UPDATED accountants help / advice for 18 year old

[niccynoo66]

Hello,
My son is going into his second year of A levels (maths, law , chemistry).
He has decided that he would like a career in accounting, he was very interested to learn about forensic accounting.
I have no knowledge about this career and so we have started to research.
I can see different bodies that offer qualifications but just not sure where we start !
He would prefer to work / get an apprenticeship rather than university.

Any advice is very much welcome !
Nicky x

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by niccynoo66

Hello,
My son is going into his second year of A levels (maths, law , chemistry).
He has decided that he would like a career in accounting, he was very interested to learn about forensic accounting.
I have no knowledge about this career and so we have started to research.
I can see different bodies that offer qualifications but just not sure where we start !
He would prefer to work / get an apprenticeship rather than university.

Any advice is very much welcome !
Nicky x

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Hi my son did his A levels in History Maths & Accounting & at the start of his 2nd year we wrote to local firms asking if they were taking on trainees, one replied saying if he got BBC they’d take him on, well he got A* A* B, no University for him & 5 years later he’s a Chartered Accountant & he’s just been made Financial Controller at 28
I’d get him writing off to some firms now
I think he’s got ACA qualification too, which he did 1 day a week at College, he decided from the start that he wanted to earn while he learned & did not want Uni
Good luck to your son

[niccynoo66]

Oh Wow , that is amazing !
He is forecast good grades but that was before the pandemic ! He is still working hard and I will tell him about your son.
I will look at all the local firms and add them to our research pack.
I really appreciate you replying to me x

[catherinesian]

I am a qualified chartered accountant, good career choice

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and after my dream of becoming a vet failed I went to uni to study Business Management. In my first year I excelled in all the finance modules and hated the rest so changed to Accounting & Finance degree.

I then got a graduate job in a mid tier firm called Baker Tilly (since merged with RSM). I stayed there for 4 years and they sponsored me through all my studies. Paid study leave, and paid for all the courses / exams. The ACA exams / time to qualify takes 3 years.

I left there 4 years ago and have worked in practice ever since. Initially as a Management Accountant but have been promoted to Financial Controller (reporting to the FD). I am now 28 y/o.

You don't need to have any specific A levels or degree to get a space on a graduate training programme with an Accountancy firm, but I guess it must help. It was hard to get a placement when I was trying. Saying that I had colleagues who studied Geography!

If he doesn't want to go to uni, he can choose to do AAT which is the foundation course. That then leads into any of the 3 accounting qualifications. They are ACA, ACCA and CIMA. ACA iirc you can only do whilst working in an accountancy practice, the other two you can do whilst working in industry (normal trading companies).

If he has any more questions, i am only a PM away

ETA: When I was applying for grad jobs the big 4 (KPMG, PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte) all wanted 1st at uni. They are incredibly snobby. I had a friend who worked ay EY and she hated it, so I never even applied for any of the big 4, just mid tier firms. I really enjoyed my years at RSM and being a mid tier firm, you tend to audit a larger variety of clients (big 4 tend to pigeon hole you into a sector).

[mitch84]

I’m an accountant.

I did A-levels then went to uni in Sheffield, got offered a job with a very large construction organisation, who paid for my ACCA, and the rest is history.

I needn’t have gone to uni, but my more managerial accounting stream is far less snobby.

For forensic accounting I suggest he needs to do ACA. I’d look into the big 4. I know they do have different entry routes, so investigate and get him to read up on it etc.
I still think they take on most after a 2.1 from a Russell group uni to be honest, but know they do have different entry points to be more inclusive, time for him to do a lot of research.
Is he predicted good grades? I’m only asking as ACA is very very in-depth and complex, and wouldn’t be an easy experience, I wouldn’t really recommend it for anyone not extremely academic

[ERICSMUM]

My neighbour’s granddaughter successfully applied to KPMG for an accounting “apprenticeship”. She works there and they support her studies for a degree. She is very pleased she chose this route rather than university.

She’s lucky that she lives within commuting distance of Canary Wharf where KPMG is based.

