Accounting exams

areyouwinning

Hey,
I’m entering my final year of college, so applying for graduate contracts soon.
I’m on placement in a small accounting firm for a few months so I can do bits and pieces.

I am sh1t scared of the cap2s and faes. To the point where I think I might not even try. I am very very average, I never did accounting in leaving cert, and my grades are average and I have very little self confidence in what I do.

Is it doable? If I sacrifice a lot?


Also can someone tell me what kind of work I would be doing in a big firm starting off, compared to a small one? Will it be the same thing all the time??

I just don’t think I’m good or smart enough whatsoever, and need some help from people with experience.. thanks in advance! I know there’s a lot of qs in this

DaeryssaOne

No need to be stressing so much about this. I joined a big firm with no accounting experience at all (even from junior cert) but managed to get through all of the exams so it is definitely doable. It takes dedication and a fair bit of time (like you actually do have to study when on study leave!) but they are still manageable.

Compared to a smaller firm the big 4 mean that in one way you have a larger range of clients / industries but in another you can become a bit pigeonholed into doing one specific type of job so having that bit of experience in the smaller firm will be great for you especially compared to others who haven't experienced it at all.

There will be a group of you starting together so just remember that you are all newbies and you will all be learning together. Nobody is going to entrust the new assistant with something that has them really out of their depth so take your time and let your confidence build up. Once you are organised, polite and methodical there is no reason to worry.

Incidentally - it was pretty clear after a few years that some of my peers were far better at their work than I was but I was better at the exams than them - they don't always go together and everyone has different strengths.

Honestly I would recommend you just enjoy the first few months especially - it's fantastic starting in one the big firms where you're making friends, learning the ropes, socialising together etc. I have friends for life from my old role - it's a bit like college again but you're getting paid for it!

galway321

areyouwinning wrote: »

Hey,
I’m entering my final year of college, so applying for graduate contracts soon.
I’m on placement in a small accounting firm for a few months so I can do bits and pieces.

I am sh1t scared of the cap2s and faes. To the point where I think I might not even try. I am very very average, I never did accounting in leaving cert, and my grades are average and I have very little self confidence in what I do.

Is it doable? If I sacrifice a lot?


Also can someone tell me what kind of work I would be doing in a big firm starting off, compared to a small one? Will it be the same thing all the time??

I just don’t think I’m good or smart enough whatsoever, and need some help from people with experience.. thanks in advance! I know there’s a lot of qs in this

Honestly don't stress about the exams - the Cap 2's are not much more difficult than college exams. If you do a masters you get exemptions from these so they are a similar standard. If you put the work in you'll pass these. And in a big 4 firm you'll get about 8 weeks off to study for them - more than enough time.

The FAE's are tough however I think the pass rate is about 70% to 75% so you don't have to be the smartest person doing them, just better than 30% of people doing them. You also get 10-12 weeks off to study for them.

When you start in a big firm you'll start with at least 100 others, receive training and be at the bottom of the food chain. This means you'll start with the simplest of tasks and each year receive more responsibility. First years in audit (where I trained) will be agreeing invoices to listings, sending out some bank confirmations, tying in stock counts etc. There's very little accounting as a first year auditor.

The way they are set up your learning/getting better/more confident all the time without realizing it so you'll move up from a junior to semi-senior to senior each year and receive training all the way through. You'll also have 100 other people in your intake that are going through what you are so you have loads of people to bounce questions off.

At time's it's tough, long hours etc. but on the flip side it's good fun to start with so many people your own age - plenty of work nights out etc and once your finished your training contract you have massive opportunity either within the firm to move up, or to walk into a job in a company.

Go for it

Danjamin1

The ICAI exams aren't the only option, if you don't want to work in practice you have the option of either ACCA or CIMA exams. I started in to a Big 4 firm out of college & hated it. For me it wasn't the type of work I wanted to be doing as an accountant so I left & went in to industry. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The benefit of ACCA or CIMA is that you can choose how many exams you want to do at a time and progress through them gradually. There's arguments for doing ICAI and working in practice in that some companies really value that experience when hiring but I certainly haven't found it to be an issue up to this point.

