ACCA + Work Experience

Livekop

Hi There,
I was hoping somebody could read this and give some advice. I have reached F8 & F9 in my ACCA studies but currently coming near the end of a 6 month contract. The work was in an accounts office in a small company. This is my first experience in the accounting field having
previously worked in different areas but decided to start studying accounting.

What are the best opportunites out their for part qualified ACCA students? I have good general work experience and now 6 months working in an accounts office. I have gone to recruitment firms before but I am not pushed in getting work through them now. Are their companies recruiting ACCA students or what is the best method of getting employment?

Any advice would be appreciated or names of companies that are recruiting.
Cheers.

ACCA Student

Redsoxfan

The reality is that many companies choose to use recruitment agencies-they are nearly impossible to avoid IMHO. That said, I'm sure some companies would jump at the chance to save €€€€ by recruiting a candidate directly-but that requires a lot of work on your part.

I think you need to set out some information before people can answer your questions

• where do you want to work?
• how far are you prepared to travel?
• do you want to work in a small, medium or large company?
• would you like to travel?
• do you want to work for a public (listed) or private company?
• in what industry would you like to work?
• how wide do you want your role to be (small company suggests wide range of responsibilities)
• what kind of quality of life do you want-are long hours a problem?

I'm sure there's more-but if you answer the above then I'm sure you will get some useful information.

Livekop

To Redsoxfan,

At the moment I am based in the SouthSide of the city so this side would be preferable. If there were opportunities within 30 to 45 mins, that would be fair enough.

The preference for the size of company would be medium or large where roles would be more defined. The type of industry would not be an issue with me. Also it would be important to get a sponsor who knows ACCA and where you could achieve your objectives.

The hours would not be a problem if most of the above requirments are met.

tks for the reply

Redsoxfan

Livekop wrote: »

The type of industry would not be an issue with me.

Industry probably should be an issue. It can be hard to move between financial services and industry-the type of experience gained now can have a significant effect of your future career. (I say that as someone who worked primarily in FS during and after qualifying and now work in industry).

Money comes into it as well-FS generally pays more. And FS is more plentiful in 'the city' whereas industry tends to be in the 'burbs.

Livekop

From your previous post, the industry I agree is important and thats where I intend to work rather than financial services. So it will be a job in Industry rather that F/S's. The ideal job would be in an accounts dept for a medium/large co and work towards acca qualification.

CAT NAP

Hi,
I am also studying ACCA and working in industry.

Recruitment agencies are probably the best way to go as that is how most large companies would go about recruiting staff. Look for advertisments for part-qualified accountants there are lots of good jobs out there - and the good thing about multinationals is you can work your way up fast as there are always internal opportunities available.

Another place you will find these jobs advertised is in the careers page of college websites, they often have jobs advertised aimed at past students try http://www.ucc.ie/careers/vacancies.php i'm sure other colleges have similar webpages.

Hope it helps somewhat

The CCAinsider

You will get broader experience in practice although generally you will get lower pay, but this is usually offset by longer study leave. If you work in practice a lot of the time you will leave after a few years to work with a client of the practice, so you will already know your employer and be happy with the work environment.

At this stage of your career the most important thing is to get good experience, don’t be tempted by the big bucks in fund accounting or a very narrow role in financial services. Look at the list of accredited employers on the ACCA web site, they all have good internal training schemes and are used to training ACCA employees.

BigBus

LIvekop, do you still have the F4 materials? I'm looking for study text and practice kit, irish variant. dumseb@yahoo.com