Accountants... practice or industry?

[21TonyK]

A few years ago several PH accountants offered some very much appreciated advice and guidance as my son embarked on an apprenticeship as a trainee accountant.

Roll on 5 of years and hes now a Chartred Accountant considering his options.

Any pearls of wisdom I can pass on?

[Countdown]

Congratulations- a massive well done to your son. I qualified 25+ years ago and the memory of waiting for the results still brings me out in a cold sweat

Do you know which qualification he has -ACA, ACCA, or CIMA?

[21TonyK]

Yeah, we ALL felt the pressure of waiting on that final exam! He got his result a few days before his 24th Birthday so that was a relief!

I believe its AMA, hes in practice now and doing quite nicely but not sure he sees that as his future.

[MaxFromage]

Well done, the exams are a lot harder than many realise.

If he's Chartered then he's ACA. Chartered Certified is ACCA. He's very unlikely to be CIMA in practice. There isn't much difference these days and it's really down to the training you receive.

I have to be honest, I'm not sure what the best route is at the moment given the rise of AI. Others may disagree, but I see a huge threat to our industry.

Often the decision is down to what you want. Some favour practice, others industry. Personality also comes in it.

If he is going to stay in practice, my suggestion would be to specialise. Make yourself invaluable. Maybe champion AI if no-one else has. Though turkeys and Christmas come to mind...

I think industry is likely to fare better as time goes by, but I am only guessing.

Either way, the qualification lends itself to a wide array of career options.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I did accountancy just to keep my mum and dad off my back. I was qualified by 21.

As said it's horses for courses. Some folk are born to be accountants and practice is right up their street.

I carved my career out in SMEs. As "the finance guy" you tend to the the sensible one. This inevitably leads to broader management roles with maybe finance as your background.

This is what happened to me. I always worked in industry and went:

Trainee accountant, assistant accountant, management accountant, company accountant, finance director before I was 30.

I then branched out to commercial director and then found myself running two main dealerships.

A financial background is admired in some circles, and you need to keep it quiet in others

In the normal course of life you find your way through circumstance, chance and some hard work. I never planned my career but it mostly turned out OK

[21TonyK]

Yes, corrected, it is ACA. AI is an interesting prospect and I guess as much of a threat wherever you are. I guess the best way to mitigate this is to move into management ASAP which is what I think he is planning.

[Countdown]

21TonyK said:

Yes, corrected, it is ACA. AI is an interesting prospect and I guess as much of a threat wherever you are. I guess the best way to mitigate this is to move into management ASAP which is what I think he is planning.

The answer is....it depends

How big is the practice that he trained at? As part of his training was he able to do any kind of rotation (Tax, Audit, management reporting, corporate finance)?

I don't know if ACA is the same as ACCA but we had to get "Competencies" signed off in a range of different business areas which meant that we were allowed to rotate between different teams. It meant that you worked out which areas of accounting you enjoyed and which were as much fun as stabbing yourself in the fleshy part of your thigh (internal audit!).

One of the best things about accounting is that you're not tied to any particular industry. I've worked for loads in both Public and private sectors and the variety means that even after 25 years I find my work interesting. Also if you ever end up with a bad boss it's fairly easy to move on.

In answer to your original question - it depends on what aspects of accountancy he finds interesting. If he wants to make shedloads of money and is prepared to work 60 hours a week then he's best staying in Practice (ideally one of the Big 10). If he wants a better work-life balance then a Finance Business partner role in industry and slowly climb the pole to eventually FD?