DaeryssaOne

That's a great point Danjamin1 - I have moved from practice to industry and feel industry suits me much better than practice ever did. It's also great that there's a little less pressure when it comes to exams. I would say though that you can feel a bit alone if you're starting in an industry job compared to practice where loads of you start together - it depends on your personality type I think.

Danjamin1

DaeryssaOne wrote: »

That's a great point Danjamin1 - I have moved from practice to industry and feel industry suits me much better than practice ever did. It's also great that there's a little less pressure when it comes to exams. I would say though that you can feel a bit alone if you're starting in an industry job compared to practice where loads of you start together - it depends on your personality type I think.

That's true, the intake is far lower than in the Big 4. When I went to industry I was fortunate enough to get in to a graduate programme so there were a few other people starting with me which I definitely think helped at the beginning.

OMM 0000

Do you even want to be an accountant?

It's not too late to do a masters and change career direction.

It's MUCH easier to do this now before you start your career.

areyouwinning

DaeryssaOne wrote: »

No need to be stressing so much about this. I joined a big firm with no accounting experience at all (even from junior cert) but managed to get through all of the exams so it is definitely doable. It takes dedication and a fair bit of time (like you actually do have to study when on study leave!) but they are still manageable.

Compared to a smaller firm the big 4 mean that in one way you have a larger range of clients / industries but in another you can become a bit pigeonholed into doing one specific type of job so having that bit of experience in the smaller firm will be great for you especially compared to others who haven't experienced it at all.

There will be a group of you starting together so just remember that you are all newbies and you will all be learning together. Nobody is going to entrust the new assistant with something that has them really out of their depth so take your time and let your confidence build up. Once you are organised, polite and methodical there is no reason to worry.

Incidentally - it was pretty clear after a few years that some of my peers were far better at their work than I was but I was better at the exams than them - they don't always go together and everyone has different strengths.

Honestly I would recommend you just enjoy the first few months especially - it's fantastic starting in one the big firms where you're making friends, learning the ropes, socialising together etc. I have friends for life from my old role - it's a bit like college again but you're getting paid for it!

Not a frequent user so only seeing this now. Thanks a million you’ve settled me a bit! I suppose I’m only young and have a lot of learning to do!

areyouwinning

galway321 wrote: »

Honestly don't stress about the exams - the Cap 2's are not much more difficult than college exams. If you do a masters you get exemptions from these so they are a similar standard. If you put the work in you'll pass these. And in a big 4 firm you'll get about 8 weeks off to study for them - more than enough time.

The FAE's are tough however I think the pass rate is about 70% to 75% so you don't have to be the smartest person doing them, just better than 30% of people doing them. You also get 10-12 weeks off to study for them.

When you start in a big firm you'll start with at least 100 others, receive training and be at the bottom of the food chain. This means you'll start with the simplest of tasks and each year receive more responsibility. First years in audit (where I trained) will be agreeing invoices to listings, sending out some bank confirmations, tying in stock counts etc. There's very little accounting as a first year auditor.

The way they are set up your learning/getting better/more confident all the time without realizing it so you'll move up from a junior to semi-senior to senior each year and receive training all the way through. You'll also have 100 other people in your intake that are going through what you are so you have loads of people to bounce questions off.

At time's it's tough, long hours etc. but on the flip side it's good fun to start with so many people your own age - plenty of work nights out etc and once your finished your training contract you have massive opportunity either within the firm to move up, or to walk into a job in a company.

Go for it

Thanks a million. If that’s all I’ll be doing as a first year I’ll be fine, I’m doing a lot more than that in the placement that I am in currently.
Here’s hoping I get in to a big firm!

areyouwinning

DaeryssaOne wrote: »

That's a great point Danjamin1 - I have moved from practice to industry and feel industry suits me much better than practice ever did. It's also great that there's a little less pressure when it comes to exams. I would say though that you can feel a bit alone if you're starting in an industry job compared to practice where loads of you start together - it depends on your personality type I think.

Yeah, I’m in a small practice now on placement and everyone is older than me so it gets a bit lonely.

areyouwinning

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Do you even want to be an accountant?

It's not too late to do a masters and change career direction.

It's MUCH easier to do this now before you start your career.

I think I do! Haha