? Or can a tax qualification e.g. ATT (UK) or any other qualification add more value? I have heard people in USA do both CPA and CMA for best future prospects.It might be worth thinking about CTA if you wanted to go into Tax or broaden your Tax skills. I think that's the next step from ATT.

If you wanted to go do a qualification in relation to tax, then it might be better to consider CTA ? It is a step up from ATT but will open more doors in Tax. Of course having relevant experience is also important too.

If you have an accounting qualification already, I can't see what value another one would bring.

Do you actually want to work in tax? If you've done CIMA, you should find ATT very passable. You could use it as a warm-up for CTA or choose to stop there. I wouldn't recommend launching straight into CTA unless you have tax experience, as it's considerably harder than the accountancy exams.

I personally don't sponsor people through a three-year training contract if I think they won't hack it, or if I think they'll plan to leave immediately at the end of it. Other people will have different views. Some Big 4 teams see trainees as a bit of a mill, so they're just after bodies, rather than long-term plans.

Thinking about it... you could try to land a role in audit and say you want to do ACA with audit work experience, because you really want to be an auditor and sign off on accounts, and your CIMA won't let you do that. As someone who is very much not an auditor, I find it difficult to relate to anyone saying they desperately want to work in audit, but I'm sure some auditors would believe that.

With your other option of doing ATT, just remember, you'll need two years of tax experience as well as passing the exams. How will you pick that up?

Is doing ICAEW after completing CIMA exams worth it? Or can a tax qualification e.g. ATT (UK) or any other qualification add more value? I have heard people in USA do both CPA and CMA for best future prospects.

What are you hoping to achieve? What work are you doing at the moment?

You've mentioned 'decision making skills' - what do you mean by this? How does learning more about tax fit with career plans?

Just the cima P3, E3 and SCS left.

I have briefly worked in an accounting firm but at a very junior role.
I was hoping to achieve versatile skills and tax knowledge does fill in the gap. So that I am not dependent on one particular sector of the economy and can work in any country and public practice /industry.

I think you need a better career plan than wanting to be able to do anything anywhere. I appreciate that once you pigeon yourself within accountancy it can be difficult to climb back out, but at some point, you do need to commit.

The only people I know with mixed skills are not very good at anything, to be brutally honest. The saying 'a Jack of all trades, a master of none' really does ring true in this profession. Unless you pick something and focus on it, you'll find it impossible to upskill yourself to the point where you can confidently say you're good at what you do.

The tiniest of firms may want someone who can do everything at a basic level, but they won't pay very much and you won't get a lot of opportunities to develop. This seems to clash with your desire to potentially relocate in the future - a lot of countries have minimum income thresholds and if you limit yourself to jobs for the smallest of employers, you will struggle.

First up: do you want want to be an accountant, an auditor or a tax person?

Then, what kind of accountant, auditor or tax person?

In practice? In house?

What specialism? E.g. internal audit, external audit, personal tax, corporate tax, VAT, etc.

If you don't know the answer, and you don't actually have much work experience, you should be looking at internships to get some practical experience to inform your judgement.

If it turns out you hate working in tax, even the ATT will be a waste of time and money. You need to find your passion first and then regroup.

Thanks that's a very sincere and good suggestion.
I will gain initial experience first then further qualifications in the fields or skills I want to grow. Initially I was thinking about getting tax and data analytics qualification as well to complement my CIMA qualification but now I think I have to experience these first before jumping in it.