Is it worth it?

Meglamonia

I'm pretty sure I want to do Accouting have it down no.1 on the CAO,one thing though after completing the professional exams and trainee contract I will be 26 or 27,Is it really worth it?

LightningBolt

To be honest I wouldn't pigeon hole myself with doing an accountancy oriented degree if I were to go to college again. Personally I'd look to do something quantitative be it engineering, math, finance or anything else along those lines. Accounting firms love taking on people from these backgrounds. The exams can be done during your training contract and I personally see the benefit of doing your exams as you work. Makes it easier to apply theories when it comes to study time as opposed to learning about audit when you're 19/20 in college.

Meglamonia

So maybe commerce/business even?

SBWife

Meglamonia wrote: »

So maybe commerce/business even?

Yes, much more flexible.

Smartguy

There are not many professions where you would be earning as much at the age of 26 or 27 which is still quite young btw!

mr_edge_to_you

You can go into accounting from any background.

I know from my time working with Glanbia, they started recruiting engineering graduates to retrain them as CIMA accountants and send up to Dublin to do professional exams.

I'd suggest a commerce/business primary degree and then do professional exams.

Also, make sure you check out what exemptions the courses you're are applying for offer with the various accounting bodies.

mr_edge_to_you

Meglamonia wrote: »

Is it really worth it?

Yes.

I only completed my exams this March after been working for 6 years since I left college.

I was made redundant in April, started a new job immediately and hated it. I was able to leave that job to start another position, all within 5 months. In the current cirsumstances it's an excellent qualification to have and one that is demand - well CIMA is anyway.

Meglamonia

Thanks for the replies another thing is that I haven't done it for the Leaving Cert and I'm only a B student in ordinary maths,Am I at a disadvantage?

LightningBolt

You're not at a disadvantage at all. If you're an ord. student I would suggest working your ass off to try and do honours. I'd suggest something like economics and finance at UCD if you could get the points. Really good course that allows you to go the Maths or Finance route, in your case I'd advise the finance side of things as it's less math intense.

I say this having done a general business/accounting course and now in a training contract at a big four. If I were to do it all again I'd have done a course that had a number of quantitative subjects in it. There's many ways to go about doing well after college, I just feel that a degree with a certain amount of quants in it will afford you more opportunities compared to a general commerce/business degree.

I say this having gone the business and accounting route by the way.

mr_edge_to_you

No disadvantage whatsoever. I did pass Maths and didn't start accountancy until I started college.

Meglamonia

Thanks again,I think I'm gonna go with the straight accounting at number one with either Commerce or Finance behind it!What do ye reckon?
Although,I heard the maths side of the Finance can be tough on the ordinary level student.

LightningBolt

Yep it will be tough but very doable if you apply yourself. The days of jobs being handed out to students upon graduation have disappeared. I'd rather work my ass off and graduate with a degree that had a level of quants in it as opposed to a general business/commerce degree you can sail through handy enough.

Again, I'm not saying accountancy/business/commerce are bad options I just feel that you're more attractive to employers with a different degree.

Good luck with whatever you do!

kitten_k

Meglamonia wrote: »

Thanks for the replies another thing is that I haven't done it for the Leaving Cert and I'm only a B student in ordinary maths,Am I at a disadvantage?

I did not do Accountancy for the Leaving and only did ordinary level maths. I went on the do the Accounting and Finance degree is DCU, tokk a year off and then went to work for a well know firm (not big 4).

I am here 5 years now and have struggled to get my exams, I am doing ACA and it took ages to pass the SFMA Cap2 paper. I sat my finals this year and failed one which I will sit next September.

Provided I pass that exam I will be 29 when i qualify. It has been a long road but I still consider myself young enough qualfying considering I will probably but working til I am 65!

SBWife

Do you think it was the lack of higher level maths and accountancy that resulted in you having such a difficult time passing your exams?

