How to Become an Accountant

Accountancy is a diverse and interesting field of work, and there’s much more to it than simply calculating tax.

Read on to discover why you should train to become an accountant and start this intellectually stimulating career.

What does an accountant do?

An accounting career can vary hugely, ranging from completing tax returns to tracking company expenditures.

While strong numeracy skills are essential for an accountant, you’ll also need an analytical mind, an ability to solve problems methodically and an eye for detail. Being a good communicator is equally important, as you’ll have to gain your clients’ trust, explain complex financial concepts and write up recommendations and analyses.

In a world that no longer promises a job for life, accountancy roles tend to be relatively secure. But this doesn’t mean that they’re not challenging. As financial deadlines approach, accountants often have to cope with working in a dynamic, pressured environment, knowing that the smallest error could harm their client’s business.

What Does an Accounting Career Involve?

Tracking and examining company income and expenditure
Running payroll
Conducting audits
Invoicing and chasing payments
Budgeting and forecasting

Identifying and investigating financial risks or irregularities
Making recommendations to increase profit
Advising on tax planning
Calculating tax owed and filing tax returns
Setting up accounting systems

What are the different types of accountants?

There are two main areas of accounting, financial accounting and management accounting, and they can really be characterised by who they provide information to.

Financial Accountants

They have to prepare mandatory financial statements that follow accounting principles. This means overseeing payroll, spending and taxes. However, their primary focus is providing information to those outside a company, for example, stockholders, creditors, and HMRC.

Management Accountants

These accountants focus more on providing financial information to those inside a company. They help managers to make financial decisions, including budgets. Because it’s internal, the statements are much less formal, but they may require a higher level of communication skills.

What similar tasks do they do?

Both financial accountants and management accountants have to know how much a company is earning and spending. So they both track payroll and tax payouts, as well as expenses.

Each of the roles involves a high level of analysis when preparing reports. That said, many accountants in bigger businesses specialise early on in their careers, going into audit, tax, corporate, forensic accounting, and more.

If you’re looking to keep your options open, working for a smaller company generally means you’ll get to do a bit of everything, which is an excellent route into self-employment and freelance accountancy.

What Qualifications Are Needed to Become an Accountant?

So, if you want to know how to get into accounting, read on. If you’re looking to qualify or retrain as an accountant, there are many paths into accountancy, varying from degrees to AAT qualifications and apprenticeships. However, once you have one of those, you will need to follow it up with a professional qualification from an accounting body.

What GCSE’s do you need to become an accountant?

Each of the three main accounting bodies in the UK requires at least 3 GCSEs to become a professional accountant, including English and maths. However, none of them require GCSEs for their fundamental courses.

What A-levels do you need to become an accountant?

You don’t need any specific A-levels to become an accountant, though subjects like maths, further maths, economics and business can be advantageous when it comes to getting work placements.

Do you need a degree to be an accountant?

Although you do not technically need a degree to become an accountant, it can be helpful to acquire a degree in a relevant area before training to become an accountant. A straightforward degree in accounting can be a good option, or you could choose to top up your current degree with an accounting qualification, which could give you a broader scope of job roles once you graduate. You can also take related courses, such as courses in Bookkeeping, or courses in Payroll, if you want to broaden your knowledge base in areas that are relevant to accounting.

How long does it take to be an accountant?

Depending on whether you complete a degree or not, it can take between 3-5 years to become an accountant, with three additional years if you include the time it takes to complete your degree. Although becoming an accountant can be a long process, it can be worth it in the long term to open yourself up to lucrative career opportunities.

Professional Accounting Bodies

Whether you opt for a degree, an AAT qualification or an apprenticeship, you need to follow it up with a professional qualification from an accounting body. This step takes 3-5 years, and you’ll be working while you study.

Some of the major professional bodies offering internationally recognised are listed below.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

The ACCA has

0,000

members and 480,000 students
in 178 countries

Qualify in 3-4 years
Combine work and study or follow exams with three years work experience
Fundamentals – no entry requirements
Professionals-entry requires 3 GCSEs including English and maths plus two A Levels

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

Also known as the ACA

of FTSE 100 CEOs hold an ACA Chartered Accountancy qualification

Qualify in 3-5 years
Combine work and study or follow exams with 450 days of work experience
Level one Certificate – no entry requirements
Level two Professional-entry requires 3-5 GCSEs including English and Maths at 16, 2 A Levels at 18 or a 2:1 degree as a graduate
Level three Advanced-includes a final case study

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

The CIMA has

0,000

members and students in 176 countries

Qualify in 4 years
Combine work and study or follow exams with three years work experience
Certificate in business accounting-no entry requirements
Professional-entry requires the CIMA level one certificate or a masters in accounting

Does becoming an accountant require any work experience?

Technically, becoming an accountant does not require any work experience. However, the experience can help you stand out to employers and proves that you already understand how to apply accounting principles in the real world. So, while it’s fair to say you don’t need work experience, it is advantageous if you have some.

What kind of work experience should you look for?

It might feel daunting trying to get work, but the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) recommends that students try to shadow qualified accountants to get a good idea of how they work day-to-day. This can be working with those who already have full-time accounting jobs at an accountancy firm or have a role in corporate finance and financial management.

Elsewhere, completing an apprenticeship will give you on-the-job experience while you train. Alternatively, you could opt for applying to positions like Accounts Assistant or Junior Bookkeeper.

How to highlight your accounting work experience on a CV

As with any CV, it’s essential to highlight any skills you have learnt on your educational journey, including your accounting work experience. If you have taken up a junior position or apprenticeship, list your main duties and demonstrate how the skills in those will be useful in a more advanced position.

If you’ve shadowed someone, make sure you point out the skills demonstrated to you on your CV and, ideally, how you then went on to improve your competency in those skills in your own time. Begin with your most recent experience and work backwards from there, with a separate section for any education.

Online courses in accounting and Xero

If you haven’t followed traditional routes into accounting, and want to learn how to move into this career later on, online courses can be the ideal choice. Here are a selection of online courses that can kickstart your career in accounting, or allow you to pivot into an accounting-related role:

AAT Accounting Pathway – This course is ideal for those looking to start a career in accounting, and can be completed over the course of 12 months

AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting – For those looking to become an accounting technician, this course can give you the skills you need

AAT Accounts Administration and Payroll Pathway – This course suits those who want to become an office administrator or a senior bookkeeper

Certificate in Xero – This course can be completed in less than 40 hours, and give learners an overview of the accounting software Xero

Advanced Certificate in Xero – A great option for those who want to take their learning in the accounting software Xero to the next level

Diploma In Xero – An in-depth look at Xero that can allow learners to use the software in a variety of accounting roles

What Skills Are Needed To Become An Accountant?

Numeracy and mathematics
Statistics and data analysis
Attention to detail

Ability to work under pressure
Digital skills
Knowledge of Excel

Career Prospects for Accountants

Whichever way you decide to become an experienced and qualified accountant, you’ll find plenty of scope for progression on your career path. As you gain experience, you’ll be able to apply for roles such as senior accountant, finance manager and finance director. Fancy working abroad? You’re in luck, as UK qualifications are highly regarded globally.

Have we convinced you to consider a career in accounting? If we have, why not kick-start your career with an accounting course?

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