Switching from Practice to Industry

Switching from Practice to Industry

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Hi All,

I am currently working for small practice firm since 2012, Since its a small firm I do all kind of tasks from bookkeeping to preparing annual accounts. I have two final professional papers left to complete my ACCA

Now I would like to move to industry around next year and need your advice. Should I take financial and performance management modules of ACCA if I want to move to industry? also since I am working for small firm we don't use much of excel so I am not advance or may be even an intermediate user of excel. Please advice me how should I gain more knowledge and experience in excel and if there are any other courses training I should get before applying for jobs in industry.

Also what kind of role should I apply as I will be ACCA qualified and member soon with around 4 years of experience in practice but  no experience in industry, will it be difficult for me to get job in industry since my experience is in practice and also for small firm not some big name firms.

I will really appreciate your answers from your knowledge and experience as I am quit worry about it.

Thanks

Replies (13)

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By cheekychappy
16th Oct 2015 12:45

I made the move to industry after qualifying, and then returned to practice before establishing my own practice. I have no regrets.

I wouldn’t move straight into industry after qualifying. I would wait a year, maybe two years post qualification. In the meantime, you should concentrate on getting further experience by changing your main duties from bookkeeping and accounts prep to mainly accounts prep and taxation.

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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 13:08

Thanks for your reply,

As per your last point regarding changing duties I am doing all all kind of task including accounts, VAT, corp and personal tax returns etc so there are no more areas where I can change my duties as its small firm so no chance of growth. Also i am looking at income perspective as well. there is no point for me to be at same role and around same salary after qualifying?  I will appreciate your advice about the steps I should take to move to industry and what role should I apply for at this stage.

 

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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 15:27

Any one can help please?

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By cheekychappy
16th Oct 2015 15:38

Patience
It has been less than two and a half hours before your last post. You are a bit premature at asking for help to bump your post. Especially when taking into account that you don’t want to move until next year!

The roles that you apply for would be management accountant, for example. The best thing you can do is sit down with a recruiter closer to the time who will be able to advise you on the posts they are likely to put you forward for and also the salary range of those posts.

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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 15:52

Not sure why you have concluded that I am premature or impatient , anyway its your judgment and I appreciated your previous response and also appreciate your response this time.

With due respect your first answer was not answer to my question and you suggested me to stay at practice which was not my question. Also I will appreciate if you read my question again and why I am asking for advice now when I am not planning to look for job until next year because  I have asked for advice about selection of my ACCA papers and also if any course training I should acquire before going to recruiters.

Regarding you comment to bump my post it was not my intention but in my experience if someone get response in first few hours otherwise no one reply.

 

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Replying to Mr_awol:
Stepurhan
By stepurhan
16th Oct 2015 17:11

Helpful attitude

Jibri wrote:
Regarding you comment to bump my post it was not my intention but in my experience if someone get response in first few hours otherwise no one reply.
You already had a response, so your post moved into recent answers. Posts there get more responses. Bumping it again after such a short space of time annoys people because you come across as demanding responses. As you've only been here two months, and only posted three questions in that time your "experience" is not enough to judge otherwise.

As for the dismissing the first response as "not answering your question", that response is helpful advice. If you want to secure a job in industry, then post-qualification experience will make that easier. Again, by effectively dictating how people respond to your question (whether you take such good advice is up to you) you come across as judging yourself entitled to advice. No-one is getting paid to help you and you would do well to acknowledge that.

My advice on securing a role in industry. Do not take the attitude you are displaying in this thread to interview. If you came across with the same sense of entitlement in interview, I wouldn't even consider you for a job.

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Replying to I'msorryIhaven'taclue:
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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 17:46

Don't want to argue here as I am not here for this. I have thanked to all the responses I got and appreciate there time and taking all the suggestions seriously,  If you see a comment above yours, that was the advice I was looking for with clear response to my question. I just humbly requested that which papers I should take and will it make any difference or not and which training courses I should do.

If I have done anything wrong on this form showing impatience or disrespect to any member unintentionally of I am sorry. Hope we can move on now.

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By Ken Howard
16th Oct 2015 15:52

Not easy

I tried to move from practice to industry after qualifying and found it impossible to get a job.  I got interviews, but never got any further.  I found moving from practice to practice very easy with few rejections, so I don't think I smelled!

How I made the move was to a client of the practice where I worked.  As a qualified accountant, I started to spend more time directly working with clients, often at their premises doing management accounts, etc., so when one client grew too big and needed an in house accountant, I was first in line for the job and moved over to the dark side.  Basically, there was no competition as they never advertised the job, and they knew me and I'd been doing basically the same job for a couple of years.

Unfortunately, despite the company car, high salary, etc., it just wasn't for me.  I hated every minute of it.  The accounts side was fine, but the management meetings, corporate life, etc., was horrid.  

So I started applying back in practices, ended up taking a whacking pay cut, and eventually after retraining to get back up to speed, started my own small practice instead.

