Becoming an Accountant

[coumos05]

Hi everyone i am here because i would like to pick your brains about information on becoming an accountant.

My ultimate goal in my life is to become a qualified accountant and then to have my own practice. This is where i need your help.

Firstly, How do i become an accountant? i know that i have to do ACA training but what does this involve and how long does it take?

Secondly, how do i go about starting my own practice and is there quality money available in this area?

Also are my grades so far good enough.

3 A*s at GCSE
9 A's at GCSE
and i am also studying Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Maths and Citizenship at A level with passes expected in all.

 

[MattG]

My few words of advice would be to get a proper work experience before you decide to really go into accountancy. Based on what you've written, and that you don't do A Level Accountancy, how can you know that this is what you really want to be doing?

To answer you question, you have 2 options:
1) Straight after A-Levels get a traineeship contract with some office of chartered accountants and study for ATT and then ACA, or
2) Do Accounting & Finance degree that will get you exemptions from professional accounting bodies,
3) Do any kind of degree

With option 1 you are basically limiting you career to accountancy so that after let's say a year or two you decide that you absolutely hate it you will be left with only A-Levels and some ATT or ACA exams completed which do get you anything and you may struggle to find some other job.

With option 2 you get a good degree and have the opportunity to decide what is it that you really want to be doing after having experienced 'accounting' for 3 years. If you still want to do it then you get a traineeship contract (graduate level) and assuming your degree is recognised you only have about 4 exams left to do +3 years of experience to qualify as a chartered accountant. Even if you go into accountancy and then suddenly decide against it you still have a degree and more choices.

With option 2 you get a good degree in maths, physics whatever and then apply for a traineeship contract. A lot of firms employ people with degrees unrelated to finance. That being said you will need to do all exams (about 14) + 3 years of experience.

My advice would be to take option 2. With your grades you should have no problems getting into a top university on Acc & Finance course that is recognised by ACA, ACCA, etc. Of course this depends if you can afford uni considering the rise in tuition fees.

Hope this helps!

 

[Lancelot]

Although Matt offered you a very good piece of advice, I would personally recommend to start studying towards a professional qualification as soon as you finish your A-levels and to skip the university.

The main advantage is that you can work and study at the same time. You can do weekend or evening courses with BPP for example. Many employers are sponsoring you and pay towards the study fees.

There are several options that you can consider - ACCA, CIMA, etc.

I am doing ACCA at the moment. I sat my first two exams three years ago and I have three left now, so by Christmas this year I should be finished. There are 14 exams in total.

I've been doing weekend courses at BPP. It comes to around £1,000 per paper, including the taught course, revision course and study materials. BPP also give you access to online study so you can use that at any time.

Good luck!

 

[billie1]

I would agree with Matt, you should definitely go for the Business and Finance degree. Accountancy is very competitive these days and there are no assurances. Having a good degree will open up doors. You can then choose a different career path if you decide against Accountancy.

 

[Anna Chandley]

If you want to do a degree I don't think it is necessary for that degree to be accounting. Most accountants that I know have a degree that is not related to accountancy, my degree for example is Chemical Engineering. The important thing would be to choose a degree that you will enjoy and that will be attractive to future employers. It may be worth finding out which degrees (and universities) the big accountancy firms prefer.

It is also worth checking what exemptions are available if you do take an accounting degree as this varies between the institutes. When I trained with ICAEW there were very few exemptions available if you had a relevant degree, I believe that there are more exemptions with ACCA.

You mention that you would like your own practice in the future. It should be noted that if you are a member of a professional body you will need a number of years of post qualification experience before you can set up your own practice. Again, this varies from institute to institute.

 

[Lancelot]

Up to nine exemptions were available when I registered with ACCA in 2008 if you have had a good accountancy degree and wanted to do ACCA. You still need to sit the professional papers.

 

[David Griffiths]

The problem with doing a degree first is that it might be difficult to find an employer willing to take you on at a graduate's salary. Competition for the top firms is very intense and you are going to need a 2.1 or better from a top university.

Outside the big firms, graduates are not an attractive proposition because (even with an accounting degree) they often know very little about practical accountancy, will need to be trained (often at considerable expense) and want time off for study leave and exams. Im my experience it's very unusual for a smaller firm to be able to afford to take on somebody like that.

We get dozens of hopeful letters every year looking for a training place, so competition is fierce for few places.

