Do accountancy qualifications matter?

Earlier this month, I wrote an article summarising the conclusions of a survey commissioned by HMRC into the behaviour and attitudes of what they rather prosaically describe as unaffiliated tax agents – those working in the field without formal qualifications.

The fervent responses of AccountingWEB readers suggest that many feel very strongly about this topic.

Conflicting views

There is every reason to believe that accountants with different backgrounds will have conflicting views on the value of qualifications both in terms of advancement of their own careers and the recruitment of staff members.

Some would not consider employing anybody without what they regard as a relevant professional qualification, while others would not be fussed either way and might even prefer unqualified staff on the basis that the salary bill can be substantially reduced.

The joy of qualifications

It is some time ago now, but I can still remember the joy of passing my final accountancy examination.

The pleasure was two-fold. First, it meant that I would not have to contemplate the horrors of studying further and re-sitting. Secondly, I realise that the world was my oyster, serious employers would think about taking me on and, quite frankly, my earnings capacity should increase by about 50% overnight. Happy days.

For many, getting a qualification means that they can escape the dull drudgery of life as an unimportant cog in a bland gear and branch out into a completely new and potentially much more exciting field, in my case tax.

Talent trumps certificates

After the first few post-qualification years, as anyone progresses through a career in accountancy, it gradually becomes apparent that initially A-level results, then any degree-level performance cease to matter. Though where you were educated might still be a stepping stone to dizzy heights, particularly if the CV happens to include Eton and Oxford.

Before too long, even when one attempts to change jobs, experience and talent become far more significant than nice certificates that can be framed and put on walls, which anyway have now largely disappeared from open plan offices.

Times have changed

Back in the day, qualifications were also significant because professional partnerships were effectively closed shops. Nowadays, with most practices structured as companies or limited liability partnerships, even that has ceased to be a factor.

Certain people operating in niche areas will still need specific qualifications. For example, this will be relevant if a specialist wanted to sign off an audit or liquidate a company.

One consequence of operating as a member of a recognised accountancy or equivalent body is the regulatory framework. This obliges members to undergo a certain amount of training and theoretically means that their work will be monitored. In addition, the unfortunate could find themselves subject to disciplinary action when performance fails to meet the required standards.

However, as so many respondents noted in connection with the HMRC survey, the quality of work carried out by large practices peopled by highly qualified individuals leaves much to be desired, while smaller operations often employ very talented individuals who are extremely good at their jobs, even if they do not have bundles of initials tacked as suffixes to their names.

A tick in a box

One measure of the attitude of larger firms to accountancy qualifications is the fact that several seem to take a rather unintuitive and disrespectful view.

If you are running a big accountancy practice in England or Wales, it would seem natural to steer staff towards qualification via the ICAEW given that the E and W in that acronym respectively stand for England and Wales. However, for reasons that have never been entirely clear, large numbers of accountants who may never have travelled to the far side of Hadrian’s Wall now become members of ICAS, where that S stands for Scotland.

This suggests that what should have been a premier qualification is merely regarded as a tick in a box and, quite frankly, many might think that it is a very expensive tick to obtain in that box when you consider the time and money invested.