To want to become an accountant...

[floppityhatesflowers]

I'm currently working 12 hours a week in the evenings as we have a 2 year old and 9 month old. So SAHM in the daytime and work a few evenings a week.

I can't do this forever as although it's quite an interesting job, I need more than this for my brain once our dc are in school full time.

I've always been interested in accounts and dabbled with sage software in my previous role and feel that my personality and skill set would suit this role well. (Although several people have told me its dull, which probably says more about me ). I was thinking of applying for a course now, and becoming a book keeper initially, trying to get some work in this area, then moving into getting my qualifications for accounting if all is going well.

Would this be a good starting place? I feel a bit clueless in all honesty!

I'm fully qualified AAT. Loved the course and it really suited me. Found it a breeze. Having said that though I didn't go on to do CIMA or the others as I think they are above my intellect levels!
I love my job. Yes sometimes it's monotonous but aren't all jobs. Always plenty of other jobs available at decent pay too. Many part time and flexi roles too.
I laughed at the comments about automation. No way for what I do. NO computer would be as good as me at my job

You definately don't need to have a degree in Accounts! DS is doing Chartered Accountancy and is a Geography graduate others in his practice have degrees in maths, Economics and English.. A friend who looked after trainee Accountants in a large practice says that often the Accountacy grad stuggle most with the Exams as they think they know more than they do!
Son's firm take graduates to train but also train to AAT level 4 and then encourage the technicians to carry on with their studies. if they want.
If you do ACT or Accountancy degree, I think you can get exemptions from some papers from ACA but it is worth a look around the websites at AAT, ACCA, ACA, CIMA etc. It is hard work and takes a fair while. For ACA at least, you need to have completed client work to finish the qualification so you will need a traineeship at some point.
I would go for the book keeping or AAT to start and see where it takes you.

Definitely don’t need a relevant degree...mine’s in chemistry...

If you don’t have a degree it might be worth finding an accountancy apprenticeship as that’ll give you more study time (although may be less well paid). Big 4 do now take non graduates but (having been a Big 4 trainee) it’s not something I’d recommend with children as the hours are not child friendly.

Fantastic job and I earn very good money (10 years post qualification). If money matters it’s worth considering your industry as some specialisms pay better than others...but often at the price of longer or more stressful hours. Having done the hard graft I now have excellent flexibility and no fear of the job market.

The robots are here but they’re freeing up accountants to do more value add work (eg cost benefit analysis).

I'm only part qualified but it's meant I could easily work part time when the boys were little.

Yes it's becoming more automated, will xero and ReceiptBank etc, but I don't think it's losing it's personal touch need.

My DS is majoring in accounting at uni and wants to become a CPA (Chartered Accountant in the US). They are sought after and well paid, and he loves the subject - it's just a natural fit for his talents, as sounds to be true for you.

The only advice I'd offer is to try to add some related skills that will help you stand out, like IT or HR.

You need to graduate in accounts

No you don't. I don't have a degree and I'm ACA (chartered) and did it via the AAT route.

It is tough though, AAT will be fine home study, ACA you'd struggle and you need to be working in practice really to fully understand it all (plus you need to record your hours worked for your membership application) however, to work as a freelance Accountant you don't need to be chartered, you only need it if you want to get a practising certificate to do company audit.

I think people who say it’ll be a profession lost to robots don’t realise there’s a big difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant.

I’m a part qualified accountant and unlikely to become fully qualified as I don’t need to for the roles I enjoy which is management accountant. I did AAT and got my first management accountant role before I even completed it. I then started ACCA but took a break to start my family. My role isn’t dull to me and I get to work part time, mostly from home which fits in great with family life. I watched a young colleague start with ACCA and he really struggled as he didn’t know the basics. AAT is a great place to start.

Automation isn’t going to help with smaller business type roles. The only automation may be where invoices are electronic and these then feed into client accounting systems - however not many accountants sit there and only tap in invoice information. I wouldn’t class them as accountants.

