Accountancy and Finance

Once you realise money doesn’t grow on trees after all, it’s time to turn to accountancy and finance to understand how it works, what the best ways are of keeping hold of it and making it grow in a different way. Ever since we’ve had some form of money, which has had many forms, all quite different to the figures you see on your online bank account, there have been people recording it, managing it, investing it and losing it!

Many professionals in this sector combine roles, for example an accountant working in a small organisation may also be responsible for payroll (paying employees wages and expenses), and taxes.

The guaranteed need for high quality accounting means the sector is considered to be fairly stable. The head of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) UK, Andrew Leck has reported that accountants are vital for boosting economies worldwide and will play an important role in helping businesses, from small to corporate, to find a way out of the recession.


This sector can be split into...

Accountancy – this profession is all about understanding and managing the finances of all kinds of organisations. Find out why you should consider accountancy.

Financial services – as well as accountancy, organisations and individuals need financial services. These may comprise of one or a combination of: advice, planning and management, management accountancy, treasury (partly the management of risks) and insolvency (dealing with bankruptcy).

Investment management – this area of the sector is concerned with the management of individuals and organisations' assets and credit, and also with pensions (the money you save whilst working to use when you retire).

Regulation of accountancy and finance – the oversight of accountants and financiers work is another part of this sector; it's all about supporting their work and making sure both the professionals and the professional bodies that regulate them are doing their jobs properly. Quality management also comes into this sub-sector.

Taxation and payroll – almost everyone has to pay taxes of some sort at some point in their life, so tax advice from a professional adviser will always be needed. Payroll professionals deal with the calculations and payments of wages of individuals within organisations, also dealing with relevant taxes.


There are a number of professional bodies covering these sectors. Check out their own entries in the Accountancy and Finance sector in the Profession Finder.

Other relevant professions to look into are administration, book-keeping, cost engineering, auditing and being a cashier.


Here are some things you really want to know:


Jobs and salaries

Confused by which job to go for in this sector? Check out the various job profiles that make up accountancy and finance, from ACCA.

Accountancy

If you would like to be an accountant, find out from ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) what your career options are. Read about the salary and benefits you can expect to receive as a trained accountant, find out what it means to be a Chartered Accountant and what it can lead onto.

Check out what jobs are there in management accountancy and CIMA's (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) salary surveys.

Find out all you need to know about a career in financial accountancy, look for jobs in this field and get some career advice from the IFA (Institute of Financial Accountants).

Read information on salaries and jobs at each NVQ level for accounting technicians, and take a look at AAT's (Association of Accounting Technicians) ten top accountancy firms.

Financial services

Find out more about what a financial adviser does, and a financial analyst and how much they earn. Also take a look at some of the other job profiles as described by the IFS School of Finance, and the industry sectors you are likely to work in as a professional in this field.

Financial planners and advisers work for all sorts of people to help them achieve their goals or at particular times when extra help is needed, for example when planning to retire. Organisations also hire financial planners or advisers to help them match their finances to their organisational goals and issues. Find out all you need to know about a career in this field, and see the varied job roles that come under financial planning.

Fancy something a bit different? Take a look at this overview of a career as a financial analyst.

Find out all about careers in risk management from the Institute of Risk Management’s pages. Also check out the AIRMIC (Association of Insurance and Risk Managers) career model, which outlines the various job roles with their relevant salary ranges. If you’re interested in this area, you might also want to check out becoming a Compliance Officer. There is more information about this profession in our sector summary on Internal Auditing and Risk Management.

Find out what a career in treasury management involves, and about how diverse life as a Chartered Loss Adjuster can be. Public Loss Assessors are sought when people have experienced loss due to fires, floods and storms as well as transit, computer loss and pollution.

Investment management

Find out about working in credit management. This can involve loan management, trade credit insurance, money and debt advice, or debt collection.

