Graduate Job Guide: Accounting & Auditing

Accounting and auditing may not seem like the most exciting career choice, in fact, it may conjure up images of grey suits. However, it’s a wide spread, dynamic and contemporary field, that is surprisingly fast moving, and permeates every other industry and business out there. Large companies like KPMG, PwC, E&Y and Deloitte (The Big 4), are options in terms of employment.

Industry Overview:

Chartered accountants can be found in almost every business out there, and far from only taking care of accounting, they often serve as business advisors too.

Whereas accountants used to be purely bean counters, holed up in a little office somewhere, surrounded by ledgers, journals and calculators, the modern training they receive, which includes a host of subjects other than those accounting related, means that accountants these days offer a far broader service to businesses, from business advice to taking a hands on role in strategizing.

Auditors on the other hand, are far more devoted to figures. It’s a career of long hours, intense focus, and a possibility of very high rewards. Auditors pick up where accountants leave off, analyzing financial data to form an opinion on whether the accounts give a true and fair view of the company’s position.  Whether an internal or an external auditor, your job will be to find problems with the accounts that can make or break a company.

Requirements:

First and foremost, you must have an aptitude for working with numbers. Without this, you’re unlikely to succeed in accounting or auditing.

You also need to be meticulous, fastidious, and be good at following the rules. There’s not a lot of room to play with financial matters! Being able to work as a part of a team is also necessary, as accountants and auditors find themselves very much a part of the team that runs any company.

Communication is another important skill, whether you opt for a career in accounting or auditing, as you will be dealing with compatriots within the company you work for, and anyone that you may need to request information for.

Computer literacy is a very important skill for accountants and auditors. The information revolution has definitely touched the financial fields, and the various software packages on offer have made keeping track of finances a much easier proposition!

There are very specific training institutes for accountants and auditors, including the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, or CIPFA, ACCA, the Associated of Chartered Certified Accountants, and in order to become a CA, you will need to complete training with one of these bodies.

Generally speaking, in order to continue on to studies in accounting or auditing, an A-level in Mathematics is usually the norm, and usually with a business degree. Then it’s on to one of the specialist institutions above alongside in-service training. After that, you’ll become a chartered accountant.

Positions:

The good news, after all the studying, is that there are plenty of jobs available in accounting and auditing, and in many instances, they are high earning fields.

As far as where you will work, the options are to work for a midsized or large corporation in any industry, a firm devoted to accounting or auditing, banking, and even opening your own business or consultancy.

Internal auditors are employees of the company. They are responsible for assessing and evaluating internal control systems. They report their findings to the board of directors or to top management. External auditors are independent staff who work for audit firms to assess and evaluate the financial statements of their clients or to perform other agreed-upon procedures.

Aside from conventional accounting and auditing, there are opportunities for qualified individuals in tax, corporate finance, corporate recovery or insolvency, working for financial institutions instead of companies, and even, for the technically minded, offshoots of the IT department that are concerned with accounting and financial practices.

Salaries start between £17,000 and £23,000, depending on how specialized you are.

Since the credit crunch is forcing all companies to pay a lot more attention to their financial health, there are a lot of jobs out there for both accountants and auditors, and professionals in both of these arenas are moving between jobs more than ever, being headhunted.

As far as auditors go, graduates are almost assured of employment as soon as they qualify, with many walking into jobs with PwC, or Deloitte, and although, in the financial sector, big bonuses and large salaries are a thing of the past; this is still a stable and secure industry to venture into.

Career Prospects:

Despite the credit crunch, it has been predicted that there will soon be less auditors than positions. In today’s economic climate, there is a greater need than ever for sound financial advice and planning.

It’s not unheard of for salaries for graduate entrants to the accounting or auditing professions to double in a very short period of time, and with so many jobs on offer, it’s a great time to make entry into the market.

If you enjoy working with figures and you’re looking for a job with good prospects, accounting and auditing might be a good choice for you too.