It’s a lot more than that!

Plus it’s a good gateway to other professions.

Good money.... Flexible Working.... You can find your own special niche....

Hard Work to get the Qualifications, but definitely worth it in the long run.

I’m PQ and really like my job. No degree but loads of experience and pretty well paid although it’s relative and suspect the MN Massive would think it’s peanuts.

The flexibility is fantastic and I’ve never had trouble finding work.

Toying with finishing my qualifications but not sure.

DP qualified less than two years ago from ACCA and is already on very good money. He did a completely unrelated degree. His advice to others has always been to not bother with AAT and get straight on with ACCA but it depends how far you want to go and how much money you want to earn. It also opens up far more roles than just pure accounting!

I'm an accountant. I echo what others have said, the training was really intense, for ACA I was working a high pressure, long hour job on top of studying. Once you qualify though it gets a lot more relaxed and there are lots of avenues open to you. Although I would say a huge part of accountancy is knowing how to deal with people as much as numbers.

Also we are very aware of the automation risk, at my firm anyway, so we are always looking at new and different ways to add value to the services we provide and how to use automation to make the more repetitive parts of our jobs easier. I also think those reports underestimate how much humans like interacting with other humans and how important that is in providing good service.

Thank you all so much for your replies, they're all really helpful. I've definitely got lots to look into.

I know it will be a lot of work, which is why I'm looking into it much earlier than I'd be ready to start as I need to do it at the right time. Both dc don't sleep and DH works really long hours at the moment, so right now would probably be a disaster! But I want to have an action plan to focus on.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace wow, that's an epic hair do! I'm pleased it's not as dull as some people have been suggesting it is.

I qualified as a chartered accountant at a big 4 and it was the dullest thing ever, in spite of being a very dull person. I didnt find the study hard but it is time consuming and soul sapping.

To each their own...

Likewise, Thisisbear... what do you do now if you don't mind me asking?

I moved to public sector and ended up in a related but essentially non-financial role. Don't miss audit/big 4 but wonder if I am using my qualifications (ACA) as much as I could...

I'm a chartered accountant and don't do accounts - more commercial finance in a senior role. It can open many doors, not just lead to a monthly accounts processing role.

I'd say go for it

Go for it! Have a think about whether you are more interested in management accounts or financial accounts- very different roles. I did CIMA and was exempt from the first stage due to my degree, it took me about 2.5 years to do all my exams. You will need to have a work experience portfolio signed off to become fully chartered. Month end can be strenuous and boring at times but there is a lot more to it than that.

“Accountancy” is not boring. There may be some boring jobs within the field, or some boring days, but it is a vast and varied profession with an insane amount of interesting paths.

I love being an accountant. And I even liked the exams.

I've worked in accounts for 20 years in finance assistant/ bookkeeper roles. I did AAT level 2&3 about 10yrs ago, didn't continue studying as babies got in the way. Only now as they are settled in school am I ready to progress and I'm starting CIMA. I'm excited to get qualified and increased employment opportunities and pay but also worried about the level of studying whilst working.

i have a degree in accounting and finance - i graduated in 2014 so it's now 5 years later and i am struggling to get a job in finance. i would ideally like a training contract to become a chartered accountant . I've volunteered and worked full time in an unrelated role while looking after my daughter single-handedly for most of it. i feel ready to really concentrate on my career now but am worried it has been too long since obtaining my degree? any advice please from any accountants out there i would be so grateful!

Chartered accountant here- it’s a great career and very interesting. I get paid well for the work I do and know that I can quite easily find another job if I need to.

Only thing is gaining the qualification. It’s hard work especially if you do it while working full time. It requires a LOT of study time. Thankfully I did it fresh out of university when I was young and had no responsibilities.

@lululu16 I’m so surprised by this. I’m not even qualified and only have 6 months experience of actual accounts prep and I’m fairly confident that if I lost my job today I’d have a new one fairly quickly. Have you signed up with any recruitment agencies?