Assets come in many forms. The Institute of Asset Management (IAM) focuses on supporting professionals that deal with clients owning critical infrastructure assets. These are systems and services that are essential to the running of the country, such as electricity and gas systems, public health, banking and transportation. Find out more about what asset management is, and take a look at jobs in the field to get an idea of what’s out there.

The investor relations profession is all about managing strategies for companies’ communications and relationships with their investors. Find out more about how it is useful and why you should consider picking it as your career.

See what a career in pensions involves – whether you choose to be an administrator or a manager. Find out how much more you can earn as a pensions manager if you join the Pensions Management Institute, and what careers are available now in pensions.

Regulation of accountancy and finance

Check out which professional bodies the Professional Oversight Board for Accountancy oversee, and what role those involved in the regulation of this sector play.

Find out more about quality management, why it’s an important profession, and what the key job roles are in this field.

Taxation and payroll

Learn what a tax adviser does, and about the benefits and likely salary for a trained professional in this area. Also find out what a Taxation Technician is, and why you would want to train as one.

Interested in a career in Revenues, Benefits or Rating Valuation?

Indirect taxes are those defined as not being as ‘direct’ as income tax, such as corporation tax and capital gains tax, for example. You can train as an indirect tax specialist.

Working in payroll means being responsible for the management and payment of employees’ salaries and expenses, and for communicating with the tax office to ensure employees are paying the right amount of income tax. You might decide to be a payroll administrator or payroll manager.

If you are interested in a profession in this sector, it might also be worth you checking out our pages on related professions in Actuarial and Statistics, Insurance and Banking, Internal Auditing and Risk Management, and Purchasing and Selling.

Routes and qualifications

Contact CIPFA's (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) Education Advisers to get help deciding what sort of course to take to become qualified in this sector.

Accountancy

You do not need to be a graduate to become an accountant - there are various non-graduate routes into accountancy. The Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA) offers routes for school leavers and provides information for those with no qualifications to those with a relevant degree. View their route map and read about the various study options available to you. Find information on learning/training providers here. Also have a look at ACCA’s guide to ‘Getting that job’ and their advice on ‘New ways of recruiting’ via social media and web 2.0.

You can study with a choice of six universities nationwide to become a qualified AIA (Association of International Accountants) accountant. This qualification is accepted as equivalent to a first degree by many MBA (Master of Business Administration) programmes, if this were something you wanted to go on to do in order to continue your professional education.

For management accountancy, see qualifications on offer, entry routes and training providers available. Also see the qualifications you can obtain for a career in Public Finance.

AAT's vocational qualifications are designed to give our students practical accounting skills that can be used instantly in the workplace. Many employers prefer to recruit AAT trained staff and some employers also support their staff through the AAT qualification. They assess understanding and ability through a combination of computer based tests and projects.  Our qualifications include:


The AAT have introduced computer based assessments, which run throughout the year allowing student members to progress through our qualifications at their own pace, rather than being restricted by exam sittings.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales offers various routes to full qualification. See this information on training to become a Chartered Accountant.

Check out the six different entry routes into accountancy with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Financial services

Find out how to get started in a career in financial services, and about the options available to you for getting qualified.

Money advisers tend to start out by volunteering at a Citizens Advice Bureau, find out about this and other routes into financial advice. See more courses on offer to train as a financial adviser.

Take a look at the route to becoming a qualified loss adjuster. Study online in your own time to become a qualified risk manager. Get some answers from the International Compliance Association about studying to become a compliance officer.

Have a look at the variety of courses offered by Chartered Bankers in Scotland, and more financial services courses from the Chartered Insurance Institute.

IRRV (the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Validation) offer a range of courses for professionals working with benefits, revenues (incomes) and valuation of land. Find out what the options are for studying for IRRV qualifications.

Also see what opportunities there are for training in financial markets from the ICMA (International Capital Market Association).

The Investor Relations Society offers a professional qualification for Investor Relations practitioners, which will enhance your career and professional status.

Investment management

See advice for graduates considering a career in treasury management and information on professional qualifications in treasurer management.

Find out about professional qualifications in credit management, and how they can be achieved – through home study, supported study or evening classes.

