Hi,
I'm thinking of enrolling onto a distance course with Kaplan for a CIMA qualification.
I've wanted to work in Accountancy for a few years after leaving school, but decided to go straight into a job.
I have 5 years of Retail management now and figured if I don't try and get the qualification now, I never will.
I don't think the retail management will be of particular use with a CIMA qualification, but figured out of the likes of CIMA, ACCA or AAT it made the most sense.
It that correct?
If I did decide to try and complete the course, would it give me much benefit anyway? Without the actual real life practice?
My job requires basic Payroll management, but it's not a big enough company to require a whole payroll department, so I can't even volunteer some of my free time to learn the ropes.
Any advice or help anyone can give me would be appreciated.
I'm just a little confused on the whole matter, and don't really want to spend hundreds of pounds and hours learning a course that would be of no benefit anyway
Thanks
Dan
Replies (10)
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Yes
In my view - yes. The start of my career was a little 'bumpy' to say the least, and I embarked on CIMA whilst managing a shop, as it happens, followed by temping etc.
Nowadays I work at board level.
Jump in - you never know where it will lead.
Yes go for it
I was working in sales/retail whilst studying ACCA.
Then moved to the retail company's finance team as a graduate. 2.5 years after starting to study i was at Group Finance at a FTSE 250 company along with managing a budget of £10m.
Give it a go, work you socks off, commercial experience is always deemed priceless when you talk about your background
I echo what has been said
If you really want to embark on a career in accountancy then go for it.
Whilst your retail management experience will probably not help you in your studies it will have given you good commercial awareness which is what employers look for in addition to qualifications.
However be aware that CIMA or ACCA will cost several thousand pounds to study to completion and will take around 3 years. I studied ACCA so I know that in addition to passing the exams you need 3 years of work experience to become a qualified member, I guess there is a similar rule for CIMA, so bear this in mind.
You may want to give some thought to studying AAT which to my knowledge has no such rule regarding experience and will certainly be cheaper (and easier) to study. Once you've finished AAT this then may give you an opportunity to find a job with employer funded ACCA and CIMA study included.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Good training for industry
I made a radical career change at the age of 34, and did the first stage of AAT, which I funded myself. Meanwhile sent out many applications to small businesses and also accountancy practices.
I got lucky and was offered two jobs at the same time, one in industry, one in practice, both very junior but paid OK: better than my expectations at the time. Both employers were impressed that I was paying for AAT myself. After much soul searching I chose the one in industry. (Funnily enough, I've ended up in practice.)
Everything got much easier from there, as I switched to CIMA and my employer funded everything. (I kept it fairly cheap for them though: no structured training, just the CIMA textbooks, which were very good.) The CIMA study helped with my work and vice versa. I got the qualification and was financial controller by the time I left (just a small firm though). If things go well and you have a bit of luck it can be a virtuous circle. Good luck if you decide to pursue.
Exams
It will not cost a "few hundred" pounds to study CIMA. It will be thousands and will take years, three years would be a minimum if you are well supported by an employer, probably will take much longer without employer support (study leave etc.).
I would not do more than a year of CIMA without being in a suitable accountancy training job. A year will show employers that you are willing and motivated to work in the profession. Doing all the exams but having a CV that shows you have not tried to get the right work experience could put some employers off.
Depends
It will not cost a "few hundred" pounds to study CIMA. It will be thousands and will take years, three years would be a minimum if you are well supported by an employer, probably will take much longer without employer support (study leave etc.). I would not do more than a year of CIMA without being in a suitable accountancy training job. A year will show employers that you are willing and motivated to work in the profession. Doing all the exams but having a CV that shows you have not tried to get the right work experience could put some employers off.
I paid for all my own CIMA training - just bought the BPP text books, and paid for the exam fees and subs. Didn't really add it up at the time. I expect it was £1500 in total (and I had to take annual leave to sit the exams (boo hoo..)
I wouldn't have paid for any courses though.
AAT tends to have a 'college' requirement.
As it happens, I studied the final level of AAT - post university and prior to CIMA. I wanted to see how I got on combining study with work.
The earlier AAT stages do have an assessment component - so you will need to be associated with some kind of learning institution.
Check your colleges nearby.
AAT
I did my AAT stage with a small independent accountancy training firm (one woman band effectively), office over a shop. The best £400 I ever spent, as it got my foot in the door. 16 years ago now, so expect to pay a bit more if you go down same route.