Fund accounting?

lightspeed

Hi I'm thinking of trying get a job in fund accounting.

Can anyone comment on what the working hours are like?

I've read that they are long but I'm not sure what that means exactly?

Can I expect to be work 10 or 12 hour days? Weekends?

Are there long hours all throughout the year or just at certain months in the year?

Is overtime usually paid?

How complex is it to learn and who would be regarded as some of the best firms to work for?

I have exemptions from most ACCA papers and I intend to sit 5 remaining Professionalsl exams.

nikkibikki

If you are looking to work in Dublin city centre, you will have a lot of choice. The hours can be a bit crazy and unpredictable with little holidays over Christmas. I left it 2yrs ago. I liked some parts of it and hated others. My background wouldn't be in accounting but I was hired during the boom so it didn't matter. They will help you finish your accountancy exams with fees and study leave I would say. The place I worked did.

nikkibikki

Long hours at certain times of the year can happen but when is dependant on the clients you are servicing.

Where I was, OT was paid for bottom 2grades, after that, it wasn't.

Not a flexible industry at all.

seamus

From friends I know who work there, the long hours can be unpredictable. Like you go into work as normal one day and end up stuck in the office till midnight because of some issue and back in at 8am to work on it again.

That's not rare in many jobs, but it's frequent in fund accounting.

The money is big though.

witchgirl26

I saw it from a different perspective as I was auditing funds and got to know some of the people in the offices. The hours are long & like others said, you can go in expecting a normal day & get home after 10pm after working flat pretty much all day. It does get worse when there's accounts due out etc as with any accounting job but the likelihood of having to work late at other times is higher. The money is good but most people I know who were in it lasted about 2-3 years max before leaving as they wanted to be able to have more of a life. It's not a bad job & I'd say most companies would help you with the exams etc but just be aware of pitfalls too.

lightspeed

witchgirl26 wrote: »

I saw it from a different perspective as I was auditing funds and got to know some of the people in the offices. The hours are long & like others said, you can go in expecting a normal day & get home after 10pm after working flat pretty much all day. It does get worse when there's accounts due out etc as with any accounting job but the likelihood of having to work late at other times is higher. The money is good but most people I know who were in it lasted about 2-3 years max before leaving as they wanted to be able to have more of a life. It's not a bad job & I'd say most companies would help you with the exams etc but just be aware of pitfalls too.

Hi thanks for your help, much appreciated.

I dont think id mind working long hours if it was'nt everyday and if i had most weekends free.

You mentioned people you know left after 2-3 years, can you advise as to what areas they then went into?

I have read that you tend to get pigeon hold and there is not much room to move elsewhere so im curious what options would be available in a few years time if i ventured into fund accounting?

Also regarding exams, one worry I have would be that if began a fund accounting job and then failed to pass remaining ACCA exams, would i likely lose my job?

Im thinking i could alternatively take a few months out to try pass the remaining ACCA exams. Im thinking if I then enter into fund accounting, i can concentrate on learning how to do the job without worrying about getting fired for failing an exam.

witchgirl26

lightspeed wrote: »

Hi thanks for your help, much appreciated.

I dont think id mind working long hours if it was'nt everyday and if i had most weekends free.

The thing is that you don't necessarily know if it will be everyday or not. It can happen suddenly during the day that something comes up & you have to stay so might need to be prepared to have to cancel plans with people.

lightspeed wrote: »

You mentioned people you know left after 2-3 years, can you advise as to what areas they then went into?

I have read that you tend to get pigeon hold and there is not much room to move elsewhere so im curious what options would be available in a few years time if i ventured into fund accounting?

So those ones I know moved into financial accounting roles in banks & other areas of financial sector. The thing is though that they had experience from being in external audit as well to back them up on those roles. I can see how easy it could be to get stuck in that industry & not being able to get out as such.

lightspeed wrote: »

Also regarding exams, one worry I have would be that if began a fund accounting job and then failed to pass remaining ACCA exams, would i likely lose my job?

Im thinking i could alternatively take a few months out to try pass the remaining ACCA exams. Im thinking if I then enter into fund accounting, i can concentrate on learning how to do the job without worrying about getting fired for failing an exam.

Don't forget you do get chances at repeats in the exams! As for losing your job, when I did the ACA's in a practice, it took a lot for someone to be fired for not passing exams (as in the only one I can remember had failed every single first & repeat sitting of the first set of exams).

It can take quite a few months to pass all of the exams so it could be quite a financial burden to take the time out to pass them. I think if they hire you knowing you're going for your exams, then if you fail 1, it's unlikely you'll be fired for that. Also unless it's in your contract & they're paying, it could be difficult to fire you for it as if you can do the job without them (as you would be doing when hired) then they don't really have a leg to stand on saying you suddenly can't do the job still without them.

aidom

I worked as a fund accountant a few years ago for about 15months. Firstly it has no relationship to being an accountant so the accounting exams are not required. I had no accountancy background or any intention of doing the exams. Having said that there were plenty of othere doing the accounting exams while I was there. They weren't given an sort of lengthy study or exam time and there was no emphasis on the exams for promotion.

