Thinking of a career in Accountancy?

As the more tedious accounting functions are increasingly becoming automated no longer is the accountancy profession about crunching numbers and little else. Accountants are now focusing more on analysis, interpretation and business strategy and more graduates than ever before are choosing a career in finance as the global demand for finance professionals has never been higher, and their work more varied. Having a background in accounting provides a good base for other business classes as well as an understanding of why and how businesses operate.

In public practice accountants provide professional services to clients who range from private individuals to global companies and public sector organisations as every type of enterprise needs accountants. As well as accountancy and audit many accountancy firms provide tax, business advisory, corporate finance, corporate recovery and forensic accounting services. So choosing a career in accountancy could lead to one of the following specialisms:

Auditors

Auditors carry out independent checks of company's financial statements and systems to ensure that they are presenting an accurate picture of its financial position. This role has increased enormously in importance over the past few years as systems become more complex and the risk management aspects of business failures have hit the headlines.

Business

Business advisors review company's systems and advise clients on areas where they could improve the business and carry out risk analysis. In many cases they get involved in the actual implementation of their own advice, adding a practical and varied perspective to their work.

Tax

Tax specialists advise on tax planning and tax compliance to create the best tax strategies for their clients which could include organisations ranging from complex global multinationals to small and medium sized enterprises and high net-worth individuals.

Corporate finance

Corporate finance specialists advise clients on business transactions which may include raising new funding, restructuring debt, corporate financial strategy and also mergers and acquisitions.

Corporate recovery

Corporate recovery specialists advise those who are experience financial difficulty and assist them to either make the business profitable or help them dispose of the business.

Forensic accountants

Forensic accountants undertake fraud and financial investigations such as insider trading for commercial clients, legal professionals and regulatory authorities.

The key skills that employers look for when recruiting graduates are the ability to analyse and assimilate information, good communication skills, both written and verbal, the ability to solve problems and think laterally, tact and discretion, computer literacy and the ability to work as part of a team.

Although there are 4,000 graduate training opportunities offered every year competition to get into them can be tough and candidates have to go through a rigorous selection process.

Graduates of all disciplines are encouraged to apply and although entry regulations vary between recruiting employers they may ask for a minimum of 280 - 300 UCAS points.

To become a qualified accountant the main route is to apply for a training contract with an accountancy firm where the first three years are devoted to achieving the chartered qualification. Training involves completion of work-based assessments and professional exams. The professional bodies providing these exams are the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW); the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI);

Although the industry is dominated by the 'Big 4' accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst and Young many small and medium sized firms also offer excellent opportunities for graduates and Bejant's recommendation is that these smaller firms should not be overlooked.