Or are both the difficulty in getting the exams and not taking more numerate subjects at leaving cert both a symptom of being less numerate in general?

kitten_k

I don't think it had anything to do with not doing them at leaving. I just found management accounting hard to overcome and did not have much study leave for my finals so concentrated on Core more.

acastudent

I second kitten_k everything what she said. I found that ACA exams are really hard. Even though I never failed not a single exam in college or for my LC I am failing ACA. I am not sure where is the problem: 1 me being tired of studying or 2 as I am pre-training student I lack of work experience and the fact that I have to study on my own it doesn't help.

ianuss

I also did ordinary maths for the LC, and I didn't do accountancy either in school. After school I did Arts in college and took up ACCA after working for a few years.

Initially I struggled, particularly with F3, Financial Accounting. But that was more due to the concepts involved rather than any of the maths. Overall, I found the learning curve steep at first but once you get the hang of it it's fine. The lack of honours maths is no barrier at all in my opinion.

Pawwed Rig

Ordinary Maths is fine. The Maths you will do in Finance is not overly difficult once you understand compound interest.
The harder tasks are organising the information you are given and understanding the concepts. For example nothing in accounting would be as difficult as calculus.

A word of warning though, alot of firms require a minimum grade of Maths. You will see it on other topics on this forum. I am not sure what is is but it may be an A in ord level.

Whether it is worth it or not is your call. You can do a degree for 3 years and get a training contract which will qualify you in 3 more years (including 2 years of exams). So in 6 years you could be qualified. With a non accounting degree it will be the sam lenght of time but with 3 sets of exams in your training contract.

note: there are other avenues via masters/professional exams etc etc. that will have different timeframes

Meglamonia

QUOTE=Pawwed Rig;75608645]Ordinary Maths is fine. The Maths you will do in Finance is not overly difficult once you understand compound interest.
The harder tasks are organising the information you are given and understanding the concepts. For example nothing in accounting would be as difficult as calculus.

A word of warning though, alot of firms require a minimum grade of Maths. You will see it on other topics on this forum. I am not sure what is is but it may be an A in ord level.

Whether it is worth it or not is your call. You can do a degree for 3 years and get a training contract which will qualify you in 3 more years (including 2 years of exams). So in 6 years you could be qualified. With a non accounting degree it will be the sam lenght of time but with 3 sets of exams in your training contract.

note: there are other avenues via masters/professional exams etc etc. that will have different timeframes[/QUOTE]

:eek: Thanks,can anyone verify this?

ianuss

Yeah, I think that is the case. There was a thread on here recently whereby some of the Big 4 were requesting a minimum C in honours maths iirc.

Meglamonia

ianuss wrote: »

Yeah, I think that is the case. There was a thread on here recently whereby some of the Big 4 were requesting a minimum C in honours maths iirc.

Jesus might have to reconsider the Accounting,don't know do i have the time to be concentrating on getting an A in pass maths ,I'll have a look at that thread

bah1011

Meglamonia wrote: »

Jesus might have to reconsider the Accounting,don't know do i have the time to be concentrating on getting an A in pass maths ,I'll have a look at that thread

I got a c1 in pass maths and I am joining PwC in October and I have never struggled with the maths in my Accountancy degree.

cson

Fyi its an A2 @ OL/C3 @ HL requirement on the EY application though you do get an opportunity to explain why they should consider you anyway if you do not meet the requirements.

Don't remember noting that on any of the other applications though perhaps others will be able to clarify this.

Pandoras Twist

Meglamonia wrote: »

Thanks for the replies another thing is that I haven't done it for the Leaving Cert and I'm only a B student in ordinary maths,Am I at a disadvantage?

LightningBolt wrote: »

You're not at a disadvantage at all. If you're an ord. student I would suggest working your ass off to try and do honours.

I really wouldnt advise trying to do honours maths. It requires a hell of a lot of effort, focus on your other subjects to get the points. I did Commerce, specialised in accounting. I failed honours level maths, got a B1 in lower level maths when I repeated and I was fine with the maths on the course. The most difficult stuff was statistics and some of the economics stuff but there are maths support centres to help you. Honours level maths has pretty much no bearing on the maths you will be doing in college

As for the minimum requirement, I had no issues with my b1 in lower level and got offers from everyone I applied to.