I left to be an AO in the civil service. Most of the others that left while I was there went to other fund accounting roles.

I found the hours ok. It was quite stressful and busy but the deadlines are very firm so it was rare enought for the funds to go late. It was seen as a big no no so everything possible is done to get them finished on time.

Work is grand. Not very well paid (low €20k starting) and very repetitive. Where I was there was a very high turnover of staff.

urban sprawl

Another one here who did fund accounting for a couple of years after college. Mental work hours (7:30am to 8 or 9pm wasn't unusual) but pay was good enough back in the day and I got my accountancy exams paid for. No overtime was paid and we had to work Irish bank holidays, although we got a day in lieu for those. I worked for an American company and the reps from the parent company were all on US terms & conditions so thought Irish staff were spoilt by comparison!

As other posters have said, it's a niche area and you're not really a 'proper' accountant, even with exams. That said, it can be great work experience and you really get to hone your ability to work under pressure and to very strict deadlines.

I left to go into auditing and then left accountancy altogether. Being a qualified accountant has always been a big plus on my CV in any job I have ever applied for and I have always been grateful for the valuable work experience I got in funds. I was a language graduate with no financial background and this was a handy way to add a valuable string to my bow.

Most of my work colleagues left fund accounting eventually. Those who stayed are on fantastic money, certainly double what I now earn, but they still have a very poor work life balance.

If you only have 5 ACCA exams to do, I would say go for it as long as you can get your classes paid for. It is completely and utterly knackering going to classes after a 10 hour day and you will probably have no social life for a year or two but it is worth it in the end.

lightspeed

urban sprawl wrote: »

Another one here who did fund accounting for a couple of years after college. Mental work hours (7:30am to 8 or 9pm wasn't unusual) but pay was good enough back in the day and I got my accountancy exams paid for. No overtime was paid and we had to work Irish bank holidays, although we got a day in lieu for those. I worked for an American company and the reps from the parent company were all on US terms & conditions so thought Irish staff were spoilt by comparison!

As other posters have said, it's a niche area and you're not really a 'proper' accountant, even with exams. That said, it can be great work experience and you really get to hone your ability to work under pressure and to very strict deadlines.

I left to go into auditing and then left accountancy altogether. Being a qualified accountant has always been a big plus on my CV in any job I have ever applied for and I have always been grateful for the valuable work experience I got in funds. I was a language graduate with no financial background and this was a handy way to add a valuable string to my bow.

Most of my work colleagues left fund accounting eventually. Those who stayed are on fantastic money, certainly double what I now earn, but they still have a very poor work life balance.

If you only have 5 ACCA exams to do, I would say go for it as long as you can get your classes paid for. It is completely and utterly knackering going to classes after a 10 hour day and you will probably have no social life for a year or two but it is worth it in the end.

Thanks im still a little confused as to how overtime is paid as it seems to differ quite a bit from what im reading. A quick google for state street fund accountants tells me that starting salary should be around 25k rising to 30k in year 2 and 40k after that if you make senior fund accountant.

Even if it was not paid at time and a half, if i was paid for each extra hour worked i reckon the pay at end of the month would be decent.

Also can anyone confirm, do the people in very senior positions work long hours aswell?

For past few years ive been working long hours and going to college at night. Im still working and studying for accounting exams a in a job with hours from 8 to 7 quite often enough. Id be ok with some late hours midweek if i had weekends free.

witchgirl26

lightspeed wrote: »

Thanks im still a little confused as to how overtime is paid as it seems to differ quite a bit from what im reading. A quick google for state street fund accountants tells me that starting salary should be around 25k rising to 30k in year 2 and 40k after that if you make senior fund accountant.

Even if it was not paid at time and a half, if i was paid for each extra hour worked i reckon the pay at end of the month would be decent.

Also can anyone confirm, do the people in very senior positions work long hours aswell?

For past few years ive been working long hours and going to college at night. Im still working and studying for accounting exams a in a job with hours from 8 to 7 quite often enough. Id be ok with some late hours midweek if i had weekends free.

Not sure how it works in specific fund accountants but be aware that you might not get actual pay for the overtime - it might just be given as time in lieu that has to be used rather than cashed in. A lot of places changed to that practice when the downturn hit.

seamus

lightspeed wrote: »

Also can anyone confirm, do the people in very senior positions work long hours aswell?

Yes. If anything, more than the juniors. Once you hit a management position you'll be expected to be available on the phone 24/7 and most likely you get no compensation for overtime.
There's a long-held idea that junior staff toil the long hours while senior staff wander in at 10am and go play golf after lunch. While very senior staff usually have the flexibility to come and go as they please, the trade off is having to work anywhere and everywhere at any time.