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There is an unprecedented demand for qualified accountants. If a young person has an interest in business and an aptitude for figures, accountancy is one of the more secure career choices available. Virtually every person needs an accountant at some stage. It differs from other professions in that there are several options open to someone with an accountancy qualification.
With an accountancy qualification one does not actually have to practice as an accountant, one can do other things, for example, in the whole financial services business - in banking, pensions, and management - the skills of an accountant can be very useful.

The work of an Accountant
What makes a good Accountant
How to become an Accountant
Job Opportunities and Earnings
Case History
Do's and Don't's

The Work of an Accountant

The work of an accountant involves the management of money - accountants prepare and analyse accounts and provide financial advice. They work in two main areas - financial accounting and management accounting.

Financial accountants work with the accounts that every business is obliged to keep by law. Professional accountants prepare annual audits of accounts for both the Revenue Commissioners and shareholders. Government departments and other public sector organisations are also required to have their accounts audited by professional accountants on an annual basis.

Management accountants give detailed analyses of a company's income and expenditure, which are used to formulate a company's policy. "Management accountancy is extremely challenging," says Tony White, Director of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). "In a company take over, for example, it is the management accountant who analyses the financial information, who examines the company's market share, its competition and its expansion opportunities. As a management accountant you have to take a strategic view of organisations. Your role is not just to number crunch but to add value to the organisation."

Accountants work in three main settings - public practice, industry and commerce and the public sector.

Public Practice
Public practice accountants work for accountancy firms. The range of their work can depend on the size of the practice and the value of the clients. The larger the firm the greater the degree individual accountants can specialize within it. The main areas of specialization are:
  • Auditing - examining a company's books and liaising with management, certifying that the accounts are a true and fair account of a company's state;
  • Consultancy - providing financial services and advice to business and individuals to help in areas such as taxation, computerisation, marketing, human resources and business strategy;
  • Insolvency work - dealing with the financial affairs of a company or an individual when bankruptcy has been declared.
The qualifications of the following accountancy bodies are suitable for public practice work: ICA, ACCA, CPA and IPA.

Industry and Commerce
Industry and commerce accountants are employed directly by firms. Both management and financial accountants work in this setting.
Financial accountants record and analyse financial transactions while management accountants advise on financial planning and control.
The qualifications of the following accountancy bodies are suitable for both financial and management accountancy work: ICA, ACCA and IPA CIMA graduates can work as management accountants but cannot carry out audits.

Public Sector
The main role of the public sector accountant is to manage public money and to make sure that available resources are used efficiently.
The work involves working with colleagues in other departments to assess their financial needs, the preparation of annual accounts and the production of estimates and projections for budget proposals.
The IPA/CIPFA qualification is specifically designed for those who want to work as a financial accountant in the public sector.
CIMA, ICA, ACCA, CPA and the IPA qualified accountants are also suitable.

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What makes a good Accountant?

According to Dr. Albert Power, Director of Education at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland the kind of people who make the best chartered accountants are:
  • People interested in business and how organisations work.
  • People, who are comfortable with figures, can analyse data and assimilate information.
  • People who enjoy finding creative solutions to problems.
  • People who like to assist others with business and financial matters.
  • People who like working with others as part of a team.
  • People who are highly motivated to succeed.
  • People who enjoy challenging work.
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How to become an Accountant

There are four routes to becoming a professional accountant:
1. By gaining a third-level qualification - certificate, diploma, degree in commerce or business or other academic areas or by gaining a professional qualification, like the Accountancy Technician qualification, and then joining one of the accountancy bodies. Exemptions from certain examinations and subjects are given depending on the type of qualification gained. This is by far the most popular route at present.

2. By gaining a third-level qualification and doing a full-time post-graduate course which includes preparation for accountancy exams e.g. MBS Accounting - one year, full-time in DCU, also Masters/Diploma course in accounting in UCD, UCC, QUB and UU.

