trainee accountant help?

seanr125

Hey guys,

My first post on boards.ie

Ive graduated recently from an accountancy related degree in college and got exemptions from nearly all the fundamental exams for ACCA and CAP1 for ACA.

Im currently looking for some sort of entry level job such as accounts clerk or trainee account. I have 3 questions I would appreciate feedback on:

•Can someone who worked as trainee accountant tell me do you generally sign 3/3.5 yr contract (if doing acca) and what is the notice period for such a position ?

•I know some companies pay for exams, do any pay for part time courses as well to help along with your studies?

•I'm not sure if I want to do accountancy years down the line, so if I was to do the ACCA exams could this open other doors for me in terms of switching to a different career path or is it just something that looks good to have but not that relevant in employers eyes.

Thanks a million in advance for any helpful contributions,

CluanBomb

seanr125 wrote: »

Hey guys,

My first post on boards.ie

Ive graduated recently from an accountancy related degree in college and got exemptions from nearly all the fundamental exams for ACCA and CAP1 for ACA.

Im currently looking for some sort of entry level job such as accounts clerk or trainee account. I have 3 questions I would appreciate feedback on:

•Can someone who worked as trainee accountant tell me do you generally sign 3/3.5 yr contract (if doing acca) and what is the notice period for such a position ?

•I know some companies pay for exams, do any pay for part time courses as well to help along with your studies?

•I'm not sure if I want to do accountancy years down the line, so if I was to do the ACCA exams could this open other doors for me in terms of switching to a different career path or is it just something that looks good to have but not that relevant in employers eyes.

Thanks a million in advance for any helpful contributions,

Q1
•Can someone who worked as trainee accountant tell me do you generally sign 3/3.5 yr contract (if doing acca) and what is the notice period for such a position ?

A lot of these contracts are practice based roles for that length of time, notice periods will vary with companies however most will request a month, also some will want the money back for exam fees if you leave within a certain period.

Q2
•I know some companies pay for exams, do any pay for part time courses as well to help along with your studies?

Most will cover exam fees, annual membership fees and classes/lectures for the chosen subjects.

Q3
•I'm not sure if I want to do accountancy years down the line, so if I was to do the ACCA exams could this open other doors for me in terms of switching to a different career path or is it just something that looks good to have but not that relevant in employers eyes.

In my experience employers that know about finance/accounting love to see this on a CV. It is not an easy qualification to obtain and can set you ahead of others in their eyes. Many areas of finance that you can work in after these exams so you are not just isolated to accountancy.

Jim2007

seanr125 wrote: »

•Can someone who worked as trainee accountant tell me do you generally sign 3/3.5 yr contract (if doing acca) and what is the notice period for such a position ?

Yes in Practice this is common and the notice period will depend on the contract you sign.

seanr125 wrote: »

•I know some companies pay for exams, do any pay for part time courses as well to help along with your studies?

Practice tends to have a very structured way of training accountants, so the program will normally include paid courses, study leave and so on. In Industry, accounting training will follow the general training program of the company, so it will vary very much from company to company - there is no standard.

seanr125 wrote: »

•I'm not sure if I want to do accountancy years down the line, so if I was to do the ACCA exams could this open other doors for me in terms of switching to a different career path or is it just something that looks good to have but not that relevant in employers eyes.

At the end of the day, there is very little between accounting qualifications - the main thing is that you have passed and the experience you have got along the way. That said it really depends on what kind of career switch you have in mind and what qualifications are needed to be successful there. In my own case my career switch was such that even if I had a PhD in accounting it would have made no difference what so ever!

hockeygirl

•Can someone who worked as trainee accountant tell me do you generally sign 3/3.5 yr contract (if doing acca) and what is the notice period for such a position ?
Its really dependant on the firm you work for, if they are paying for exams, if you pass the exams (because they might fire you!).
Generally when you qualify it would be in your contract that you have to stay one year post qualification, unless they tell you otherwise.
If you give notice that you are leaving before the end of your contract, typically its 1 month and you would have to repay back any exam fees

•I know some companies pay for exams, do any pay for part time courses as well to help along with your studies?
Again entirely dependant on the company you're with, in my opinion though I would never ask for a second course to be paid for, and I have never heard of a company paying for two seperate courses.

•I'm not sure if I want to do accountancy years down the line, so if I was to do the ACCA exams could this open other doors for me in terms of switching to a different career path or is it just something that looks good to have but not that relevant in employers eyes.
I started with ACA in a small practice, and have transferred to ACCA and working in a finance now as an accountant.
The beauty of an accountancy qualification is you can work in any industry and youre not necessary pegged into an accountant role, you could move into an analysis or risk based role, management... possibilities are endless

Mind you my exams suffered as a result due to working constraints in my current role.. thankfully thats all settled now and I can try lash through them!.

Melon head

Could anyone tell me what is the average salary for a trainee accountant with 2+ years of experience and awaiting to sit there final exams?

hockeygirl

Melon head wrote: »

Could anyone tell me what is the average salary for a trainee accountant with 2+ years of experience and awaiting to sit there final exams?

Did you gain part qualification in practice or industry? Or straight from a masters?

Are you trying to compare your current salary to what you think you should be on if you stay/leave?
In the accountancy game you generally only see significant movement in your salary when you jump ship. Although.... Im not advising you to do that! lol

What type of experience do you have? within accounting and before you started in accounting.

What role are you looking for?

The salary can be anywhere between 26k to 30K but you havent really given enough information to be specific.

Im sure one of the many of the recruiters on here might message you.

TitianGerm

hockeygirl wrote: »

Did you gain part qualification in practice or industry? Or straight from a masters?

Are you trying to compare your current salary to what you think you should be on if you stay/leave?
In the accountancy game you generally only see significant movement in your salary when you jump ship. Although.... Im not advising you to do that! lol

What type of experience do you have? within accounting and before you started in accounting.

What role are you looking for?

The salary can be anywhere between 26k to 30K but you havent really given enough information to be specific.

Im sure one of the many of the recruiters on here might message you.

Hey I'd be interested in hearing an answer to this as well. I'm about to sit my CAP 2 exams shortly and would have been in the trainee position for 12 months in August.

Roughly what % of a pay rise would I be expected to be able to negotiate an my next review ?