I would advise doing Accounting and Finance in DCU, from the sounds of it (my friend is doing it) its a far better base in accounting (both technical and in the detail they go into) than Commerce was for us.

Meglamonia

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

I really wouldnt advise trying to do honours maths. It requires a hell of a lot of effort, focus on your other subjects to get the points. I did Commerce, specialised in accounting. I failed honours level maths, got a B1 in lower level maths when I repeated and I was fine with the maths on the course. The most difficult stuff was statistics and some of the economics stuff but there are maths support centres to help you. Honours level maths has pretty much no bearing on the maths you will be doing in college

As for the minimum requirement, I had no issues with my b1 in lower level and got offers from everyone I applied to.

I would advise doing Accounting and Finance in DCU, from the sounds of it (my friend is doing it) its a far better base in accounting (both technical and in the detail they go into) than Commerce was for us.

Well it's either gonna be Finance or Accounting in UCC just don't know which one to put first.The finance degree might be better as it's more dynamic.

Pandoras Twist

Id advise accounting. Finance maths can get quite complex and there are a lot more careers available in accounting. Friends of mine are doing a masters in finance in smurfit and they are in fierce competition for very few jobs. Their only option really is to get onto internships which are few and far between.

bah1011

Firstly, the maths in finance is much more difficult but at the end of your degree you will have a very good degree with every possibility of getting a job with the big 4 accounting firms plus many other opportunities. The fact that it will be four years before you qualify there could be much more jobs available especially if you are willing to travell. Also all my friends who did finance got very good jobs straight away last year.

Having said that I got an internship in the front office of an investment bank which would be considered more in the Finance line with my accounting degree.

My view is that when applying for jobs the course you pick(unless you pick somthing completely different) isn't as important as;

A. The results you get. ( From 1st yr)
B. Internships.
C. Networking
D. Extra cirrucular activities.
E. Been able to show you would genuinely enjoy the work and have an insight and working knowledge of the job you are applying to.

MrMatisse

LightningBolt wrote: »

To be honest I wouldn't pigeon hole myself with doing an accountancy oriented degree if I were to go to college again. Personally I'd look to do something quantitative be it engineering, math, finance or anything else along those lines. Accounting firms love taking on people from these backgrounds. The exams can be done during your training contract and I personally see the benefit of doing your exams as you work. Makes it easier to apply theories when it comes to study time as opposed to learning about audit when you're 19/20 in college.

Everyone considering doing accounting at college should read this post.

Meglamonia

Anyone in here who done Accounting in UCC by any chance?

debreall

Meglamonia wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I want to do Accouting have it down no.1 on the CAO,one thing though after completing the professional exams and trainee contract I will be 26 or 27,Is it really worth it?

Yes, it is worth, i think.
Even i graduated from college for 3years, but i will restart my study again. maybe in business..

Dellboy2007

To be honest I wouldn't pigeon hole myself with doing an accountancy oriented degree if I were to go to college again. Personally I'd look to do something quantitative be it engineering, math, finance or anything else along those lines. Accounting firms love taking on people from these backgrounds. The exams can be done during your training contract and I personally see the benefit of doing your exams as you work. Makes it easier to apply theories when it comes to study time as opposed to learning about audit when you're 19/20 in college.

MrMatisse wrote: »

Everyone considering doing accounting at college should read this post.

Horses for courses. I'm glad to have exemptions before entering the workplace. Especially given their difficulty in the current climate. Yes your exams can be done during the training contract but you're being worked hard enough as it is, never mind trying to balance exams for the full three years. Also, if you fail one..... It could mean you're out the door. Speaking to one or two Directors lately in interviews they all mentioned that the one thing they don't want is people failing exams. It will mean more time off to do repeats and could also potentially mean that they will not get all their exams done in the 3.5 year training contract. Solution = exemptions.