Interested in helping people have enough money when they retire? Check out the qualifications available from the PMI (Pensions Management Institute) that will train and develop you as a pensions manager.

Taxation and payroll

If you are interested in training as a taxation technician, order the ATT's (Association of Taxation Technicians) course prospectus.

Find out about training as an indirect tax specialist and use the letters AIIT (Associate of the Institute of Indirect Taxation) after your name to show you are a trained professional.

Read about the qualifications offered for payroll and public sector pensions administration and management from the Institute of Payroll Professionals.


Funding and support

Kaplan scholarship scheme for school leavers

Kaplan give school leavers in year 11 and 13 the opportunity to apply for a place on their Scholarship programme. The winners of the Accountancy Scholarship receive full AAT tuition followed by your choice of ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW or CIPFA training.

Scholarships – check out funding on offer for ACCA accounting qualifications.

Find out about Education and Scholarship Funds available from IFS School of Finance for training in financial services.

See the prizes and awards available for training as a financial adviser on the Personal Finance Society’s pages.


What's it really like working in Accountancy and Finance?

Accountancy

Accountants often have to work long hours however the rewards are generous. Read the blogs of professional accountants working for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); also check out some interesting answers to ACCA’s Careers FAQs’.

Find out what it is like to be a Chartered Accountant – read what qualified and trainee accountants have to say. See some case studies for more individual accounts of life as an accountant, or a as a management accountant. Have a look at IAPA’s (International Association of Professional Accountants) member listings to find those in your local area – get an idea of what they do, email them and maybe see if you can discuss their career in person or on the phone.

Check out these case studies from the AAT showing alternative routes to university, as well as their Youtube page.

Big accountancy firms begin recruiting at the beginning of the academic year (starting from September) however many vacancies are open all year round on a rolling basis.

Financial services

Explore case studies of the treasury profession and possible career paths. Also take a look at this case study of a financial adviser.

See some profiles of those in the loss adjusting profession, and also some case studies relevant to a career in Public Finance.

Find out what it’s like to be a financial manager for a large company, and a self-employed financial adviser, early in her career.

Investment management

Investor relations tend to hold management roles, with good skills in marketing and communications. Find out more about professionals in this field.

Taxation

Have a look at these career profiles of Taxation Technicians, and of a Tax Consultant.


How many jobs in Accountancy and Finance are out there?

All organisations need at least one person to manage their finances, so a job in this sector will always have a future. It is also a sector with many opportunities to progress your career, start your own business or do consultancy work alongside your employment.

“Hundreds of thousands of people choose a career in Accountancy” and “at times of greater financial risk, good accountants are needed to help manage the risk” (ACCA).

Read about the career prospects for loss adjusters.

Location, location, location

Professional accountants are needed everywhere, from Australia to Sweden and from Hong Kong to Brazil. Read more about working internationally.

Your career is likely to be office based and roughly 9-5 working hours, although some job roles in finance are, particularly when starting out, renowned for being demanding in terms of longer hours and hard graft. Don’t forget this will pay off and your opportunities to work from home or set up your own business will increase as you develop your career.

As well as working from your desk, you are likely to be involved in meetings and conferences, and will be encouraged to attend events and training courses in order to develop your professional skills.

Will a career in Accountancy and Finance suit me?

Read about the skills you will develop during your training in this sector. Could you master these skills?

Accountancy

Find out about what you’ll need to become a professional accountant – skills and experience.

Check out what a career in audit requires.

Financial services

See if you've got what it takes to be a financial manager.

Find out which skills and attributes are needed from financial planners.

See what’s needed to become a financial adviser. Could this be the job for you?

The AIRMIC career model will give you an idea of the skills needed to become a risk manager.

Investment management

See what you need to show evidence of to be a good pensions adviser.

Regulation of accountancy and finance

Find out what members of the CQI (Chartered Quality Institute) have to say about their careers.

Taxation

Think you could make a good tax adviser? Check your skills against this list.

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