Accountancy college courses.

The___________

Hi all,
I am a current 5th year leaving cert student and I am interested in perusing a career in accountancy in the future.
i know that you can train for professional accountancy exams straight after finishing the leaving cert,however I would be more interested in gaining a business/accountancy degree in college first.

So what courses would you recommend?
All replies are appreciated.

BTH

I did Accounting and Finance in DCU. Top course, and back then (6 years ago) most people with a 1.1 or 2.1 would have got training contracts with the top 4 firms quite easily.

mr_edge_to_you

You can go to Athlone IT and get a pile of exemptions for CIMA/ACCA and CPA. Not sure what's available for ACA.

gottcha_goin

I would recommend doing a Commerce degree in UCD. It is a 3 year course and your first two years will be very broad, mix of everything including accountancy. However, what is good about this is that you get a good perspective on the business world instead of the narrow view that a specialised accountancy course can bring. You will constantly be working off a laptop, working in groups and developing skills such as presenting and using excel, etc. These skills make you very employable.

In third year you can specialise in multiple areas, where you can pick accountancy. By doing accountancy you can gain all CAP1 exemptions for your ACA exams. There is also a one year lead on course, the masters of accounting in Smurfit which will give you CAP2 exemptions. So in four years you can have a degree and a masters and only have to do one set of exams to qualify as an accountant (same length of time it takes to get a degree in Trinity, without all exemptions).

Also, a commerce degree will get your nose in the door of the Big 4 when you come to getting a job. Most people interviewing you will have done the same degree as you and will know what kind of skills you will bring.

If UCD isnt for you, as a second choice I would go for Accounting & Finance in DCU (great employment prosepects too) or Commerce in NUI Galway.

Hope that helps.

jessup

Good advice, once you (or your Mum and Dad) has deep pockets.

I wouldn't rate the M Acc in Smurfit at all, certainly not for the money it costs. It provides you with exemptions to CAP2 which is the only reason most people do it anyway IMO. Is CAP2 that bad that it's worth spending €12K to avoid it?

Anyway, the OP is dead on about doing a course that has a broad base and then focusing in to get as many exemptions as possible for ACA or ACCA etc.

Perhaps the best of both worlds is to do as the OP says re your under grad. If you really want the 'M Acc letters' and to avoid CAP2 get into the Big 4 from your under grad and get them to part sponsor you for the M Acc.

AFAIK the Big 4 still take on more trainees straight from their under grad than those who have the M Acc so it's not all it's cracked up to be. Most Accountants I know did not do the M Acc prior to qualification (although many have various Masters Degrees now). The last thing to consider is the problem that seems to hit many people who because of exemptions don't have to do CAP2 and then run into serious problems when they hit the first set of Professional Accountancy exams for their finals. Many would have been better off you go through the rigour of CAP2 and taking a 'short cut' makes it a tougher journey in the long run.

gottcha_goin

jessup wrote: »

Good advice, once you (or your Mum and Dad) has deep pockets.

I wouldn't rate the M Acc in Smurfit at all, certainly not for the money it costs. It provides you with exemptions to CAP2 which is the only reason most people do it anyway IMO. Is CAP2 that bad that it's worth spending €12K to avoid it?

Anyway, the OP is dead on about doing a course that has a broad base and then focusing in to get as many exemptions as possible for ACA or ACCA etc.

Perhaps the best of both worlds is to do as the OP says re your under grad. If you really want the 'M Acc letters' and to avoid CAP2 get into the Big 4 from your under grad and get them to part sponsor you for the M Acc.

AFAIK the Big 4 still take on more trainees straight from their under grad than those who have the M Acc so it's not all it's cracked up to be. Most Accountants I know did not do the M Acc prior to qualification (although many have various Masters Degrees now). The last thing to consider is the problem that seems to hit many people who because of exemptions don't have to do CAP2 and then run into serious problems when they hit the first set of Professional Accountancy exams for their finals. Many would have been better off you go through the rigour of CAP2 and taking a 'short cut' makes it a tougher journey in the long run.

I agree with you in certain respects but its all down to personal choice really. This year for sure Big 4 firms were not accepting many through direct entry (costlier for them in the long run), so it didnt leave many people with any option but to go on and do the MAcc or go for something in medium sized firm.

As for whether the MAcc is "worth" it or not, depends on the type of person you are and the career you want. If you can get corporate sponsorship the fees arent really an issue. A lot of undergrads like to go direct entry because CAP2's bring about study leave and such (like summer holidays from work basically) and yes to an extent it gets them set in the frame of doing external exams. However, this year 50% of people failed therir CAP2 exams and with current conditions in the workplace, its enough to get you fired. This where the MAcc is important-NO Cap2 exams and a graduate 95% pass rates on FAE's. Also, if your thinking of going internationally at some stage an MAcc will always stand to you well.

But apart from that, the question is which course you should pick. I would suggest the same. No need to concern yourself with masters and such until a few years down the line!!

oh!

Hey, another good course if you're parents aren't loaded is BB in Accountancy in GMIT, they've really good exemptions from the accountancy bodies! I'm in my third year now!!
You're exempt from F1-9 papers, so only 5 left to do from ACCA!
You're exempt from CAP 1, so CAP 2 and a FAE (Final Admitting Exam) left if you join Chartered Accountants Ireland.
The exemptions from Cima have slipped my mind but i remember them being quiet good too. i know you've to do like a Strategic Case study or something!
But ya GMIT not a bad auld place, considering the low entry points and its great exemptions compared to higher points courses...
and Galway's a nice, friendly city too!!!
either way best of luck!!

The___________

Thanks for all the help lads,
My first choice for next year will be Commerce with Acc in NUIG(this is a new seperate course from regular commerce).I've talked to a few people on it and they highly recommend it.

The___________

Hi again I was wondering if their was anyone else with any opinions on this topic?