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Becoming a student

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Studying in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s best business qualification – Chartered Accountancy

Chartered Accountants Ireland was established in 1888 as an all-island body, and has a strong presence in Northern Ireland, with 4,500+ members and over 1,100 students based in NI. Education will be delivered online from October 2020, with NI tax and NI Law taught to students in the area.

There is no milkround in Northern Ireland, while the recruitment drive still runs in the Republic.

Interested in finding out more contact us.

Conor Flanagan - Storm Technology Ltd. Belfast

I trained in a medium sized accountancy firm based in Belfast. My day to day work involved charity audit, accounts preperation, personal tax among other tasks. It was that variety that made my job both unique and interesting. I joined Finegan Gibson after completing a Computing degree in Queen’s University Belfast and having no understand or knowledge of Accounting. I entered Chartered Accountants Ireland with enthusiasm to learn but with naivety as to what was ahead of me. I was met with all the help and support you could want from lecturers and Chartered Accountants Ireland staff alike, as well as many opportunities to get involved with societies and events. I sat on the committee of both the regional student society in Belfast and the national student society based in Dublin. This gave me the opportunity to work closely with Chartered Accountants Ireland organising social events for, and being a voice for students. This experience allowed me to work with external bodies to organise weekends away and conferences for all Chartered Accountants Ireland students nationwide. Through this experience I made many great new friends and connections through both industry and practice. I would encourage all new students to get involved with the student societies throughout your Chartered Accountants Ireland journey. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in December 2018.

Nuala McAdams - EY Belfast

I joined EY in September 2015 having no previous experience of Audit or Accountancy - I couldn't have told you the difference between a credit and debit!

I had studied History and Politics at Queen’s University Belfast before taking the leap into Accountancy. I joined knowing next to nothing, but through attending classes and making use of the support available I managed to get through my first few exam levels and am now revising for my FAE's. I also volunteered with the Ulster and All Ireland student committee which was a fantastic opportunity to make friends, share notes for exams and understand what opportunities lie ahead once I become Chartered. The qualification is tough and requires commitment, but it is worth the challenge and there is a very supportive community of students and staff to help. I was very grateful for the opportunity to study towards this qualification and would encourage anyone, especially those who are from a non-accountancy background, to consider becoming Chartered through Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Chartered Accountancy facts

Hear from students and members in Northern Ireland

Here, we share some stories from students and members in Northern Ireland – their experience studying and working as Chartered Accountants.

Read Claire Stewart’s story in the Ulster Star Online, Claire began with a degree in Business and Computing for there she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2009, she is now running her own practice.
Dawn Johnston is Director at Deloitte LLP in Belfast and is heavily involved with Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Ulster Society. Dawn spoke to Spreadsheet, the magazine of the Ulster Society, about her career to date, her interest in how we develop new Chartered Accountants.

“I started in the Audit Department while working though my professional exams and I loved the work from the start. I enjoyed working in a team, going out to different offices, seeing the big picture behind each business and being given responsibility early on in my career. I felt – and I still feel – that there is a tremendous privilege in being an auditor. We get incredible access to the business and deal with all areas, whether it’s the sales director, production manager or managing director.”
Keith Scott, Northern Ireland Water’s Business Performance Manager. Keith studied a non-business degree; he then took a conversion course at University of Ulster in Jordanstown before starting his training contract with ASM Accountancy practice in Belfast.

“I decided to train as a Chartered Accountant with ASM, a mid-sized practice in Belfast. This provided a broad exposure to the audit of private and public sector organisations, along with experience in taxation and economic appraisals.”