Making extra money as an a chartered accountant

Solomon Pleasant

I'm considering a career in accounting and have offers from some of the big 4 for their audit grad programmes to become a chartered accountant.

I'm wondering, once qualified as a chartered accountant, if there is much scope for extra work on the side and is there much extra money to be made from it?

Doing taxes for individuals or maybe bookkeeping for smaller businesses seem to be a viable, is there much extra money to be made from that kind of thing? Are there any other ways of making extra income ?

Thanks for any help!

Aoife2017

There is always work on the side available once you have the contacts however why would you when saleries for newly qualified CA’s are quite good - I know the average salary in Leinster for a CA who has 5 yrs pqe is c€100k plus. However the hours to get those salaries are long so if you still want to make money on the side, be prepared to forego any work life balance.

fankity flank

I'm a chartered accountant, and in 2017 I took the leap to go out on my own. I've a young family and the work life balance is great. I now work close to home, work less hours more flexibly, and am earning more money than ever. It's one of the few professions that lends itself naturally to "going out on your own". Yet you can also go in a different direction and work "in industry"...

It's not for everyone though, be prepared to take on some mundane work, especially in early on in your career.

In my opinion there are 3 skills required to make a good accountant;

1. Technical ability/comfortable working with numbers
2. Be a good people person
3. Good organisation skills

I'm surprised at how many accountants I have met who are not comfortable working with numbers.

Most can get by with 2 out of 3 of the above, but the very best have a natural aptitude for all 3 - which is reflected in their career and ability to earn money.

I think number 3 can be learned, but numbers 1 & 2 - you either have those or you don't.

Best of luck to you!