From Accountancy (FP&A) to...?

[ujio]

Hi all, could do with some advice on my chosen career path.
A bit of background, I'm in my late 30's and have 'fallen' into the accountancy field (CIMA qualified) having always worked in something or another finance related.

I guess in this whole COVID and WFH time I should be very grateful to have a job (which I am), but this has also brought an immense work pressure with hours worked going through the roof doing a whole lot of scenario analysis, re-forecasting and year-end. But this has also brought to light that I really seem to hate the field I am working in, in the cold light of day.

I'm trying to dissociate the underlying reasons and whether this is just short-term, but it's plain and simple (and maybe a mid-life crisis of sorts!), but I really don't get much value from what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis. The shuffling of numbers around an excel sheet (I'm a blackbelt at this now and a Udemy we in picking up and learning the latest skills), the endless month-end cycles, the variance analysis of forecasts (i.e. reconciling the difference between one set of made up numbers to another set of made up numbers) makes me think...this is is all kinda... pointless. It may be of value to the business, but I really don't see any value in what I'm doing.

Sounds like a 'woe-is-me', but it's like Sisyphus constantly rolling a boulder up a hill and I've been thinking all this time I've been climbing the wrong damn hill. I look at my seniors (MDs, FDs CFOs) and think, I really do not aspire to be in their positions.

I've been thinking whether it's due to the fact I'm more of a creative sort and have really tried to shoe-horn myself into this industry but it's never truly resonated with me. As mentioned, I'm knowledge hungry and am constantly on the go with new online courses to understand the latest in BI or skilling up in the Microsoft stack. I prefer to see real world tangible outcomes rather than build a financial model/report with a set of assumptions which will not reflect reality a month down the line, or spend a day trying to balance a pesky balance sheet.

Has anyone working in this industry felt the same and/or successfully moved towards something else? Or is it a case of just changing the narrative and find the little pockets of inspiration on the daily grind or in project work. Again, the grass isn't necessarily greener elsewhere (maybe it's the whole corporate structure that echoes the same sentiment) and maybe it's a case of managing my expectations smacking myself in the face and getting on with it.

[Ninja59]

I know a few in the accountancy world and some stick at it, but I know a number who have gone to other industries or have other roles outside their main role (one of them in question early 20's and by mid to late 20's/early 30's had already had enough).

That being said I think industry vertical and size of company might have some bearing on your outlook (or it does at least in my world). I have never worked for anything other than SME's of varying scale, but nothing beyond say a few hundred employees at most.

The smaller the organisation then chances are you need to be more adaptable from your main role (whatever that might be), I suppose that is something I enjoy in regards to the SME world over the larger organisations where everyone is more precise, one person does it in an SME is done by 3 or even 4 people in the larger one.

Edited by Ninja59 on Wednesday 6th May 13:13

[Exige46]

Sounds like the position I was in a couple of years ago, albeit working for the closest thing to an investment bank here in NZ. Money was good but I had no career aspirations which meant I wasn't valued and ended up doing the same old thing day after day (daily reporting!) and month after month. I love learning and problem solving, but I'm not a big picture person and I exhausted all the opportunities available to improve daily and monthly processes, not that it was valued. It got to a point where I suffered from depression and anxiety and couldn't face stepping through the door into the office. Don't let it get that bad - I never thought it would happen to me!

Eventually walked out with nothing to go to, took on a much lower paid role which was ok for a short while, but then found a role as a data analyst in the public sector where I can use my analysis and problem solving skills on varied tasks mostly revolving around testing of systems development and integration. I'm a bit older than you but it suits me as I am valued, everybody has a voice rather than just the next young loud hotshot, the work is more varied, and what I do literally does make a difference for hundreds of thousands of people. It took a bit of work on my cv highlighting transferable skills, and somebody in a different industry taking a bit of a punt along with a bit of a pay cut, but I am so much happier.

