Best way to get in to Accountancy?

Hello, I was just wondering what is the best way to get in to accountancy? What are the two main types, I know one is Auditing. I just wanted to know what different methods have I got available to choose from? I'm currently in my last year at college and thinking about going University but not quite sure, as I'm not the brightest student but I do want to pursue a career in Accountancy.
Thank You, very much in advance!

Reply 1

scrotgrot

There are lots of "types of accountancy". Conceptually it's divided into financial accounting, which is where you deliver information to people outside the business in accordance with legal obligations, and management accounting, which is where you deliver information to people within the business to help with strategic decisions. Auditing comes under the first one. It is when a large company hires external people to go through their paperwork and check the veracity of the financial accounts they produce. This means the market can be surer that the figures are not massaged.

The way you "become an accountant" comes down to taking the qualifications that confer chartered status. There are a few of these, ACA, ACCA, CIMA, look on Wikipedia. These cost money to take and require three years' work experience.

The large accountancy firms generally offer streams in auditing (large intake, boring but tangible work, out of office), tax (more technical, boring but skilled work, in office), strategy/consulting (elitist, interesting work but much bull****, out of office), and a few more niche areas. Academically, they ask for a 2:1 degree in any subject and often A-level maths. They also run school leaver schemes, but I don't know how competitive these are. University is much easier than A-levels though, especially if you do a non-scientific course, so if you have the grades to get into a school leaver scheme you probably also have the grades to succeed at university.

The principal advantage of getting into a larger firm rather than a high-street firm is that they will pay for your chartered accountant training, exams and give you study leave. If you don't have the grades and/or CV to get into one of those firms, you will have to fund the first couple of exams yourself, then you have a slim chance of getting hired for a job that counts as work experience in your chartered qualification, then you pay the rest of your exams from your salary. However, this will be low salaries, low prestige on your CV and no quarter given by a struggling business for you needing time off to study.

Generally, the smaller the firm, the less support you will get to achieve chartered status, but the more different areas of accounting you will be able to experience. At one extreme, you will be a tiny cog at a Big 4 firm, working on some tiny aspect of a massive complicated audit/tax setup for the biggest companies/richest individuals in the country. You are likely to come out with a narrow, specialised skill set aimed at a particular industry, and contacts in high places. At the other extreme, you will be at a high street place which is a one-stop shop for local businesses of all stripes, doing their books, their taxes and basically anything else. So you will get a broader, more dilute skill set and your contacts will be less Richard Branson and more Bernard from Black Books.

The cynical reasons to go into accountancy are that it doesn't take much brain-power, pays well, there are jobs both in good times and recessions, and in all areas of the country. Accountancy is the best way to understand the inner workings of businesses and that is a valuable skill for any job in any organisation whatsoever, as well as if you ever want to run your own business.

Best way to get in to Accountancy?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you