Accountancy careers

[JTrader]

Hello

this question has nothing to do with trading, but I thought I may be able to collect some useful info.

What could a CIMA, ACCA or CIPFA qualified Accountant working for a small-medium size company (not the big ones like KPMG, PWHC or Arthur Anderson) expect for a salary, from the day that they qualify and onwards?

Cheers.

 

[sidinuk]

hi

It depends on where in the country you are talking, but here in the south-east a newly qualified ACCA would be looking at around £30k. After that it really just depends on what ambitions you have. A senior auditor with say 5 years pqe would be on about £45k. A partner in a small practice would be making around £60-80k plus the value of their share in the practice.

 

[Dow Dog]

Be a trader, not an accountant.

I qualified as a Chartered Accountant 25 years ago and the best thing I can say about it is that it provided me with a "passport" to travel. I lived and worked in many great countries and exotic ( and erotic ) locations.

The money overseas was superb but the jobs were as boring as sh**e.

Here in England you will not earn top money being an accountant ( unless you are a senior partner in KPMG for example ) and you will never get wealthy. The work is tedious and monotonous.

Trading can be tedious at times but at least it provides you with an opportunity to get rich.

I am thinking of tendering my resignation to the Institue of Chartered Accountants soon on account of the fact that they ask me for a large subscription every year for which I receive no benefit whatsoever.

Don't waste your life being a bean counter.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

I always thought that the very best were not, in fact, registered. :cheesy:

I've used quite a few over the years, and without a doubt the unregistered ones were the best, and more importantly, I felt they were working in my best interests. The registered ones appeared to be working for the government.

Registered: "You'll need to declare all of that for tax, and there are no exceptions."
Unregistered: "You'll need to declare most of that, but there are one or two areas in which you can legally offset some of it."

 

[trendsignal UK]

I always thought that the very best were not, in fact, registered. :cheesy:

Thats the funny thing about regulation isn't it?

I've met some right b*stard rip-off artist FSA registered fund managers who could not trade their way in (or out) of a paper bag.

Their role? To grow a pension fund (in theory). In practice? Spend as much time as possible on jollies.

I've also met some people that couldn't pass a GCSE Woodwork exam let alone the FSA stuff (which I personally find tedious, dull and a memory test only) - but they can trade really well and outperform the registered people 20 times over.

It's a funny old world when regulators get involved.

PS. If anyone from the FSA reads this, I do think you do a sterling job.

 

[FTSE Beater]

Hi JTrader

I back all that Dow Dog has said. That was supposed to be my chosen career, attracted by the big salary - but what they don't tell you is the long hours and constant studying to keep up to date with all the latest tax laws.

A close friend of mine can't have a single day (including weekends) off for the next 2 months because it is coming up to the companies year end. This is with working 13 hour days.
Also in my experience, if there is any redundancy in the company, then the accounts department is the first to be squeezed.

My advice would be not to bother, but then I have seen the best side of life.

HTH

 

[Dow Dog]

What have lawyers, policemen, accountants and dentists got in common and who is also the odd one out ?

 

[Dow Dog]

What could a CIMA, ACCA or CIPFA qualified Accountant working for a small-medium size company (not the big ones like KPMG, PWHC or Arthur Anderson) expect for a salary, from the day that they qualify and onwards?

Arthur Andersen no longer exist I think. They got caught engaged in a small corruption type thing - does the name Enron ring any bells ?

 

[ford]

What have lawyers, policemen, accountants and dentists got in common and who is also the odd one out ?

Hmm.. Well lawyers, policemen and accountants all owe their existance to enforcing the legislation that the parasites in Westminster pump out..

so it's the dentist who is the odd one out, because he owes his existance to the parasites in the patients gob. :cheesy:

I have a feeling this is extremely off your answer however.. :cheesy:

 

[Dow Dog]

I was going to say that accountants, lawyers and dentists are all money-grabbing scumbags and that policemen are just scumbags, but then I thought of speed camera revenues and immediately realised that there is in fact no odd one out here at all. They are all of the same ilk.

 

[Dow Dog]

I always thought that the very best were not, in fact, registered

Unregistered accountants are regarded by the "real professionals" in the same category as back-street abortionists.

There is an awful lot of snobbery in this immensely over-rated "profession". Can't think why - they're all just a bunch of egotistical counters of beans. I'm glad to be shot of that lot.

 

[JTrader]

Thanks guys

you have helped empower me with some useful information!

One more question. How difficult/challenging are the exams and the work itself for the average University graduate with slightly above average numerical skills?

Cheers.

 

[Dow Dog]

The exams are very challenging indeed. In my day pass rates were generally around 30%.
I passed everything first time because I put in the required amount of effort. For a graduate it is relatively straightforward as long as you do the work.

But don't waste your time on getting qualified to count haricots. If I have learnt one thing in life, it is that money counts - not a prestigious but relatively low paid career. You are still a slave after all even as a Chartered Accountant.

Be a trader and earn real money instead of counting other people's.

 

[bonsai]

JT

on these boards , you can get some good advice but not all the time

Get your qualification ! After that what you do is up to you.

You dont have to work for any one particular firm and you certainly dont have to stay in practice.

Some people here , may just not have what it takes to cut it !

 

[Dow Dog]

Some people here , may just not have what it takes to cut it !

JT -Bonsai is obviously a crowd follower as I used to be and displays a lack of imagination. It takes many years to realise that qualifications are pointless my friend. Life is short and people should not have to waste their time being brainwashed into believing that qualifications are the be-all and end-all to everything.

I "cut it" for 25 years and I ended up on on a very large 6 figure salary. But my personal satisfaction with my work was zero. I would advise you to do whatever makes you money and whatever makes you happy. But do not feel compelled to follow the crowd. That route will lead to misery and unhappiness.

 

[JTrader]

Interesting thoughts and personal philosophy Dow Dog .

 

[Dow Dog]

JT

I am 50 now and my philosophy and "take" on life is very different from what it was 30 years ago.

Then I believed my parents who said that qualifications were everything - and perhaps in those days they were.

So off I went to University to seek a degree and a chance of a good job. I later qualified as a Chartered Accountant, got great jobs, travelled the world etc etc.

Having turned 50 I no longer wish to be a part of the rat race, I no longer wish to be someone else's slave - and you know what ? - I don't have to be. There are more opportunities these days - largely thanks to the internet and technological developments - to do your own thing. This would not have been possible 30 years ago so our mindset back then was necessarily more limited than it is today.

I am encouraging my 2 children to go to University - but more to develop themselves as people rather than to see it as a means to getting a half decent slave's job. By the way I am also encouraging them to learn how to be traders so they can be rich students !!

What I am really saying is that there are more ways now to progress through life than to just go down the old traditional routes.

Think outside of the box and you will probably be more successful in life.

 

[bonsai]

roflmao

 

[Dow Dog]

Bonsai is obviously a deep thinker.

Thinking from deeply within the box.

Well said Bonzo

 

[JTrader]

I can appreciate what you are saying Dow Dog. I agree with many of your comments and those are reasons why I turned to trading. I may be wrong but I'm guessing that 30 years ago a degree actually meant something, and that a job was something that offered some long term security.

My interest in Accountancy along with other careers, is because I like to be informed about things. As they say - "Knowledge is power." I turned to trading after having gone through University, the very competitive job applications process (and I'm not just talking about graduate, or even just half decent jobs, but all jobs) and a few years of experiencing the often "dog eat dog world" of work.

I'm pleased to have developed a skill that will hopefully enable me to be my own boss, allowing me to spend more energy on other things in life.