[MOBB]

I was similar to the OP, been an accountant my whole working life. In 2014 I wanted out but had no idea what I could do.

So I started contracting for a while, short roles, change of scenery regularly, don't get involved in office politics, and earn more.

I aim for SME roles as I can make more of a difference.

Current role is 4 days per week, 9-4 and extra hours are never required. Earn roughly what a qualified senior finance person would in a mid sized company, despite being part time. Because of my skills acquired over the years (lol) they think I'm amazing, great family business, no real pressure and I make a difference. Actually enjoying accountancy nowadays.

Edit to add - if you are an Excel whizz, SME's will think its witchcraft and bow to you, as you take 10 minutes to do work that used to take them a day :-)

[stuthemong]

What about management consultancy? Could you take your skills into that sphere?

Each gig needs creative solutions, every job is different.

Is imagine your background would be of interest there.

I know someone who went into forensic financial analyissi on fraud etc.. Sounds fun and creative again, cat and moise!

[jimmytheone]

OP, I hear your pain.
I too fell into accountancy (CIMA) and worked my way up through AP, bank recs and all the durge until I found myself in FP&A. I worked really long hours chasing numbers round spreadsheets wondering what value I was really adding, not only to the business but also to my own career. Did I really want to be doing the same old sht month after month? Having to restrict when I could take holidays and have time off with my (young) family? I too didn’t want my boss’ job.

I’d always taken an interest in our ERP system (SAP) and got myself involved in an upgrade project (Finance liason bloke), and then getting involved supporting some of the interfaces, (banking, expenses system) until my FP&A boss (who is now CFO) suggested I join the SAP team full time, moving from Finance to IT. I’ve not looked back.

I’m not SAP-certified but I’ve got a solid background in SAP FICO (finance/controlling) and of course I’ve “been there done that” so when it comes to SAP support, Change management, project mgmt etc I know what my users are trying to achieve and having worked within IT I have a better understanding on what IT people are on about (sometimes).
It allows for a bit of creativity (Solutions Architect in IT-speak) but retains the risk/ controlling nature of accountancy. There’s always multiple ways of achieving something and your job would be to figure out what those solutions are, what they cost/ RoI / to outsource or do in-house, risk strategies, tech strategies, etc.

I’ve been involved with Brexit (finance & supply chain), SAFT reporting for various countries, Italy e-invoicing, Spain immediate supply of VAT info (SII) – all things that are finance-related but draw upon a variety of skills, dealing with people with different backgrounds & disciplines – this is where I add value, and get great satisfaction – making things work better.

If you’re CIMA-qualified and a black-belt in excel / macro’s / MS Access/ BI I’d suggest thinking about how you can apply those skills elsewhere within your organisation. You don’t say what industry you’re in, nor what size company you work for but I’d suggest the bigger the company, the more likely you are to be pigeon-holed in a role, though the contra to this is that there may be greater opportunities to move within your current org.

Get as much training as your company will pay for, in all manner of things including soft-skills or courses you wouldn’t have a hope in hell of paying for yourself.
Or go large on BI / tech – I can’t see demand for this slowing down and it could eventually lead to your own business?

[Venier]

In many respects for a lot of the posters on this thread, it could be me.
CIMA qualified but working as a contractor for a several years which in many respects cured my general boredom with all things corporate.
As a contractor I only ever got to do the interesting stuff that permies didn’t have the time for in their day to day jobs. Lots of creativity involved, no office politics, I always have my honest opinion and was never striving for a bonus so mostly did 9-5 as I didn’t have to prove anything.
Like you i wowed my clients with my experience in Excel (although more recently found that a lot of the younger part quals were at my excel level already but lacked a lot of experience in building decent models).
Anyway, like you, I lost my zest for justifying variances with words and shuffling numbers around a spreadsheet and the invisibility and almost pointlessness of what I was doing and had craved a way out for probably 5 years.
Contracting allows you to keep you options open and prepares you for taking on risk (accountants are naturally risk averse) and also massively broadens your general experience whilst keeping you out of your comfort zone.
Doing this has allowed me to take a risk in buying a manufacturing, probably could have picked a better time to do it, but even though the company’s future is in the balance I have genuinely enjoyed every minute.
My advice would be to wind down your financial commitments, quit your job and go contracting - it’s not as financially lucrative as it used to be but by doing this you’ll be able to be more open to future opportunities outside of the traditional corporate environment.
And even if my new venture goes tits up, I’ll always be able to fall back into contracting until the next opportunity comes up.

