Accounting Career Change: The 3 Main Qualifications

Considering an accounting career change? Well, it’s never too late to decide which direction you want to take your career especially if you are fed up, feel you’ve made the wrong decision, or simply want a career change. If you’ve decided that your future could be a career in accounting, you will need to become qualified and you need to do your research to find the right course of study depending on which branch of accountancy appeals most to you.

There are lots of different job roles within accountancy, and you’ll need to make some decisions at the outset to make sure you will be successful in landing your dream job. Information on cover letter writing, resumes and graduate success tips are down the page, so read on.

The three main areas of accountancy and the relevant qualifications are listed below:

ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
This course of study is for people who want to become qualified Chartered Accountants and comprises 3 levels of examination and a minimum of 3 years practical experience.

CIMA: Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
This qualification focuses on business needs, business planning, strategy and change across all sectors and also comprises of 3 years assessed practical experience and exams. The CIMA qualification leads to jobs in Management Accounting, Financial Management or as a Financial Controller.

ACA: Association of Chartered Accountants
Training lasts for between 3 and 5 years and you must pass the Institute examinations plus complete the work experience requirements. Becoming an ACA ensures that your career will be varied leading to many different opportunities and personally (and financially) rewarding. To gain an ACA qualification you have to be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Careers include: Chartered Accountants, Auditors and Strategic Business Advisers. If you are sure you would like a career in practice, then the ACA (Chartered Accountant) exams as they are considered more prestigious in than the other qualifications, although they are considered much harder to attain.

So, if you are considering an accounting career change, you also need to decide if you want a career in practice i.e. Audit, Statutory Accounts preparation and taxation for private clients, or if you think you would prefer to work in industry and be responsible for management accounts or quarterly / annual forecasts and budgets, or in cost accounting and project accounting and so on.

If you are unsure about which direction to take for your accounting career change, then I suggest you start the ACCA (Certified Accountants) exams as it will help to open doors in both practice and industry.

Your move into an accounting career will take flight sooner if you can pass the Professional Exams first time, as you will then find it easier to get work as it it will show:-

1) you are able to pass the exams and

2) you are committed to a career in accountancy.

In addition, if you would like a career in practice, you may find it better to focus on applying for the smaller firms as they may be more flexible in their intake (i.e. more likely to consider a career changer) than say the big 4 firms such as Price Waterhouse Coopers or KPMG.

If you wish your accounting career change to take you into working in industry, then there are number of roles you can try to open the doors, although you may find some of these roles repetitive and them boring but as with many things: you have to start somewhere. Here's an accountant cover letter and an example of how to prepare accounting resumes to get you started.

The Big Four public accounting firms (PWC, KPMG, Ernst & Young, DeloitteTouche) are the best in the industry and a launching pad for an amazing career.

If you've read anything about me on this site you will know that I joined KPMG in my early career and spent a number of years building up a career consulting practice within the KPMG Management Consulting part of the firm.

Working with a firm like KPMG (KPMG Peat Marwick in those days) is an incredible experience and one I would recommend to anyone who wants to develop their career or make an accounting career change.

Landing a job with one of the Big 4 is the ultimate final exam.... Click Here To Pass First Time

"Working for one of the Big 4 was a truly remarkable experience. In many ways it felt like joining a fraternity. The connections I made within the firm are some of my best friends today and I can’t even count the number of times that a door has been opened for me by a PWC alumni. It is with that gratitude in mind that I started Big4Guru.com. It is my passion to help accounting students and graduates feel that rush of excitement when they learn that they too have been hired by the Big 4."

Whichever branch of accounting you want to pursue for your future career

ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
CIMA: Chartered Institute of Management Accountants or
ACA: Association of Chartered Accountants

You know its going to take a lot of work so do your research and get to it!

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