Newly Qualified ACA - What Next?

By Adam Parsons

Adam Parsons is the Head of Alexander Lloyd’s Professional Practice division, specialising in recruitment of senior accountancy and finance professionals, from Trainee, to Partner and Director level, within the Public Practice sector across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and London..

Adam Parsons, head of Alexander Lloyd's Professional Practice division considers the decisions facing those who receive their ACA results tomorrow....

The ACA results are published tomorrow, and for those of you who will be achieving fully qualified status, this is a unique point in your career. Decisions made now will have far ranging impacts on the road that is ultimately travelled.

Career Advice
Around this time of year I have a number of newly qualified (or soon to be) accountants asking for career advice. This has led me to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard rather) and relay the advice that my colleagues and I are dispensing on a daily basis.

The most obvious choice presented to you as a newly qualified accountant is to remain in practice or venture into the world of industry.  This is a really fundamental career choice - once the move is made it is very rare, and quite difficult, to make the transition back to practice.  I highly recommend that you think strategically about the long-term career path you want to follow, in order to achieve your goals at each stage.

Working in Practice
Staying in practice for some is the obvious choice.  Many will be fortunate enough to secure a new contract with their current employer and be excitedly contemplating their next step to Managerial level. However, what about those of you who are not able to secure a new contract, or those of you who simply want a new challenge within the practice environment? 

I would recommend the first step is to consider whether you want to specialise at this point in time, or would rather have a wider remit.  Secondly, take a look at the competition and decide whether you are looking for the challenge of moving to a higher-ranking practice, or would rather a smaller more intimate environment.  Whilst a challenging option, moving up will provide you with greater scope for progression and the possibility of working in new disciplines and specialising further along your career path. 

Competition for the top tier can be fierce, and I do recommend that you consider the location in which you are willing to work.  Don’t automatically discount those regions outside of London. Offices in these areas are often looking for new recruits, whereas those in London are usually inundated with applicants.  You will increase your options quite considerably by doing so, and whilst the financial package is not necessarily as high, you get a foot through the door providing greater opportunities in the future.

Working in Industry
For many though, the lure of industry calls.  Providing first hand commercial experience, Accountancy within industry is a very different ball game. The key piece of advice that I give to job seekers wanting to enter this domain is to be realistic in regards to your immediate expectations.  It is not always going to be possible to walk straight into a commercially driven strategic role - many companies will require you to have more experience within industry first.  It would pay to employ a strategic approach and consider where you want to get to in the next few years and plan the best route to get there. 

Whilst being pragmatic about your immediate options, it also pays to be realistic about your financial expectations.  Once qualified, a move into industry will not always result in a significant pay increase in the short term.  The remuneration packages in practice are on average slightly higher than their industry equivalent within the South East.  However you will have opportunities to be closely involved with the performance and direction of the company where you can see the results and impact that you, as an Accounting professional, are able to bring about.

Review your CV
Once you have considered in which direction you want to drive your career, the very next thing I recommend is to review your CV.  It is really worth taking the time to get some advice and prepare a CV that fully showcases your skills and experience.   A reputable agency, that has good relationships with a wide range of companies, will be able to assist you with this and also have opportunities worth discussing.

Moving into industry or staying in practice wholly depends upon the individual, and there is demand for job seekers in both.  If you were to take one thing away with you, I would say it is to apply a strategic approach to which career path best suits you in the long term, and good luck.

 

 

Comments

[Adam Parsons]

In addition to this, whilst I understand that those who have specialised may not want to continue down their current route long term, it can be used to your advantage in the short term. If we take audit for example, you will not necessarily want to move into an internal audit role long term, however a move into such a position, or one that is more technically focussed such as financial accounting, will provide you with diverse experience of a company which can then be used as stepping stone onwards in the commercially orientated direction that you eventually want to pursue.

I would of course be happy to clarify any of these details should anyone wish to discuss things further.