CIMA grad scheme @ ftse 100/250 company v ACA @ Big 4

Appreciate this isn't the most helpful of posts, but either of those options is likely to be a good start in the right direction.

Audit tends to be the most relevant background to the careers you're describing if you do opt for the big 4.

If you can find a very good financial management scheme, that may be a better option given you seem to be quite confident that is the sort of work you ultimately want to do.

ACA might be more useful than CIMA for landing FD roles, due to the emphasis on financial accounting (which is more relevant to the FC > FD route). However that's a "might", could make no difference, more dependant on the individual most likely.

Might be a good idea to apply for a wide variety and see what offers you get?

Agree with the poster above

A few additional points, speaking from someone doing a CIMA grad scheme at a ftse 100 sized company:

There is a wide variety of different qualifications at all level of management and senior management where I work.

However the most senior finance managers seem to be ACA qualified who usually step in as interim from long term big 4 positions and then secure full positions in industry.

At the same time, there are many junior ACA qualifieds: every single one of them has hated their audit experience and left as soon as their 3 years was up. Long, unsociable hours and demanding client facing roles and repetitive work were some of the comments I've heard.

My finance scheme on the other hand has been fairly challenging but 'nicer' - I'm on my sixth 6 month rotation across finance having experienced management accounting, treasury, financial accounting and internal audit roles so it's always been interesting and I've had a taster of what I'd like to do. The downside is on average you don't get the same amount of study leave as Big 4, and I usually study weekends/evenings.

CIMA is also going through a big syllabus change next year, which means computer tests and more flexibility. Apparently that is what employers want..

Salary wise, I started on 25k, which I believe was smack bang industry average at the time. Maybe similar/slightly higher at big 4?

Personally, I enjoyed my experience, but if I could go back I may have tried to grit my teeth and get through the big 4, just so I didn't limit myself and arm myself with a better understanding of financial accounting.

However CIMA is really good at teaching you to think strategically and more like a management consultant. If you want to be the one working alongside the business to help make key decisions, it's a really good qualification.

Whatever route you decide to take will put you on a great career trajectory, so it's just down to what you see yourself doing.


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