Options with accountancy and finance
Accountancy courses develop your understanding of accountancy practices, commerce, industry and finance. You learn about the context in which accounting is used as well as the technical terminology of the profession. Over the course of your degree you develop a good mix of subject-specific, technical and more general transferable skills.
Specific skills which you may develop include:
Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile. Take a look at job application advice for some useful tips.
In order to become a qualified accountant you will need to obtain a professional accountancy qualification which is then recognised worldwide. There are several different types of accountant:
Don’t forget there are alternatives to entering employment or postgraduate study, such as taking time out, volunteering or travelling. When seeking employment in accountancy and finance, work experience can be very beneficial in helping you to gain the skills and experience that employers seek. If your course did not include a work placement seek some paid or unpaid work in the field that you are interested in. Bear in mind that wok experience outside of accountancy and finance may also be useful, particularly if it familiarises you with a range of environments and cultures and gives you an understanding of the ethos and aims of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Longer term, you may want to consider starting your own business.
Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.
Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.
Knowledge of finance or accounting and the relevant skills which you have developed are useful in a huge range of careers, such as law, journalism, advertising, marketing, public relations, sales and IT.
A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation almost half of accountancy and finance graduates went into employment. Of these, around 44% went into business and finance professional roles (e.g. trainee chartered accountant) and associate roles (e.g. trader).
Around 15% of accountancy and finance graduates also took jobs as numerical clerks and cashiers, while around 9% were employed as commercial, industrial and public sector managers.
Opportunities are widely available with accountancy firms, investment banks, high street banks, insurance companies, building societies, management consultancies and public sector employers.
The most prominent graduate recruiters are the very large multinational accountancy firms. They use large-scale recruitment campaigns to attract the most promising graduates and have high minimum requirements. There are also opportunities in small to medium-sized employers (SMEs) which specialise in a particular type of work or local area. In the UK, a cluster of public sector jobs are available in central London with others available nationwide.
For an insight into employment areas see:
See industry insights for further information on possibilities in other employment areas.
Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do? and your degree...what next?
A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation around 10% of accountancy and finance graduates had entered further study.
A more significant proportion of accountancy and finance graduates (almost 20%) went into further study at the same time as working. This may be due to the fact that these graduates often go into posts which require further professional accountancy qualifications, such as:
Accountancy graduates may have exemption from some of these examinations, depending on the modules and credits they have achieved in their degrees.
Some postgraduate courses train you to work in a more specialised area of the financial industry, for example, the MSc in Actuarial Science. It is also possible to study for a PhD in specific areas of finance, such as banking or trade statistics.
These trends show only what previous graduates in your subject did immediately upon graduating. Over the course of their career - the first few years in particular - many others will opt for some form of further study, either part time or full time. If further study interests you, start by thinking about postgrad study and search courses and research to identify your options.
Look at funding my further study for details relating to finance and the application process.
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