[Guest]

I am an accountant with a background in maths too. I went to university, when I started my studies in the 90s, I would say it was nigh on impossible to train as an accountant without going to university first - it was always possible on paper but in practice nobody hired accountancy trainees without a degree.

These days accounting apprenticeships have become an alternative option and are becoming more popular with university getting so expensive.

I would encourage him to not get to fixed on any specific branch of accounting just yet. There are a few accounting bodies in the UK, but the course contents will broadly be the same and will be general. And it will be necessary to show that experience has been gained across the board. I presume that the apprenticeship will ensure this anyway, in my day people were either with an approved employer or they had to keep a log book of experience gained and be able to demonstrate that they have practical skills.

[jocat]

My son was the same, in that he didn’t want to go to university and got a 3 year finance apprenticeship with a local company. He spent the first two years learning a variety of roles within the accounts department, then in his 3rd year was moved into the financial controlling department. During those 3 years, they gave him day release to go to college and gain his AAT qualifications.

Once the 3 years were up he gained a full time position in the same department. He decided not to start his CIMA straightaway, until he’d learned more about the role, as he felt it would be easier if he had some of the knowledge required. It would also have proved difficult to study outside of his work hours at that time due to the requirements of the job, as he worked very long hours for a couple of years - 13 hour days weren’t uncommon for a couple of weeks each month. That has now eased off and he is about to start studying for CIMA. Think he wishes he hadn’t left it quite so long, but better late than never.

Does he know what kind of accounting he is interested in? When DS was looking for an apprenticeship, he had interviews for apprenticeships in both industry and chartered accountants. Think industry was the right area for him though.

[niccynoo66]

Originally Posted by catherinesian

I am a qualified chartered accountant, good career choice

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and after my dream of becoming a vet failed I went to uni to study Business Management. In my first year I excelled in all the finance modules and hated the rest so changed to Accounting & Finance degree.

I then got a graduate job in a mid tier firm called Baker Tilly (since merged with RSM). I stayed there for 4 years and they sponsored me through all my studies. Paid study leave, and paid for all the courses / exams. The ACA exams / time to qualify takes 3 years.

I left there 4 years ago and have worked in practice ever since. Initially as a Management Accountant but have been promoted to Financial Controller (reporting to the FD). I am now 28 y/o.

You don't need to have any specific A levels or degree to get a space on a graduate training programme with an Accountancy firm, but I guess it must help. It was hard to get a placement when I was trying. Saying that I had colleagues who studied Geography!

If he doesn't want to go to uni, he can choose to do AAT which is the foundation course. That then leads into any of the 3 accounting qualifications. They are ACA, ACCA and CIMA. ACA iirc you can only do whilst working in an accountancy practice, the other two you can do whilst working in industry (normal trading companies).

If he has any more questions, i am only a PM away

ETA: When I was applying for grad jobs the big 4 (KPMG, PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte) all wanted 1st at uni. They are incredibly snobby. I had a friend who worked ay EY and she hated it, so I never even applied for any of the big 4, just mid tier firms. I really enjoyed my years at RSM and being a mid tier firm, you tend to audit a larger variety of clients (big 4 tend to pigeon hole you into a sector).

See more...

Thank you , some really good pointers. Also good to know its the AAT as a starting qualification.
again, really appreciate it x

[niccynoo66]

Originally Posted by mitch84

I’m an accountant.

I did A-levels then went to uni in Sheffield, got offered a job with a very large construction organisation, who paid for my ACCA, and the rest is history.

I needn’t have gone to uni, but my more managerial accounting stream is far less snobby.

For forensic accounting I suggest he needs to do ACA. I’d look into the big 4. I know they do have different entry routes, so investigate and get him to read up on it etc.
I still think they take on most after a 2.1 from a Russell group uni to be honest, but know they do have different entry points to be more inclusive, time for him to do a lot of research.
Is he predicted good grades? I’m only asking as ACA is very very in-depth and complex, and wouldn’t be an easy experience, I wouldn’t really recommend it for anyone not extremely academic

See more...

Hello,
Thank you for the really good advice, he is predicted A in each of his subjects , its good to know just how hard/ challenging a course can be.
nicky x