Accountancy is a great career choice to make. You can find yourself working for interesting clients all around the world and getting rewarded very well for it.
However, there are some specific qualifications that you’ll need to gain first.
Where to start
There are many globally recognised bodies which offer courses to prepare you for a career in accounting.
You can look into the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) or the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), but the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the leading global accountancy body.
An ACCA qualification will immediately make your CV stand out to an employer looking to hire a new accountant: it is the gold standard of the sector and is internationally recognised.
Studying ACCA
The qualification includes a total of fourteen exams with both essential and optional modules, as well as three years of practical experience – but if you work and study at the same time, you could be a qualified accountant within three years.
When you complete the first three ACCA papers and a foundation module in ethics, you’ll also get a Diploma in Accounting and Business on top of your ACCA certificates.
What next?
After achieving your qualification, you still need to do a bit of hard work: do you research and think about important career questions, such as what kind of industry you’d like to enter and what specialisations you might be interested in.
You should also consider your short-term and long-term goals: where would you like to be in six months, a year, or three years after you qualify? What do you need to learn to get there? Do you have any contacts you can leverage?
Once you have a solid career plan and a good network in place, you’ll be in a great position to begin climbing the accountancy ladder.
Excited? Find out how you can start becoming an accountant with our Preparatory course for Acca Examination!
