Becoming an Accountant

Any advice on best way to become an accountant. I work 9-5 and would like to study to be an accountant in the evenings. I have a Computer degree but don't think that it will make me exempt from any exams. Also which is the best type of qualification?

Use the search function, for instance I searched using the term "training as accountant" and found including a thread 2 pages long with the exact same title as this thread.

Im doing the same but decided to do the IATI Accounts Technician first evenings for 2 years, from there you get exemptions into cima, acca, etc. You can also do evening course with CIMA, ACCA. You should check there website will give you costs and locations throught Dublin and Ireland.

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newhousey said:

Any advice on best way to become an accountant. I work 9-5 and would like to study to be an accountant in the evenings. I have a Computer degree but don't think that it will make me exempt from any exams. Also which is the best type of qualification?

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Thanks for that info, very helpful but still have a few unclear issues in my head...

Currently I work in a non finiancial company and not in the accounts department, I would prefer not to leave my current job and study at night, is this possible most of the courses that I see seem to require you to have accounting experience or gain accounting experience while you are doing the study?

newhousey said:

Thanks for that info, very helpful but still have a few unclear issues in my head...

Currently I work in a non finiancial company and not in the accounts department, I would prefer not to leave my current job and study at night, is this possible most of the courses that I see seem to require you to have accounting experience or gain accounting experience while you are doing the study?

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ACCA allow you to study for the exams but not work in a financial related job. You must gain 3 years work experiance in order to gain membership. This can be obtained before, during or after you complete the exams.

The courses are run at night-time. If you are in Dublin I would recommend BPP in Lad Lane just off Baggot Street. (I have no affiliation with BPP...just a satisfied customer). Be prepared to give up a lot of your free time though. As exams are sat twice a year each course lasts approx 3-4 months. You will normally have class 1-2 times a week and also a lot of classes at weekends. As you progress to the final level you can expect to have class 3 times a week for 3.5hrs a time plus weekends.

newhousey said:

Currently I work in a non finiancial company and not in the accounts department, I would prefer not to leave my current job and study at night, is this possible most of the courses that I see seem to require you to have accounting experience or gain accounting experience while you are doing the study?

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As Kiddo says you can do the study first and then gain the experience afterwards. Whether you want to do this is a matter of personal preference. Getting the exams without experience will mean you are probably still going to be looking at junior roles even if you leave it until after you get the exams.

If you are thinking of waiting to get the experience with the expectation that you will have a signigicantly higher salary once you get the exams that will likely not be the case. If you are waiting because you want to see how well you manage with the academic side before fully committing and taking a potential pay cut then thats a different matter.

Bear in mind doing the exams first before getting experience means you will have to pay for everything yourself. If you do for example ACA under a training contract and study at night you would likely get financial assistance from your firm for course costs and fairly generous study leave (but on the flip side you will be earning a trainee salary but eventually that is likely to be necessary for a few years anyway).

Unless things have changed any degree exempts you from ACA Prof 1 leaving you with Prof 2+3 and FAE to do.

dam099 said:

Bear in mind doing the exams first before getting experience means you will have to pay for everything yourself. If you do for example ACA under a training contract and study at night you would likely get financial assistance from your firm for course costs and fairly generous study leave (but on the flip side you will be earning a trainee salary but eventually that is likely to be necessary for a few years anyway).

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The salaries paid to ACA trainees in Big 4 firms these days are pretty much as good as what you will get in any other job straight out of college, so it's not a bad thing in my view. I'm not sure of what salary levels are like outside Big 4, but my understanding is that they are nowhere near as good.

CCOVICH said:

The salaries paid to ACA trainees in Big 4 firms these days are pretty much as good as what you will get in any other job straight out of college, so it's not a bad thing in my view. I'm not sure of what salary levels are like outside Big 4, but my understanding is that they are nowhere near as good.

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True, I was just not sure if the OP was recently out of college with his computer degree or maybe had been working for a number of years in which case he might be doing better than a trainee accountant salary even in Big 4.

yes been out of college for a year and a half, earning more than a trainee accountant salary in Big 4, don't think I could afford to drop below the trainee Big 4 salary so I better start looking at getting a position with one of them ....