Is 46 too old to retrain as an accountant?

[lottielimejuice]

Just that really. Been a SAHM for 12 years and looking to retrain. Does anyone have any advice? Have a degree in languages but no relevant experience in this field. Is this feasible? Any advice on the best way of retraining? Which qualifications I could study? Thanks anyone who has any ideas!

I’m considering retraining as an accountant at 49. Following this thread

Definitely feasible with the right employer. You’ve got a degree- that’s more than most accountancy firms look for in my area. A lot of trainee jobs only ask for a C grade GCSE in maths and English!

What kind of an accountant would you like to be?

Do you want to work in a business environment for one employer or in public practice where you would have lots of clients?

What attracts you to accountancy?

This might be helpful here
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What skills or attributes do you have that would make you a good accountant?

It's definitely feasible. Many employers will pay for your training if you seem willing.

If you're short of time or cash, look for a bookkeeping job where they'll pay for training and work your way up.

If you have time and cash, do the first few ACCA/AAT levels then find and employer looking for a junior accountant.

Accountancy training in industry is generally by starting in reconciliations, purchase ledger or similar and working your way up. Usually studying for accountancy exams alongside (evenings / weekends).

If I were recruiting someone without experience to a reconciliations role, I'd be looking for someone who is curious, has good attention to detail, wants to fix problems and can form relationships outside of their immediate team to understand and improve processes. Decent numeracy and IT skills also required.

Personally I wouldn't be particularly interested in someone who had a handful of accountancy exams but no practical experience, as that wouldn't actually make it any quicker or easier to train them up in the role initially. But a short bookkeeping course to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of double entry could be useful.

If you live in or near a major city, the HMRC graduate programme starts recruitment soon for September 2020. You just need a degree, no age limit. The training is fairly similar.

www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-professional-development-programme

There’s a big demand for accountants but it’s a job where automation may take over soon