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Accountancy By Caitlin Hughes
What do Accountants do? • Accountants give specialist financial help and advice to individuals and to organisations of all types and sizes. Financial institutions, such as banks, building societies, accountancy and insurance firms, now compete in areas of business, consultancy, financial advice and information services. Accountants don’t just do bookkeeping and auditing, they are financial specialists.
What Accountants need? • A logical mind • The ability to analyse information • A good level of numeracy • Good interpersonal skills • Knowing a foreign language helps • A reasonable level of ICT
Qualifications Needed • To train as an accountant you need minimum qualifications equivalent to A levels. However in practise the majority of people entering accountancy have a degree in Accountancy. People with lower level qualifications can train for Accountancy technician-level work. In some circumstances it also helps to know a language.
Pay and Prospects • Salaries in accountancy mainly depend on the sector of accountancy you work in. The starting salary for new graduate trainees is around £20,000. Recently qualified accountants can earn £35,000 +. Senior staff often earn £60,000+. Chartered accountants can earn around £100,000.The very top jobs can pay 6 figure salaries.
Training to be a Professional Accountant • Training is long and hard. Membership to professional accountancy bodies is dependant on passing exams and completing a period of practise experience. Study routes you can go include training on-the-job and college or university courses.
Routes to Accountancy • Most entrants are graduates with a degree in economics ect. Graduate training programmes are available and an excellent way into a job but places are limited. • Trainees are able to enrol on the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Education and training scheme, studying by day release or distance learning.
It is possible to train as an accountant with out a degree. You can start from a position such as an accounting technician and it is also possible to gain the necessary NVQs/SVQs to allow entry to professional qualification courses.