Features: Becoming an accountant

Written by Jordan Butler, Editor, Graduate Prospects, February 2013

It's not all doom and gloom in the financial sector, with accountancy leading the way as a rewarding and secure career choice

The role of the accountant has evolved. Factors such as the economic crisis mean they are now expected to play a greater role in strategic business management.

Accountants are expected to oversee a wide breadth of financial work, such as:

• providing sound financial advice;
• ongoing management of financial budgets and systems;
• completing financial audits (checking an organisation's financial situation).

Accountancy training

In order to become a chartered accountant, you must spend three years as a trainee with an approved employer, working towards the Chartered Accountant (CA) or Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification. During this time you will gain work experience and sit various stages of exams.

The three main bodies that offer training are:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)  
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)  
• Chartered Accountants Ireland  

There are certain qualifications you will need to apply and each body will have different entry requirements.

Career paths

'Accountancy offers the possibility of a high salary, dynamic progression and a strong career path,' says Sarah Moore-Williams, principal lecturer and undergraduate programme manager in accounting and finance at London South Bank University (LSBU).

Progression in the industry is structured, and lucrative salaries are on offer for those who excel. For example, you can become a senior manager five years after qualifying. At this level, accountants can expect wages upwards of £40,000. In a small company opportunities for promotion may occur more frequently.

Finding employment

When it comes to finding employment, there shouldn't be a shortage of companies looking to hire. Large multi-nationals and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) always need new faces, as Sarah explains.

'Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers are the second and third-largest recruiters of graduates in the country in 2013 and each year 25,000 graduates enter a job within the accountancy profession, therefore the market is buoyant.'

For those graduates specifically looking for a career at one of the Big Four (including KPMG and Ernst & Young), Sarah's tips are:

• gain a solid second-class or first-class degree;
• attain a high UCAS points score;
• demonstrate examples of leadership, team work, commercial awareness and critical analysis.

Sarah adds, 'The graduate programmes of these global organisations support the development of a student's technical skills, thus attainment of these prior to graduation is not necessary.'

However, an accounting or finance degree can be crucial for those looking to enter SMEs, as smaller companies prefer graduates who already have a level of accounting ability.

Is a degree necessary?

It is possible to become an accountant without a degree, but by attending a university you are usually at an advantage in a highly competitive industry.

All disciplines can enter the industry but the majority come from numerical courses such as economics, mathematics, chemistry and physics. You can also study specific degrees in accounting and finance, with various courses available around the UK.

The most popular undergraduate accounting degree in London is the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance at LSBU, according to the National Student Satisfaction Survey 2012. For more information on the course visit London South Bank University - BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance.