Accountant Career Question. University Courses

Accountant Career Question. University Courses

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Hi there.

On previous research missions I generally came across the viewpoint that Accountancy degrees at university aren't worth a great deal. For the most part the advice I saw was if I had enough about me to get a general entry level accounts related role, then do so and go for AAT, afterwards trying to move up to CIMA/ACCA if possible/supported. In other words putting in the effort to study these in own time (if financially possible) would reap far greater rewards than university. This process being the inevitable route after any university degree anyway (minus the AAT if graduate job).

I'm at a point in life however where I'm really feeling like I've missed out on university. I look at my earning potential at the moment and see only potential for a very slight incline in salary through 30's, 40s. Although I accept university won't guarantee work, it is what you make it and I imagine that if I make it well, then that future earning potential will be increased. Aside from this I want to learn and have that my 100% focus. I would be able to enjoy the final years of my 20's, with time to undertake activities/interests whilst at physical peak. I will look to learn a language whilst there. Having the resultant degree affords me the future potential to emigrate. Basically, I'm looking at this as an opportunity for personal development whilst effectively pausing career for 4 years. 4 years out of the rest of my life. 4 years spent with a student loan/overdraft/savings that bottom line means I drop £200 a month in budget from present, but gain so much time to explore many other avenues. (I'm on £16k as an Expense Clerk)

I enjoy all things accounting/taxation. I enjoy knowledge, business, improving performance and so on. I have looked into the considerations for ACA/ACCA/CIMA. I believe my interests/goals lie in industry consulting. Now though the question. If I at university decide not to take accounting (bearing in mind the first paragraph) in order to widen out further still with perhaps a combined honours degree in Spanish and Business(+International)/Economics or another subject I am interested in, will I still have the opportunity to pursue Accounting afterwards? It would be an explicit choice to study something else most likely business related, with the goal to return to Accounting and the prof qual route later. OR, if so be it I must go to university to satisfy myself,must I definitely do Accountancy if want the opportunity to pursue it later?

I really appreciate your time in sharing your view and knowledge. This is a major turning point in my life and I really must be sure of what I am doing. I would like to learn other things before returning to accountancy, only if that opportunity isn't usurped as a result. 

Many many thanks for reading through!!

Replies (12)

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By tom123
26th Dec 2011 08:19

Speaking from experience

I graduated in accountancy, in the recession of the early 90s. During my degree, I was under the mistaken view that accountancy firms would take accounting graduates in preference to history etc. The reality was that firms wanted those with a 'broader' outlook.

The long & short is, I followed the AAT and CIMA route instead.(you can go straight to CIMA with a degree).

As an employer I now recruit AAT with a view to CIMA, and have worked with qualified colleagues who did not go to university.

If you are doing a degree, it needs to interest you, or else it will be a hard slog.

 

 

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By Shaun UK
26th Dec 2011 12:08

..picture becoming clearer

Thanks for that. 

I did wonder whether my choosing something else at university might lead to me to wish I'd have chosen accounting. It's what I enjoy. But at the same time the opportunity to widen out at university is tempting. If I'm going to spend the rest of my working life in accountancy, then 4 years opening my mind on a different subject isn't a long time. The only reason I've started thinking about widening out is down to this general view about firms wanting someone with varied knowledge that they also don't have to unlearn to some extent.

I do understand what you say about the hard slog potential. I have such a desire to learn though, that as long as I'm mentally on board and focused, I feel I'll be able to study something that might effectively be my 2nd choice.

Thank you for your words of help Tom.

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By sylou
27th Dec 2011 12:38

my experience

I have worked with others who did an accountancy degree, and from what I remember this didn't give them much advantage over those who did non-accounting related degrees (which was the route I took).  I think they were exempted an exam or two, but their practical knowledge and ability wasn't noticeably higher for it.

Your idea of a related or joint honours degree is probably a good one.  This would give you the chance to get a broader outlook, without appearing to have done a complete u-turn as you would if you studied something completely unrelated like history.

