fed up part qualified accountant needs some advice

jasonbourne · Dec 31, 2007

Hi All,

I'm a part qualified accountant with a degree and I'm thinking of starting up a little bookkeeping/accounts business in addition to the job I have at the moment.

I am currently a little fed up/bored at work and feel that I am underpaid so have decided to do something about it.

I would be grateful if anyone could offer me some guidance on the best way to go about this. I am probably going to advertise locally to begin with to see if there is a need in my area.

Any help and advice would be very much appreciated

INDIZINE · Dec 31, 2007

as business start up is such a big area to cover, do you have a list of things you'd like to cover? any burning questions, priority questions, etc?

It helps to have a starting point so we know what advice you need. Obviously you will be familiar with casflow and the financial side of things, as that is one important area of business, its one you probably dont need advice on I presume?

Stephen Berry · Dec 31, 2007

First piece of advice - get qualified
Second piece of advice - get Fellowship of your institute rather than Associate.
Third - then set up. I would imagine that you are unlikely to get a practice certificate whilst not qualified, and I'm not sure you would attract too many customers without the 'letters'.

Simon-M · Dec 31, 2007

Stephen makes very good sense. FINISH YOUR QUALIFICATIONS.

liambarca · Aug 25, 2008

I'm looking to do the same thing as you but most of the advice I'm getting is telling me to finish my ACCA qualication first, however as an ACCA pat qualified you should have enough knowledge to offer bookkeeping sevices.

The problem I am having is related to advertising as I don't want potential clientsthinking I'm unqualified. ACCA states that students can offer bookkeeping services but cannot use the ACCA part qualification in any promotion.

A good piece of advice I have been given is to contact local accountants to see if they have work to outsource, the benefit to them is that you can pass on your own clients to them. Good luck!

KidsBeeHappy · Aug 25, 2008

I am ACCA. Stick with it, get qualified. You yourself have already identified that not being qualified is a problem, and this will only get worse. And in 10 years time you're still stuck part qualified, now time barred too, and you can't change it then.

You can leave as soon as you are qualified. But you then have a good training and qualification which will help set you up for whatever it is that you want to do.

Eyes on the Prize!!!

DIY Accounting · Aug 25, 2008

jasonbourne said:
I would be grateful if anyone could offer me some guidance on the best way to go about this. I am probably going to advertise locally to begin with to see if there is a need in my area.

Getting started can be a slow business.

Recent articles on the advantages and response rates of advertising for bookkeeping work

http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/artic...ookkeeping.htm

and networking opportunities which might give you a few ideas to get off the ground.

http://www.diyaccounting.co.uk/artic...ookkeeping.htm

stphnstevey · Sep 3, 2008

Just out of interest - what sort of time period does it take to get 'qualified' for a person that has no finanancial qualifications but a degree in a completely unrelated field?

What sort of ballpark figures could you earn (I know people don't like talking about remuneration, I am not asking you for yours specifically, just generally and how else are people going to know if they don't ask someone in the trade!)

Only asking because I have an interest in taxation and find it really interesting - wondered if I could do it for a profession

KidsBeeHappy · Sep 3, 2008

stphnstevey said:
Just out of interest - what sort of time period does it take to get 'qualified' for a person that has no finanancial qualifications but a degree in a completely unrelated field?

What sort of ballpark figures could you earn (I know people don't like talking about remuneration, I am not asking you for yours specifically, just generally and how else are people going to know if they don't ask someone in the trade!)

Only asking because I have an interest in taxation and find it really interesting - wondered if I could do it for a profession

For the chartered accountants/taxation qualifications, you are talking about a minimum of 3 years, because qualification isn't just taking and passing exams, it's about the right quantity of work experience, covering all of the relevant fields.

stphnstevey · Sep 3, 2008

And what sort of income could I receive after that 3yrs?

Anna Chandley · Sep 3, 2008

stphnstevey said:
And what sort of income could I receive after that 3yrs?

If you have a look at the accountancy recruitment websites they usually have salary surveys which give a breakdown by geographical area and level of qualification. Hays Accountancy and Robert Half should both have surveys on their sites

Anna Chandley · Sep 3, 2008

For those thinking of getting qualified in order to set up your own practice you also need to consider how much post qualification work experience is required before you are allowed to set up your own practice.

For ACA you cannot get a practising certificate unless you have been qualified for two years. You cannot run a practice without a practising certificate and remain a member of the ICAEW . If you are not a member you cannot refer to your qualification or use the ACA designation.

ACCA and the other institutes have their own requirements. I'm not familiar with the specific requirements but would think they are along similar lines.

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fed up part qualified accountant needs some advice

jasonbourne

INDIZINE

Stephen Berry

Simon-M

liambarca

KidsBeeHappy

DIY Accounting

stphnstevey

KidsBeeHappy

stphnstevey

Anna Chandley

Anna Chandley

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