 

[Lancelot]

I don't quite agree with David.

I have had two employers since I started my ACCA studies. The first employer paid my study fees in full (around £1,000 per paper with BPP) and gave me three days off per exam. The second employer gave me a budget of £1,500 per annum (which meant some home study for likes P1) and only two days off per exam. But it is still OK.

In addition to that both employers agreed long absence (sometimes two weeks) from work before the exams. Of course, part of this absence was from my annual leave entitlement.

The first employer even rewarded me with £X00 permanent payrise after each exam passed.

Generally, if you show focus and interest, commercial employers will support you. It is in their interest too.

Please think carefully if you consider working in the big accountancy firms. I would personally found myself bored after few weeks working as an auditor for PWC, EY or Baker Tilly for example. I prefer the commercial environment. This is why I wished I've done CIMA. Shame there was nobody there to advise me when I opted for ACCA.

Considering your age, I would recommend you to skip university and find a job as a trainee in a practice (even for free at the beginning). Times are tough but accountants are still needed.

 

[MattG]

Please think carefully if you consider working in the big accountancy firms. I would personally found myself bored after few weeks working as an auditor for PWC, EY or Baker Tilly for example. I prefer the commercial environment. This is why I wished I've done CIMA. Shame there was nobody there to advise me when I opted for ACCA.

I totally disagree even though I can see your point. However, the thing with the Big 4 is that after 3 years you are a fully qualified chartered accountant (assuming you did the ACA) and have "the holly grail" on your CV. Even if you are totally disgusted with auditing 3 years is not too long and anyone can hang on for this long. After that you change your job. Bear in mind that auditing exposes you to all sorts of industries and employers, giving you an excellent starting point in deciding what is it that you really want to do. Of course I don't have to mention that with one of the Big 4 names on your CV you can get any job anywhere you like.

In terms of CIMA, I don't think you should be unhappy that you did ACCA. I agree that CIMA seems much more interesting but it doesn't give a pass to the very senior positions. Employers will always want you to "top it up" with either ACA or ACCA.

 

[Grayson Moore]

With those levels of grades an option to look at may be the school leavers programme which KPMG (and possibly some of the other Big 4 firms) are now offering whereby you effectively enter into a 6 year apprenticeship. They then fund you through a university degree and you come out with a Chartered qualification. Competition for these is very fierce however.

You are then qualified around age 24 with a Big 4 name on your cv and you can then start deciding what area you really want to work in. You may find you want to specialise in a certain area such as tax, corporate finance, insolvency or even audit (there are a few people who actually like it) which can lead on to further exams and qualifications. You may even decide by then that you want a difference career path altogether in which case its still a good foundation for a whole range of careers.

 

[Paul Norman]

I trained as an accountant, but too long ago to be able to advise on the best current approach. It provides an excellent grounding in business, and, in my late twenties when I decided to broaden my experience into operational management it was still a hugely useful thing to have done, in terms of the knowledge and experience I acquired.

So, focus on getting the best training you can along the way to obtaining a formal accountancy qualification. This will stand you in good stead if you pursue a more 'pure' accounting career, or if you broaden out.

If you hope to run your own practice, the experience of business will be vital for success, too.

 

[Lancelot]

I totally disagree even though I can see your point. ...

In terms of CIMA, I don't think you should be unhappy that you did ACCA. I agree that CIMA seems much more interesting but it doesn't give a pass to the very senior positions. Employers will always want you to "top it up" with either ACA or ACCA.

This is just my personal view, Matt. Three years but there are tough conditions too, i.e. two exams per sitting and you have to pass or else. And the time off is limited. An audit can be long hours and very stressful. Accommodating study between these hours may be an issue. Of course, there are people and people.

I am not unhappy I did ACCA (haven't finish it, I still have three exams to go, two in the next two weeks). I fact I am very happy and proud of my achievements so far.

My two mentors are CIMA. And they both have/had positions as FD's is large organisations.

A modern FD must be focused on the commercial side of the business. He/she would be useless if he/she does not understand the products, the markets and the customers. Profitability and performance should be more important for an FD than compliance with the accounting standards, submitting the stat accounts on time, etc. Of course, the standards and the stats are of paramount importance but if you have a good FC or FA, then you can leave them to do this work and you can focus on what's really important.

But again, this is my personal view only.