Accounting & book-keeping training and careers advice. Grants and funding for job retraining in the civilian sector.

Accountancy is a career that offers variety, professional qualifications, the opportunity to work internationally and, potentially, a high salary. Many accountants go on to use their qualification to set up their own business or to move into general management. Accountants are more highly qualified than book-keepers (who are also known as accounts/finance clerks), and will generally manage, interpret and advise on accounts, while the latter simply keep them. Accountants may also be licensed to carry out functions like auditing, and may specialise in a particular accounting area (see box).

ACCOUNTANCY AREAS AT A GLANCE

Public accounting
the accounting for money raised and spent by government, its departments and agencies

Financial accounting
deals with the presentation of largely historical information, often to satisfy legal requirements; includes the accounting reports of businesses

Management accounting
presents accounts that are useful for business managers and can be used to guide future decisions

Book-keeping
Book-keepers record financial transactions. In a large organisation they may work in a finance office with other staff, perhaps supporting senior finance professionals, and their duties are likely to include completing VAT returns, preparing accounts, keeping records of payments, invoices and receipts, checking bank statements, calculating wages and filing paperwork.

Accountancy and book-keeping in the Services
Each Service has its accountants and book-keepers, who are specialists in accounting, and many of whom gain professional qualifications in the field. However, many other Service people deal with accounts as part of their duties. Supervisors of bars and messes, treasurers of sports and adventurous training clubs, managers of non-public facilities and the like may be responsible for assets and cash that add up to a tidy sum. They may not have formal training and letters after their name, but they are certainly involved in the field.

Accounting is a recognised and valued skill that can open the door to a number of second careers, either as a full-time occupation or combined with other responsibilities. It can be mastered at a distance while in an unrelated career, although some years of experience are usually required before becoming fully qualified.

Qualifications and training
There are several different professional bodies (see below), which regulate the training and work of accountants in the UK but, as a general rule, qualifying as an accountant will involve three years of study, exams and relevant employment. Training for professional exams is provided by employers. Early responsibility and fast promotion are available if work and exam results are satisfactory.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
The ICAEW has more than 132,000 members working in business and public practice in 165 different countries. Its members are employed in industry, finance, commerce and public practice. The range of professional activities carried out by chartered accountants includes auditing, financial reporting, taxation, personal finance, corporate finance, financial management and information technology.

To become an ACA (Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) you must complete a training contract, which will last between three and five years, pass the ICAEW’s Professional Stage and Advanced Stage examinations, and complete specified work experience requirements. The training contract requires the completion of a minimum of 450 days’ technical work experience and both stages of the Institute exams: the Professional Stage and Advanced Stage. There are 12 exams at the Professional Stage and two exams and a case study at the Advanced Stage.
The ACA is regarded globally as one of the leading business and finance qualifications, and is recognised and valued in practice, industry, commerce and the public sector. Most students are graduates. However, it is possible to start as a student provided that you meet the minimum entry requirements of three GCSE passes (including Maths and English).

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
CIPFA currently has 14,000 members. It specialises in accountancy and financial management in the public services. Chartered public finance accountants influence decisions through financial management. They also assess the financial viability of proposals that influence services in a changing environment.

Its professional qualification system has three stages (certificate, diploma and final test of professional competence). Exemptions are available and qualifications may be gained through a mixture of academic study and work experience. It also offers CPD and diplomas for its graduates’ advanced training. Members work, often at the most senior levels, within public service bodies, in consultancy roles, in the national audit agencies and in major accountancy firms. They are respected throughout for their high technical and ethical standards, and professional integrity.

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
The ACCA is the world’s largest accountancy body, with 362,000 students and 131,500 members across the globe. Its qualification can open up a career in financial or management accountancy, and the Association has 82 offices, centres and examination centres worldwide. ACCA accountants work throughout the financial sector in public practice, financial services, the health service, industry, commerce and the public sector.

Its qualification scheme requires students to pass a suite of exams and a professional ethics module, and to complete a three-year practical experience requirement. There is also a certified accounting technician’s (CAT) programme (entry age 16 with no qualifications required). Students may progress to a BSc in applied accounting and an MBA to broaden business understanding and enhance strategic decision making. It also has a range of further qualifications and a CPD scheme. It operates joint examination schemes in many countries, and works closely with tuition providers and employers throughout the world.

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Chartered management accountants are professional accountants (over 155,000 members and students in 158 countries) who apply their skills to enhance management decision-making. They are able to give financial matters a commercial focus, equally important for the executive chairman of an international group or a junior project analyst.