In saying that, I do see your point. A different degree could provide a more broader base of knowledge and a different perspective on things, but like I said - horses for courses

colbags

i took a commerce course myself, i hav msc in finance and am now takin my ACA exams while working for one of the big four...

my advice to u would be to go with accounting if u feel it is what you want...youl be on the path to a very good carrer and the exemptioins are invaluable....

ul defo get a job if ur grades are half decent and if you have an Macc under ur belt ul only have one set of exams to do while working.

let me tell u now....working full time and doing exams is really really difficult...having a broader degree eg maths/finance and all is great in theory but in practice you just want get ur qualification as quick as possible and with minimum hardship.

pugwall

Please do not study pure accounting in University. IMO a general business degree where accounting is an option would give you a more rounded education. Eg Commerce, BESS etc. I find the pure accounting route to be so boring. You don't even need to study accounting at third level to qualify or be employed by the if 4 etc.

kitten_k

colbags wrote: »

let me tell u now....working full time and doing exams is really really difficult...

Take note of this point as it is very important. It takes alot of patience and hard work and you need to be willing to put it in especially as the exams can be difficult to pass and you may need to repeat.

the maths involved in accounting is very simple stuff really - most of it is just adding and subtracting, percentages with a few interest calcs thrown in. if you have a problem with maths don't do a very quantitative degree like engineering (where you need honours maths anyways to get in) if you think that it would cause you trouble. doing such a degree if you are able for it is viewed by employers as a good thing though.

yesman2000

Can anyone confirm whether there's a minimum leaving cert maths requirement for the Big4. Thanks

Pawwed Rig

yesman2000 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm whether there's a minimum leaving cert maths requirement for the Big4. Thanks

It was 420 points in 2011. I am sure it is still something similar. They will sometimes take people with less but it is alot more difficult as the applications with less than 420 are often rejected automatically by the software system

yesman2000

Thanks for the response rig, but my question was with respect to minimum MATHS grades, not points requirements.

Pawwed Rig

yesman2000 wrote: »

Thanks for the response rig, but my question was with respect to minimum MATHS grades, not points requirements.

Oops sorry. The question regarding Maths was already answered in this thread

yesman2000

Again thanks for the reply rig, but i'm looking for someone to CONFIRM the minimum maths grade expected by the BIG4. I have looked over the whole forum and nobody seems to give an exact grade, there's a few throwing around but nothing concrete, or if there's even one at all.

ianuss

yesman2000 wrote: »

Again thanks for the reply rig, but i'm looking for someone to CONFIRM the minimum maths grade expected by the BIG4. I have looked over the whole forum and nobody seems to give an exact grade, there's a few throwing around but nothing concrete, or if there's even one at all.

Would it not make more sense to contact the firms directly?

cson

yesman2000 wrote: »

Again thanks for the reply rig, but i'm looking for someone to CONFIRM the minimum maths grade expected by the BIG4. I have looked over the whole forum and nobody seems to give an exact grade, there's a few throwing around but nothing concrete, or if there's even one at all.

Doesn't take a lot to search the forum for a question that's been asked numerous times, nor to pick up the phone and contact the graduate recruitment hotline of each of the Big Four. Initiative y'know, its something they do tend to look for in interviewees

Fyi, for Ernst & Young its a minimum grade of C3 at Higher Level or A2 at Ordinary Level though one has the opportunity to explain in a below box mitigating circumstances which may have led to them not attaining the grade.

For the rest of them, I do not know.

The___________

yesman2000 wrote: »

Again thanks for the reply rig, but i'm looking for someone to CONFIRM the minimum maths grade expected by the BIG4. I have looked over the whole forum and nobody seems to give an exact grade, there's a few throwing around but nothing concrete, or if there's even one at all.

Having had a formal meeting with a senior recruiter from PWC last month (I'm only in 2nd year) I can say that they indicated they prefer at least a C1 in honours, they also made the point that English results were important along with marks in business subjects.

Points wise they generally look for >450, yet they also stressed that they place less emphasis on performance in 2nd level than other Big 4 firms