The grass isn't always greener.  It's quite a culture shock to be in the heat of industry when you've had a fairly senate quiet (but boring) life in practice.  I think you'd have to be prepared for a massive culture shock.

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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 16:02

Thank you ken for sharing the information.

Yes I know it will be hard since my current working environment is very friendly which I am sure I will not get any where else but I am desperate to improve my income as well which is not possible in a current setup.

I know it will be hard to lend a job in industry with experience of small practice firm that's why I need advice that what skills/ training I should get before applying for job and also about selection of my two final ACCA exams.

 

 

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By User deleted
16th Oct 2015 16:39

My advice

My first question would be what is your motivation for wanting to make the move from practice to industry ?

After 16 years in practice I made the move to industry in 2013.  For me I personally got fed up dealing with clients who didn't listen to advice and then expected you to sort out the mess, so I jumped ship and haven't regretted it. 

I was luckly enough to land a job as an FC in a sector I enjoy and was quite knowledgeable about having previously audited clients in that sector.  My background was a mix of audit and tax roles in small practices, so you don't need to have a big name on your CV.

As others have said the salary and benefits are generally better, usually I am out of the office by 5pm (which I never was when in practice), but it's not for everyone.  Be prepared to love excel and depending on the level you go in at be prepared to attend lots of meetings and do very little actual accounting work.

If you try and make the move before qualifiying (as I did in 2009) you will be up against PQ CIMA students with much better commercial and practical knowledge than you.  I'm not saying you won't find a role. but it won't be easy.

My advice would be finish your ACCA and in the mean time build you your excel skills and commerical knowledge. 

In terms of what option papers you should sit yes I agree P4/P5 would be useful, however would your current employer be happy you sitting those papers?  Also bear in mind these papers have very high failure rates.  Once qualified I doubt anyone will ever ask what option papers you sat, incidently I sat the advanced tax and advanced audit papers.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
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By Jibri
16th Oct 2015 17:24

Thank you

dreamcatcher wrote:

My first question would be what is your motivation for wanting to make the move from practice to industry ?

After 16 years in practice I made the move to industry in 2013.  For me I personally got fed up dealing with clients who didn't listen to advice and then expected you to sort out the mess, so I jumped ship and haven't regretted it. 

I was luckly enough to land a job as an FC in a sector I enjoy and was quite knowledgeable about having previously audited clients in that sector.  My background was a mix of audit and tax roles in small practices, so you don't need to have a big name on your CV.

As others have said the salary and benefits are generally better, usually I am out of the office by 5pm (which I never was when in practice), but it's not for everyone.  Be prepared to love excel and depending on the level you go in at be prepared to attend lots of meetings and do very little actual accounting work.

If you try and make the move before qualifiying (as I did in 2009) you will be up against PQ CIMA students with much better commercial and practical knowledge than you.  I'm not saying you won't find a role. but it won't be easy.

My advice would be finish your ACCA and in the mean time build you your excel skills and commerical knowledge. 

In terms of what option papers you should sit yes I agree P4/P5 would be useful, however would your current employer be happy you sitting those papers?  Also bear in mind these papers have very high failure rates.  Once qualified I doubt anyone will ever ask what option papers you sat, incidently I sat the advanced tax and advanced audit papers.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

 

Thanks a lot for your detail response I really appreciate that and I completely agree with your opinion about clients who expect us to sort out there mess is one of the reason which put me off from practice. I am trying to use online Microsoft excel videos to learn excel. do you recommend any other course training I should take?

 

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By Jeremy Scott
17th Oct 2015 09:35

I worked in industry for 15 years then went into practice (qualified CIMA).

Larger companies with bespoke systems will look at you as an individual (will you fit in) and will assess your academic record as evidence that you have drive and potential. If you pass the first two tests then you're already ahead of most other applicants.

You'll find that once in industry, moving jobs can be a problem as you tend to get typecast as working in a particular sector or industry (e.g. insurance or manufacturing). However, quality candidates for specific industries are short in supply so businesses often find themselves taking a chance on a candidate from a different sector. In other words, you've probably got as much chance as the others, as long as you present yourself well.

Downside is that if you don't live up to potential then you'll probably find your employment terminated fairly early - easy come, easy go!

It will be a major change in terms of routine though. You'll have to get used to doing the same jobs again and again (probably on a monthly basis).

I'll wrap things up by repeating the advice of others given above - stay in a settled environment until those exams are passed and you become qualified. Once qualified youll have far more bargaining power in any environment. 

FWIW: I'd rather be in practice any day :)

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By Jibri
17th Oct 2015 11:20

Thanks a lot Jeremy for your helpful replay and I appreciate your time and suggestions :)

I think with everything there are pros and cons, I think I will give a try to work in industry. and I am not planning to move until I passed my exams and qualified, that's why I am waiting for  atleast a year before I try to sell my self in market.

 

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