The CIMA qualification takes students through three levels (operational, management and strategic, plus a test of professional competence). Three years’ relevant practical experience is required before achieving full membership. There is a requirement for entry-level qualifications like CIMA’s own certificate in business accounting or equivalent prior experience.

The Association of Accounting Technicians
The AAT is the UK’s leading qualification and membership body for accounting staff. It awards around 90% of all vocational qualifications in accounting, and has over 120,000 members in more than 90 countries worldwide. It provides a recognised qualification and membership body for accounting staff at technician level. It is sponsored by other accounting bodies, and successful AAT students are exempt elements of their qualifications.

Accounting technicians work at all levels of finance, from accounts clerk to financial controller, in all industries and sectors, and in organisations large and small. They may be the only trained finance staff employed, or part of a balanced team. Some provide accounting services on a self-employed basis, providing an accountancy and taxation service, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Institute of Financial Accountants
The IFA is the world’s oldest non-chartered accountancy body and operates in over 80 countries worldwide. Financial accountants are employed in senior positions in industry, commerce and practice, taking an active role in the financial management of companies and operating mainly at board level. IFA membership is available at the following levels: Affiliate, Financial Accounting Executive, Associate and Fellow.

The IFA’s new qualifications structure will, from June 2010, offer three career qualifications:

1. Financial Accountant Diploma – a highly vocational first-step qualification for financial accountants, focusing on developing essential skills; those holding this qualification can become an IFA member (DipFA)
2. Professional Financial Accountant – develops and tests a wide range of accountancy and finance skills, and business and management expertise; those holding this qualification are entitled to become an Associate Member of the IFA (AFA) and describe themselves as an Incorporated Financial Accountant
3. Evidence of Professional Competence or Strategic Finance Leader Programme – provides a final test of professional competence for the most senior finance and management strategists; requires the demonstration of business and finance experience at leadership level, and confirms competence and credentials.

International Association of Book-keepers
Book-keepers are the people who actually complete the books of accounts, providing financial support to other professionals, and the IBA’s exams (certificates and diplomas in book-keeping, payroll and financial management) are offered in more than 80 countries. Many book-keepers are highly competent at accounting, and some are expert in specialist areas.

The IAB has many thousands of students and members worldwide, while its syllabus offers exemptions for holders of other accountancy awards. It offers a number of qualifications and many of its exams lead in to higher-level qualifications with other accounting bodies.

Association of International Accountants
The AIA is a UK statutorily recognised qualifying body for auditors. It promotes and supports the advancement of the accountancy profession both in the UK and internationally. It has members and students in more than 85 countries. The AIA Professional Qualification requires three years’ accountancy experience in addition to successfully completing a range of exams at Foundation, Professional 1 and Professional 2 levels.

Students must be 18 years or over, and hold a minimum of two A-levels and three GCSEs, including English and maths or equivalent, or have a minimum of three years’ accountancy experience.

Accountancy degrees
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) holds details of accountancy courses available from British institutions.

Employment
Employment in accountancy and book-keeping varies enormously, from finance director of a large multinational to part-time book-keeper working from home on the accounts of a few small, local businesses. There are opportunities in public service and in private business, in public practice and in-house.

KEY CONTACTS

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Learning & Professional Development, Level 1, Metropolitan House, 321 Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 2FZ Tel: 01908 248100 Web site: www.icaew.com

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, 3 Robert Street, London WC2N 6RL Tel: 020 7543 5600 Website: www.cipfa.org.uk

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3EE Tel: 020 7059 5000 Website: www.accaglobal.com

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, 26 Chapter Street, London SW1P 4NP Tel: 020 8849 2251 Website: www.cimaglobal.com

Association of Accounting Technicians, 140 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HY Tel: 020 7397 3000 Website: www.aat.org.uk

Institute of Financial Accountants, Burford House, 44 London Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1AS Tel: 01732 458080 Website: www.ifa.org.uk

International Association of Book-keepers, Suite 30, 40 Churchill Square, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4YU Tel: 0844 330 3527 Website: www.iab.org.uk

Association of International Accountants, Staithes 3, The Watermark, Metro Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne NE11 9SN Tel: 0191 493 0277 www.aiaworldwide.com

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, Customer Service Unit, PO Box 28, Cheltenham GL52 3LZ Tel: 0871 468 0468 Website: www.ucas.ac.uk