[ujio]

Thanks for all your posts, each and every one has had some valuable take away for me. For background, I am in a contractor (steady there) in a FTSE 100 company, and contracting, though unstable at times has given me some sanity. In fact, I must be mildly ADHD as the thought of being in one place for more than 2 years fills be with dread. Variety keeps me awake with the learning curve and getting to experience the nuances in different companies. But this might have also shot me in the foot… just like a promiscuous person I find it challenging to develop depth in knowledge and climbing the vertical in any one company.

• Ninja59 – FTSE100 v SME. Yes, a smaller organisation definitely gives you a feel of more value-add with the ability to impress more with greater impact. Maybe the possibility of looking into an SME with some eventual carry (ie equity) might bring out the entrepreneurial side in me and greater return in the long-run?

• Exige46 – Like you, I love to solve a problem which will make a difference. I’ve thought about going down the solutions architect role but my lack of extensive IT work will likely work against me. Could I perhaps ask what hard technical skills you learnt along the way? (ie SQL, python etc.), as the data analyst side interests me but the rabbit hole goes deep!

• MOBB - Yup, with an SME, even power query will be akin to sorcery! It must make you feel warm and fuzzy inside when you can make such a difference to a family business as opposed to a faceless corporate with shareholders so far removed. Regarding Excel, I’m by no means one of those MVPs but I feel like I’ve gone full circle with it, but I just think there must be more to life living outside the cell. The SME culture you work in seems great with the added benefit of a 4 day week allowing to work on our own stuff/recreation.

• Stuthe – I’ve thought long and hard about both suggestion. I’ve recently worked alongside management consultants from BCG and these guys were your ambitious ‘overachiever’ type with a healthy educational pedigree who worked crazy hours. I don’t think I have this pedigree to crack these ranks now at this stage in life. Forensic Accounting – I went deep down the rabbit hole on this after getting into Narcos, Ozark (believe it or not!). No two days are the same and its ‘seems’ like bloody interesting work at times. However, after further investigation it appears that an early start in Audit from Big 4 and an ACA are a pre-requisite. I’m a late in life CIMA self-studied guy.

• Jimmytheone – This might be a good idea. I’ve been more interested in the tech side of things and getting to problem solve. Being that hybrid interface between IT and finance is a good way to utilise all round skills. I’m trying my best to self-study learn on the BI/ tech stack but there’s so much out there I can sometimes be ‘chasing 3 rabbits and catching none’. The prospect of doing this and becoming my own consultancy definitely holds some appeal to me. I’m contracting at a FTSE100 company but have somehow ended up in a more financial reporting role during this COVID environment. Month-end seems to last 2.5 weeks here which gives little time to upskill on much else. Also being a small cog in a fairly large machine doesn’t help when I suggested a whole scale move to power BI after almost shooting myself in the face with the legacy systems.

• Venier – We echo a lot of sentiments here. Again, I’m ‘fortunate’ enough to already be down the contracting path after realising that the politics and corporate grind of large institutions left me cold with the added benefit of variety. However, this has come at small cost of displaying a lack of ‘staying power’ when you look at my CV. I think you’ve struck a chord with me on your new venture though. Something way out of your comfort zone but you are now fully responsible for, intersecting your skills with you genuine interests may I ask? It might be something to be suited to my stage in life too.. if not now, then likely it will be never.