3. By joining one of the accountancy bodies and studying for the exams while working - an option now being chosen by a small percentage of students.

4. By sitting the exams set by one of the accountancy bodies as part of a third-level course e.g. the three-year National Diploma in Professional Accounting in Athlone IT. Athlone IT is one of the biggest providers of full-time accountancy courses in Ireland and takes students to the final examinations of ACCA, CIMA, CPA and IATI.

Details of examination structure, subjects and exemptions are available from the professional accountancy bodies. Professional membership usually takes five years for school-leavers and about three and a half years for graduates.

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Job Opportunities and Earnings

In accountancy the jobs situation is heavily tied to the economy. This week three of the major accountancy recruitment agencies revealed that they are experiencing an unprecedented demand for accountants.
Paul McArdle, Director of Accountants' Panel, finds the demand for accountants extremely brisk. "The market in general is very good for accountants at all levels but particularly for part qualified accountants," he said. "There is a huge demand both from industry, practice and the financial services. The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has been a blessing for accountants, and at present, in the UK and Australia there is also a great demand for accountants."

Earnings
Trainees: £10 - £15K
Newly Qualified Accountants: £28 - £33K
Financial Controller: £40 - £50K

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Case History

Greg Reid BBS MICA works at present as an Assistant Financial Controller of a Bermudan offshore financial services company. He did his Leaving Certificate in St. Munchin's College, Limerick in 1990 and in 1994 graduated from with University College, Limerick with a degree in Business Studies (BBS).

Following graduation he chose the route of Chartered Accountancy. At the time of his Leaving Certificate Greg did not have any definite career plans so he chose Business Studies, as it was a broad course offering a good general overview of all areas of business. There was no requirement to specialise in any one particular area until he had sufficient time to assess all the relevant options and see which one area suited him best.

It is a four-year course; the first two years offer a general overview of all areas of business - finance, economics, marketing, law etc. In the third year, having gained a better understanding of the business world, one can begin to choose the areas one would like to specialise in. UL offers work experience programmes where one spends time working in a position related to one's course.

Greg spent a few months working in a Limerick company and a year later he went to Dublin to work for six months. Since graduation he has discovered that employers hold the UL Business Studies course in very high regard. On the downside, because the course is so general, one may feel the need for further education after graduation, in Greg's case, accountancy exams. However, he certainly feels that the positives far outweigh the negatives and he would have no hesitation in recommending the course.

The Ups of the Career
  • Excellent job opportunities
  • Virtually every developed country in the world has openings for accountants
  • Post qualification salaries are very good
  • The image of the accountant has changed significantly in the last number of years and accountancy firms can now be quite fun places to work.
  • These firms now employ a high percentage of younger people and in line with trends in other industries accountancy firms are becoming more relaxed places to work.
The Downs of The Career
  • Certain accountancy companies expect one to work long hours.
  • Salaries in the early stages of your career can be quite low.
Career Path to Date
After graduating from UL Greg joined the accountancy firm Deloitte and Touche. He remained with D&T for four years. For most of this time he was attached to the audit department. Auditing involves checking the accounts of companies for accuracy. Through this work one gains an excellent understanding of how different businesses operate. While working in D&T he also studied for and passed his chartered accountancy exams. Once he had completed his contract and passed all exams he decided to gain some international business experience.
There were a number of options available to him but he chose a financial services company in Bermuda. He was attracted both by the location and the management accounting position they were offering him. After two years he was promoted to assistant financial controller. The company has recently opened offices in Dublin, Galway, Jersey and Boston and Greg is currently considering relocating to one of these places. Now the world surely is his oyster!

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Do's and Don't's

Do Accountancy if
  • You are interested in maths and problem solving
  • You are interested in a career offering excellent opportunities for working abroad.
Don't do Accountancy if
  • You are not willing to put in the effort required to pass all your accountancy exams
  • You are not willing to work longer than average hours in the first few years of your career
  • You are not willing to accept low pay in the early stages of your career.
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