Does the Chartered Accountancy qualification offer security as a career? 

Absolutely - once qualified, a Chartered Accountant can work in almost any industry or working environment. Currently, there is a huge demand for accountants in the job market as they are called to play an important role in every organisation, making this a great career for anyone who wants to work in a pivotal position. 

I believe that the qualification offers security, because accountancy skills are and will always be required, even, or perhaps I should say especially, during economic downturns. In fact, I have seen it first-hand during the pandemic, and can confidently say that I have helped many clients during the very challenging Covid times, who without our support could have either failed, or severely struggled. 

Let’s face it: accounting isn’t going anywhere. Even with advancements in artificial intelligence and automation, businesses need accountants to interpret complex tax laws and ever-changing regulations. Moreover, accountants manage and interpret financial information to help organisations make informed business decisions, making the accountancy profession a great career choice in terms of security and pay. 

Without a doubt. Accountancy is a very flexible career choice, given that every organisation needs accountants. Some businesses are large enough to have in-house accounting teams; others rely on accounting firms to handle their finances. During your studies you can choose between industry and practice which offer the opportunity to deal with different challenges, but nothing stops you from changing after you qualify.  Personally, I have trained in a practice and have decided to grow in my current role and so far never wanted to move. Being part of a leading accounting firm, I have an assortment of clients and really enjoy the variety whilst having the opportunity to focus on a particular sector or on certain types of clients. 

In addition, I have a variety of roles to choose from within accounting. Although my speciality is taxation, there’s the chance for lateral career moves, to experience a lot of different types of related roles, such as Cost accounting, Internal auditing, Forensic accounting, Financial reporting, and Consulting. 

I have been in the same workplace for 5 years, but I am aware that if I ever wanted to move, I would have the opportunity to work in pretty much any industry, anywhere, with the skills and experience that I gained. One day I could choose to work directly for a company that I am passionate about, or perhaps I’ll work as an accountant for a brand/cause that I love.  

How have your strategic skills as a Chartered Accountant been of benefit to you and your company, during recent times? 

My interest in looking for new opportunities to broaden my personal experience and cultural horizons led me, back in January 2013, to apply for a six-month, EU-funded exchange programme in the UK. The grant that I obtained with other European applicants involved a six-month work placement in my study field and an intensive English course in the UK. That’s what brought me to Northern Ireland, as my English course took place at the North West Academy of English in Derry/Londonderry, while my work placement was at Admann Marketing. This experience allowed me to develop excellent customer service and strategic direct marketing skills. 

When my work placement ended, I applied to work at Dawn McLaughlin & Co Chartered Accountants to gain further work experience in the UK and enhance my language skills. As part of my 1-year placement, I was helping the senior staff with accounting related tasks. I really enjoyed that, and quickly learnt how to move on to more complex accountancy-related assignments. I was very fortunate to have an exceptional and very experienced mentor, who offered me a full-time job after my work placement, and helped me to enrol in the HLA (Higher Level Apprenticeship) in Accountancy at North West Regional College.  

I acknowledge that my mentor, Dawn McLaughlin, has provided me with exceptional training and support during my time at the firm, and I owe her a lot of my current success. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today, because she helped me draft a clear pathway towards increased opportunities and career progression in accountancy. In November 2017, I achieved my Accounting Technicians qualification with overall distinction, as well as my ATI membership.  

While the ATI qualification provided me with invaluable knowledge and skills, I felt that I could achieve more, and that’s when I started looking into the Chartered Accountancy qualification. To qualify as a professional accountant, I had 2 options: the flexible route, and the training contract route. I decided on the latter via the 4-year training contract, and joined PKF FPM Accountants to start my path as a trainee accountant in September 2017. I chose the contract route because it would give me everything I needed to qualify – a full-time trainee role, a competitive salary, paid study leave and course fees, and access to a mentor to support my training and sign off my work experience whenever it needed to be reviewed and submitted via the CA diary. 

I thought that a training contract would help me qualify faster, and indeed, I fully qualified within the expected four years, which is below the average for students of other accountancy bodies. I have been working for the same firm ever since in the Accounts and Tax department and I am very lucky to have been very happy in my role for the past 5 years.

Why accountancy? 

I think that with accountancy, you either love it or hate it, and I was lucky enough to love it and have the opportunity to qualify without paying higher education tuition fees. I remember thriving through work deadlines, balancing control accounts, working on bank reconciliations, and nailing double entry. My mentor quickly realised that I was very eager to learn and progress, and helped me to enrol in an HLA in Accountancy to qualify as an Accounting Technician. This was very beneficial for both my employer, as it allowed them to train me to the level needed, fill higher level skills gap and develop existing higher calibre staff, and for myself, because I acquired very strong technical and employability skills through a recognised higher qualification while in paid employment.  

Even though accountancy wasn’t my first choice while at university, I feel that following my dream of studying abroad, eventually qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and changing careers is one of my greatest accomplishments, and I am very proud of it. 

Why Chartered Accountants Ireland? 

The fact that the Institute runs lectures, hosts revision courses and mock exams, provides student support, and prepares students for exams is exceptional, and this centralized approach and the high level of academic quality was what made me choose this accountancy body.  

After carrying out my own research, I thought that the Institute offered the best professional accountancy education in Ireland and the option that better suited me: education provided in-house – with lecturers, courses, exams, and support. Finally, this professional body had the highest pass rates of all the main accountancy bodies in Ireland, and this was also a major factor in my choice.   

In my opinion, the greatest advantage of working and studying is that you can study and earn a competitive salary while doing so. Firms in all industries hire those with work experience, so this means that students with work experience can choose their preferred option, including accountancy firms, or internally within a company, rather than wait and hope to “be chosen”.  

There is always intense competition for opportunities with larger companies that may be more attractive because of higher salaries and employment benefits. However, I believe that students can learn equally valuable skills from a smaller company like I have, before securing a longer-term training contract/employment with PKF-FPM Accountants. 

I am currently a client relationship manager for 50+ clients, and feel that I only had the opportunity to progress this fast due to the fact that, as a trainee, I worked closely with these same clients, and developed my skills from basic accounting tasks to complex accounts and tax assignments. I am certain that my pre-qualification work experience helped me being noticed and promoted faster – obviously in combination with the training provided by both the Institute and my firm, which has enabled me with the right skills to become confident in my role. 

Describe a typical day for you?