Starting Acca at 37, lots of questions.

adare6 · 29-08-2015 03:00PM #1

Help is greatly appreciated.
I am 37 and thinking about starting my accountancy career, am i too old?
In september i plan on starting ACCA Diploma in Accounting & Business in Griffith College Limerick. This will give me exemption from Papers F1, F2 & F3 and i can continue with the ACCA Qualification from Paper F4 onward.

My questions are :
1. Am i too old to go down this route ?
2. Should i be applying now to the big 4/ firms for training contracts for sept 2016 ?
3. Is Acca the best route, what would be better ?
4 should i not seek a training contract, continue working and do papers 4 onwards on my own within Griffith College.

I'm sure i have a million more questions but for now i'd love an advise offered.

gonko · 30-08-2015 05:07PM

1- You are never too old to start any career, especially one that requires your brain, as opposed to a fit young physical body. ACCA attract a more mature audience, and as a result, after the qualification along with life and industry experience, tend to do VERY well within industry. ACA has a younger crowd...who will leave audit firms typically....with...erm.....lots of audit experience. I would wonder how they develop as business leaders outside of the physical audit work, as the training tends to be fairly tunnel visioned.
2- Forget the big 4 at your age. They want young 'uns going in, that are molded to their corporate wants and needs. Basically people with little life experience. They train well in audit and tax, but beyond that, it is slave labour. It looks good in the CV when your post qualified....but on balance, it is not something that appealed to me. Either you are good or not, add value or not etc.
3 - ACCA is a little tougher. It goes way more in depth into every aspect on its syllabus (14 modules now), and EVERYTHING....and I mean EVERYTHING is tested in some way, shape or form. ACCA even bundle different topics into the one question on exams. Tougher, but it is way more flexible with 4 sittings per year now. Personally I went ACCA as it suited my needs better (flexibility) and exemptions from my college course.
4- You need a training contract typically going the ACA route. With ACCA...not so. But you do need to be in a relevant role. This basically means that you need to be working in a position, that gets you exposed to the areas they check for....and this is signed off by a workplace mentor, who will typically be a qualified accountant.

As a whole, both are recognised and it will come down to personal preference. Work-life balance, access to material and your choice of future career will all play a part. Try to get an internship somewhere, or do some temping after you have some exams under your belt.....it may help in your choice.

But 3 years (ACCA) and 3.5 years (ACA) is also required on your experience record. There are also options to work as a part qual accountant. There are some jobs out there and offer exam support too. It is a good time for trainees and qualified accountants overall as the market is ticking back upwards.

annaP79 · 31-08-2015 12:22PM

Hey

true. .. Nobody is ever too old for a change.

You can do F1 2 3 on your own, will save you a bit of money. with the rest F and P level, some subjects are easy and you can do them on your own F 8, P 1, 3, 5 and P Audit but its up to you. There is lots of threads on boards. browse through these to give you an idea

I think if big 4 take you on. ...go for it , and they might you never know, depending what's your qualification up to date.

Best of luck

tiddlepops · 04-09-2015 05:40PM

Hi, I have been thinking about studying acca or cpa as have been back working part time in accountancy the last year ? which is the best to study do you think? thanks

aspasp1 · 16-09-2015 09:37AM

adare6 wrote: »

Help is greatly appreciated.
I am 37 and thinking about starting my accountancy career, am i too old?
In september i plan on starting ACCA Diploma in Accounting & Business in Griffith College Limerick. This will give me exemption from Papers F1, F2 & F3 and i can continue with the ACCA Qualification from Paper F4 onward.

My questions are :
1. Am i too old to go down this route ?
you are never too old i started at 34 and i had same concerns but all has been going smooth so far

2. Should i be applying now to the big 4/ firms for training contracts for sept 2016 ?
Everybody has different career aspirations but my advise is look beyond big 4 as well. Keep your options open.

3. Is Acca the best route, what would be better ?
For me it is cos i can do it at my pace, passed 6 papers in 2014 and 2 in 2015. Hopefully one more in december. I could easily manage acca with my full time job and family.

4 should i not seek a training contract, continue working and do papers 4 onwards on my own within Griffith College.
I did homestudy for all papers, i had no background in accountancy whatsoever. Could not afford to go to college. ( not due to money but time constraints). It took about 4 months but finally i got job in a field I like.

I'm sure i have a million more questions but for now i'd love an advise offered.

