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How to get useful accountancy / bookkeeping experience

8 replies

GMH1974 · 23/04/2023 17:46

I'm 48, a graduate, and I'm doing the AAT level 2 as a career change. I've had merits and a distinction so far. Nearly 2 months ago I took a job as a Finance Assistant in a charity. I'm so bored and I don't feel I am using what I've learnt or really learning anything new. It's just data entry on sage and lots of admin. Is there a role / sector I could be applying for where I might actually use what I'm learning? I have asked my colleagues for help when I've been stuck on AAT accountancy questions and they haven't actually known the answers so I feel they don't actually understand the principles either.

OP posts:
Logistria · 23/04/2023 18:48

Respectfully, what type of work do you think you should be doing as an entry level trainee with no experience? What did you think the role would be?

Gaining experience in a key software package like Sage is really valuable - people pay for courses to be able to get that type of experience on their CV so they can get their foot in the door for roles! You're really fortunate.

It's great that you did well on the exams, but real life work isn't like the exams. Practical knowledge of accounting systems and how finance functions operate is important. There are legal obligations in terms of maintaining accounting records. It's not glamorous but the admin matters.

If you wanted to set up as a bookkeeper those are skills you would need - your clients wouldn't want to have conceptual accounting discussions either and you wouldn't be manually laying out T accounts. They'd want you to be fluent in maintaining their records using current tech, managing risks and complying with their legal obligations to keep appropriate accounting records.

Do you know how to fix errors in sage? Maintain a fixed asset register? Deal with write offs? Do year end recs? Bank recs? VAT returns? Operate different VAT schemes? Run reports for auditors? Post opening balance journals? Problem solve unusual scenarios or discrepancies? Do you know how to differentiate between capital and revenue expenditure when you're performing data entry? Analyse restricted versus unrestricted funds? Able to write narrative descriptions that summarise the nature of each transaction accurately so an auditor or HMRC will be satisfied?

These are all things you could be learning and embracing in your existing role. If you want to progress up into more senior positions then you need a thorough understanding of all the practical basics.

Do you think data entry and admin is beneath you? Because that's how you're coming across, so hopefully it's not the impression you're giving your colleagues.

Developing a foundation with the "boring" stuff is how you learn the practical skills to progress. It takes a minimum of 3 years to qualify as an accountant for a reason - it wasn't a reasonable expectation to think you'd be entrusted with the exciting high profile tasks before you had experience.

What is your long term goal? What kind of role do you ultimately want to be doing?

Have you looked at training contracts in accountancy practices? That would come with a clear progression pathway from first year trainee up into management and beyond, but I cannot think of any route into the profession that isn't going to start with the basics - because they are important.

Oblomov23 · 23/04/2023 19:03

Logistria has written it perfectly. I too am taken back by your attitude, it appears almost arrogant. What did you expect the charity job to entail? Have You finished a year end and submitted full accounts?

Can you use sage, QuickBooks, xero, sap, sage payroll comfortably. Could you do due diligence, or answer all an auditors questions. Could you sort a company's accounts, matching to statutory, if they hadn't been reconciled for 5 years+, were really messy, and all of the control accounts were a shambles?

I think there is an awful lot more for you to learn and you shouldn't get ahead of yourself. Some training? A new accounts job that guarantees internal training and mentorship?

GMH1974 · 23/04/2023 19:33

I'm not being given any useful experience

OP posts:
GMH1974 · 23/04/2023 19:37

I'd love to do all the above and I have previous experience of performance audits. I just feel I'm not learning much. I was wondering if I should try for somewhere corporate on a trainee scheme.

OP posts:
Namechange224422 · 23/04/2023 19:53

I work in charity finance.

Whilst a few charities may have excellent well run finance teams, I haven’t seen one yet. A lot are winging it with very little knowledge or professional experience so are hard for you to learn from. I’ve never come across a trained book keeper in a charity finance setting. They also don’t have a lot of funding for training or fancy computer programs so you’re unlikely to widen your experience beyond the program they use day-to-day.

In your position I would look for a similar role in a business. Try and choose somewhere with a finance team rather than just yourself, and in a business which is doing well in terms of growth etc. Ask questions about growth and development in the interview.

Namechange224422 · 23/04/2023 19:55

Somewhere corporate on a trainee scheme is a good shout

Xanadu1980 · 23/04/2023 19:59

If you want to accelerate your experience, I'd suggest applying for trainee accountant roles in an accountancy practice (not a big national chain, but more a local smaller one). That way you'll be doing different things constantly, different clients, different types of work, etc., getting experience of different makes of software, etc. Pay will be crap, but it's an entry level role anyway, so what can you expect?

By working in a small organisation, maybe mostly on your own, you're never going to get experience of different things at all.

Accountancy is a career where experience counts for say 90%, and qualifications for only 10%. I never recommend people to do the studying/exams ahead of getting experience - far better the other way around so you can learn on the job, and most employers would support you by funding your courses/exam fees and maybe even giving time off for study and exam leave.

Danikm151 · 23/04/2023 20:06

Could you look at doing an apprenticeship for level 3. They’re for people of all ages.

In my place we have an apprentice working in AP and she dips into doing other things to get a round experience.

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