The role of an accountant and how to get started - outer London

[Acoldglassofwhat]

Hi
I wondered if anyone could outline what the role of an accountant really involves and what the pros and cons of this career are, also is there anything I should be aware of before starting this journey? I have GCSE Maths C and English B, I have a level 3 diploma however this is in a healthcare topic.

I am looking for a career that steers away from hospital work (obviously unless it was accounts based). I know that some people say you don’t need good maths skills or to be particularly “clever” to do accounting so what level of difficulty might I expect? I’m wondering if I will be up to scratch. For reference I am a 30 year old female.

I have decided that since I have absolutely no experience in using accounts software, I should start from the bottom which seems to be level 2. The only issue is, it says that for example with AAT, you need to be employed already in an office which would allow and support your learning. I currently work in a hospital ward (not admin).

What would my steps need to be? I could fund the course however I am confused about the work experience. I have worked in offices/admin before but only on temporary contracts, so I don’t have much to show. I can not really remember how to use excel despite me attending a microsoft excel course 4 years ago. So I would probably need to revisit excel as well.

Thanks 🤞

You may find the National Careers Service helpful.

Try this page as a start:

nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/private-practice-accountant

Hi OP, there can be loads of variety in an accountant role so it depends on the size of the company you work for and what type of accountant (broadly financial accountant and management accountant).

you can study AAT self study by just registering with AAT and pay the yearly fee, buy the books and pay for exams. If you have no finance experience then I’d give level 2 a go and see how you do, if you find it very easy you can always skip to the next level. It’s great for giving you a base though and will explain basics.
AAT will give you a title of accountant technician and you can work as an account (I believe) but to be a chartered accountant (and ultimately you can earn more) you need to do another qualification like ACCA, ACA or CIMA.

Most accounting qualifications require a certain number of relevant work experience as part of the certification.

(Not sure about aat but the others do, ACA, cima and cipfa). So you would need to get a training contract with a company at some point during your qualification.

Many companies offer contracts where you work in an accounts role and they will give you some time and money towards your training.

I think I would brush up your excel and try to find an entry level accounts job eg purchase ledger or credit control. These type of roles are a combination of admin, data entry and calling people. You would have a chance to get that without much prior experience.

You could begin to study in your spare time and then look for another role that supported your training either elsewhere or sideways in the same organization.

I did once hire a promising school leaver with no experience for an accounts assistant role with aat training help, so it might not be totally out of the question to get that without prior experience.

I went into accounting from investment banking at 28. My advice is to start the ACCA exams and see how you go. There is quite a bit of help with study material and courses. Once you have the first level completed it will give you a better sense of this is for you.

ACA qualified is all great and good but not everyone needs to be a chartered accountant and at 30 I would think carefully before embarking on this route because big4 is the natural place to go and it’s a 21/22 year olds game. I did and survived. I was in the US and the hours were brutal. It’s the same in the UK. The pay is absurdly low for the hours actually worked. No joke, I earned less than minimum wage on an hourly basis. However it helped leapfrog my career and today, at 42, I’m in a great role and very well paid.

What pays really well is someone who understands how business works and can take the financials and help a business understand what levers to pull to improve profitability. The other well paid role is that of the bookkeeper. Businesses just want that taken care of and you can do bookkeeping for a couple of different people, making a good income for the hours worked.

Accountant here. Do you have any accounts knowledge at all or are you starting from scratch? If you have no experience/knowledge, then definitely start with AAT. You can self study (buy books or courses from places like Kaplan or BPP). There are free resources or lectures from places like Accowtancy or Open Tuition online. However, you will need to find an accounts job to become an AAT member and qualify. You need to have some level of experience that needs to be signed off by a supervisor (This may have changed, as it's been almost 20yrs since I did my AAT. But it is most definitely needed for ACCA, CIMA and ACA)

AAT will give you a fantastic basis from which to move to ACCA, ACA or CIMA... depending on which avenue of accounting you want to go into. ACA and ACCA are the qualifications you need if you want to go into practice accounting (working at an accounts practice (like KPMG, PwC etc), doing people's accounts, tax returns, corp tax etc). CIMA and ACCA are great for industry accounting (working in a finance department for a business. Eg. I am ACCA part-qualified and I'm the finance manager for a tech company. I do the company accounts, management accounts, VAT returns, payroll, pensions etc).

I won't lie, the exams aren't easy when you get more technical and into the ACCA, CIMA, ACA world. But with the right level of dedication and study, like anything in life, it will pay off. I really recommend getting an entry level job in accounts, as theory from the books compared to actually doing the work is different. Your GCSE's won't play into it at all, so don't worry about that side of things. Also, if you get an entry level accounts job, you will be exposed to accounts software and Excel. A lot of companies will offer study support packages as well. This is how I have mainly funded my courses. Your employer will pay for your books, courses and exams; but bear in mind there will be a catch. If you leave the company early, you may be expected to pay some or all of it back, depending on your contact. Most places say you pay back what they spent on you for the last 12mths.

Speak to some accounts recruiters in your area and tell them what you want. I'm not sure where you live, so I can't suggest any recruiters other than Hays (which is a national recruiter).

I hope that helps. It's a great career and so much potential. You've got this!!