Do ask if you think i can be of any help ! And best of luck with everything.

robo · 17-09-2015 09:41AM

We are never too old to try anything. I have been toying with the idea of doing ACA or ACCA for a while now & finally bit the bullet this year. Was going to do ACA but with the exam structure and increased number of sittings in the year for ACCA, I picked ACCA. I am lucky enough too that my workplace has agreed to pay for it, which can sometimes put more pressure to pass. But I felt with the resits for ACCA, I should be ok.
I am a wee bit older than OP & what stopped me up to now doing them was the fear of not passing but I feel now that I can give the 100%. But my work has morphed more into an accounting role in the last few years - never touched it in school or college!

pirategirl72 · 17-09-2015 09:20PM

I too started this ACCA journey late in life. As the other posters have pointed out, you're never too old to start something new. I started the Diploma in Accounts & Business in Griffith at age 40 years. It is tough, at this age, we're trying to juggle home, kids, jobs and taking on the extra task of studying. I've taken the modules in my stride, up to F6 taxation at the moment, sometimes I wonder, why I'm putting myself through this, but the answer is simple, I want to learn, and give myself options for the future. One of the concerns I have at the moment, is I don't work in the area. I have a job but it does not relate to what I'm studying. And there is no opportunity in my current employment to move into this area, unfortunately. My current job, hours and pay suit me right now, as a single parent, I'm working part time and studying in the evenings. However, I do have concerns and questions about the future also. Will I be able to find work in this area at my age? I'm 42 now and will be competing against much younger candidates....although I have 20 years and more experience working in other areas. What jobs should i be looking at?? Still trying to figure that one out...Overall I have to say I have enjoyed it so far. I've attended courses in Griffith and done well, I've studied F4 and F5 myself and passed both exams and now studying F6 through distance learning. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose to do:)

thomlin · 19-09-2015 05:27PM

I'm not going to advise on the 4 questions asked as they have already been answered adequately.

What I would advise to anyone who is looking at changing career to accountancy is be prepared to make the changes.

Many people say they want to change careers and are prepared to do the exams, but have the unrealistic expectation of landing a job in that "new career" on the same pay they are on now this just isn't going to happen.

You've got to be prepared to make the hard decision and sacrifice your income at the start it will stand to you in the long run and potential employers will see you made the hard choice and are fully focused on this career path.

Accountants being number crunchers/bean counters is a notation that is about 20+ years old now and if you continue to think of us as this you are only limiting your own career and potential. Accountants today are more akin to entrepreneurs you've got to see the bigger picture.

Ambition while admirable is nothing without the drive and open mindedness to pull it off never be afraid of your true potential, but always be prepared to make the hard choices to achieve that potential.

Best of luck

Tom

ACCA1916 · 30-01-2016 04:08PM

I started at 36 and a half, qualified within 2.5 years age 39. Never too old. I did all 14 and fortunate to pass all first time, with job, kid life etc..doable with hard work and im no genius.

Sariah · 31-01-2016 10:44AM

I am 41 and doing ACCA with full time job and family. I just sat p1 and got first place in Ireland. I would highly recommend DBS if you are looking for a provider.

Giant Kiwi · 13-06-2016 07:33PM

37 and was taken on as a trainee with no experience but an accounting technicians course.
2 very small children and an understanding wife.
It's doable, one just has to want to do it.
My work pay for my exams and are hugely supportive to the point of giving me an office to myself when on study leave as it's quieter than at home.

All the best OP

Board.surf · 19-07-2017 10:24AM

Giant Kiwi wrote: »

37 and was taken on as a trainee with no experience but an accounting technicians course.
2 very small children and an understanding wife.
It's doable, one just has to want to do it.
My work pay for my exams and are hugely supportive to the point of giving me an office to myself when on study leave as it's quieter than at home.

All the best OP

This is literally me right now but without the Job. I'd kill for that office!!

tanit · 20-07-2017 07:46PM

I'm doing ACA and you don't need a training contract. I'm in the flexible option and in a practice and more of my classmates where also in the flexible option as well in industry. In a training contract you get the perks of study leave and it makes a huge difference as even though the syllabus is very similar for all the bodies it is true they examine things differently. In ACCA they go examining everything little by little, the subjects are split more than in ACA. In ACA they tend to examine everything together, they start doing something of that kind in CAP2 a little bit, and they go full blown in FAE. You need to know everything at the same time, it does make a huge difference depending on the kind of learner you are and that's why is so important and it makes such a huge difference to have study leave.

If you are in industry it makes sense to go via the ACCA route without leave, it's better if you can do things little by little. If you are in practice and in a training contract you get the perk of the study leave and you get to see in real live things that in industry might be more difficult to see like full sets of accounts, different tax situations, audit and audit related issues.

Choosing the body is a very personal thing to be honest, but I don't see ACA being less tougher than ACCA it's very, very tough in a different way and everyone has a different experience going through the exams.

At the end of the day, you are never old to do something new, and if it is what it makes you happy you won't find things so hard. It's what it will keep you through the whole study and working at the same time, it will be tough and you need to be motivated for it. Being young it's not going to be what you need, being motivated it is.

Best of luck with your studies

Starting Acca at 37, lots of questions.

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