I have found that a degree will usually be an advantage over taking the AAT route, but there are certainly employers who would prefer you to take that route as well.

I would echo what tom123 said though, go for something you enjoy.

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Replying to carnmores:
Red Leader
By Red Leader
27th Dec 2011 17:29

not just accountancy

I think a good accountancy degree will concentrate on more conceptual stuff than the professional exams. Also a good dose of economics, statistics, operations research, etc will probably be included. So it could give you a deeper understanding of accountancy and financial matters than the professional exams alone.

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By neileg
28th Dec 2011 10:06

Choices

Depends where you are headed. If you see your career in the large business environment, either commerce or accountancy, then a degree will carry weight. If you see yourself as an accountant owning your own practice, then relevant practical and professional experience is far more important.

At the end of the day, though, it is your own skills and abilities that will see you through, whichever route you choose.

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By husainweb
28th Dec 2011 12:41

Broaden your horizons

I would advise pretty much anyone to go to university and get a degree from a well known institution. The academic rigour of the course, coupled with time with your fellow students and professors will be invaluable to you in the short-term as well as throughout the rest of your life.

Don't bother with an accounting degree or even an accountancy-focused degree. If personal development is the key then perhaps an economics or a law degree would be a better option. You will broaden your horizons significantly whilst still gaining knowledge that will be of practical benefit to you if you do qualify as an accountant afterwards.

Make sure you choose your university with care. The institution really does matter to the larger firms (irrespective of whether they are in the world of accountancy or not). Competition for graduate jobs is incredible these days so you might as well benefit from the automatic recognition of a top university. Also, if you're planning on moving outside the UK, a well know name will make life much much easier for you.

All the very best in the future!

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Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
28th Dec 2011 21:09

I don't know what they teach students on accountancy degrees ...

... but when I've worked with accountancy degree graduates, whatever they learnt in the 3 years didn't help much in the real world.

In fact, if anything, it hampered their progress in their professional exams.  The accountancy graduates assumed they knew half of what they needed to know to pass their professional exams, so would put in less effort and would quite often fail the professional exams.

If you wish to broaden your mind by studying a degree then good luck ... but I would suggest you be a bit more ambitious than studying accountacy.  Study something you are genuinely interested in.  There will be plenty of time to study accountancy in your professional exams later on in your career.

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By Shaun UK
29th Dec 2011 00:50

responses

Sylou : From everything read now it looks like I've got a decision to make. I'm aware of the need to do something I enjoy. For me that was accounting, but as has been said, there'll be plenty of studying that in future prof quals. My next topic of enjoyment is computing, but I suspect that would look somewhat the 'u turn' spoke of? I would like the time to learn a language, but the Spanish degree includes aspects of the literature, history and culture of. So yes a combined course would probably be best in order to incorporate something 'related' to accountancy. Maybe turn it into one of either "Business"("International")/"Economics" etc "with Spanish" as opposed to "Spanish with". That would show the commitment to the business/finance side. My only concern being I would 100% enjoy accountancy, 95% computing, 80% business related , 100% Spanish language - but ?% all things history of, literature of etc!

Husainweb : This is my other concern, the reputation of the university. As a mature student there is some leeway. I have the equivalent of 2 A levels and varied life and working experience. This would probably get me straight into metropolitan universities. Yet with "University of"s, I'm pretty sure foundation years or 'access to' degrees will be required, which would add yet another year to this journey. I really wish to avoid these. But it seems I will have to accept a 'met..', or bite the bullet and do another year. Is the added prestige so quantifiable, so as to take the extra year?

0103953 : To be honest there's many degrees, I'm guessing, that equal a 'not much help in the real world' tag. I know from my limited experience in bookkeeping for a vat exempt partnership, my expense clerk work at a big company scared of the vat man and the family's tax returns that work on the job fills gaps in knowledge and teaches more in a small time frame compared to academic learning. I spent hours teaching myself as much as I could about bookkeeping, accounts and taxation and the differences within. Until I was on the job things couldn't sink into place and even then a handful of new questions arose, leading to further learning. And yes, the less effort issue; going at it with fresh eyes seems a real benefit. As I'm writing this I think I'm practically sure of not doing Accounting at university now. It's what I want to do, but, the real decision is being sure of what I actually am going to study now! So I've made myself question my established interests so far. I've had a little look outside of those, wondering what else I might study. Would it be of benefit? Would it affect my going back to accountancy? If so, is it worth the detour? So many questions. If I was younger I could afford the gamble. This has to be the right decision though. I've wondered about engineering/forensics/psychology/animal studies (of some form). Places I've not necessarily been to before, but curious of. Curious obviously isn't enough though.

I waffle though. Thank you all kindly for your time. You are all helping with my end decision and I appreciate that. 

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By Gaynor
30th Dec 2011 11:36

Any IT based degree would come in very useful in your future career as an accountant.

I studied Mathematical Engineering at university, which had a high IT content, and it has stood me in good stead over the years. You'd be surprised how many IT queries a general practitioner gets, both from clients and colleagues! Plus it helps when dealing with the various pc/networking. printer problems within the office!

I also found that when I started my professional ACA studies, my logical mindset trained during my engineering degree, meant that I was very well equipped for the ACA exams.

When I was still a trainee, I loved the surprised look I got when I went out to do stock checks at engineering companies, and could recognise capacitors, resistors, gears etc. It immediately broke the ice with new clients when they realised that I understood engineering and was not just a beancounter. It still helps me today when I deal with clients in manufacturing and engineering.

I'd never recommend anyone do an accountancy degree, better to get some other knowledge that sets you apart from the rest!

 

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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Della Hudson FCA
By Della Hudson
30th Dec 2011 11:44

Engineers used to do best

When I graduated those with engineering degrees used to have the best pass rates in the ACA exams far surpassing the accounts graduates. My own degree was in chemistry and the diversity has been a help rather than a hindrance. Take a degree you enjoy but from a decent university and you will be able to skip AAT and start straight away on ACCA or ACA exams.

 

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By ahavard29
09th Jan 2012 11:50

Route to gain degree and ACA together

I thought you might find this page of interest http://careers.icaew.com/school-students-leavers/Entry-routes/University-and-higher-education/professional-accounting-programme

The programme covers five different stages and depending on your entry level you will be able to achieve:

AAT Diploma in Accounting Level 4ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB)BA (Hons) Professional AccountingACA from ICAEW MSc Professional Accounting.

You may also want to have a look at this page which gives some stats on the different degrees people take prior to ACA: 

http://careers.icaew.com/school-students-leavers/Entry-routes/University-and-higher-education

Good luck with your career development!

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Giraffe
By Luke
09th Jan 2012 12:45

I did International Management with French

at a fairly prestigious university then went on to do ACA at a Big 4 firm.

The great advantage of International Management with Modern Languages (French), as they called it, was that it was 1/3 pure management, 1/3 french and 1/3 international management (business topics about europe/Japan and international law etc but all taught in French).  For the French part there was no literature or history at all, which for me was the selling point as I hated french literature at A level. It was a sandwich degree with the 3rd year spent working in an accounts dept in France in my case. Strange knowing some accountancy vocab in French before knowing it in English though!!

I found the course gave me a great rounded business degree and indulged my love of French.  It gave me a real advantage when I started the ACA training as I had a lot more idea about business than a lot of non relevant graduates yet I wasn't too focussed on just accountancy so had a rounder experience.

To be blunt, with 2 A levels you will not get into a top firm whatever your degree or wherever it is from.  Whether you would want to get into a top firm is another matter, yes it's fab for prestige but not so relevant to everyday small businesses.

Good Luck in your quest

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