Financial Accountancy

Most graduates work in public practice – professional
accountancy firms ranging from the Big 4 (KPMG, EY,
Deloitte and PwC) to mid-sized and smaller firms. There
are also opportunities within commercial organisations
and industry, as well as with government departments and
regulatory bodies.

What will I do?

In public practice, the main areas of work are:

• • Assurance and auditing: Assurance is a service that
  ‘assures’ an organisation that it is complying with legal
  requirements or fulfilling best practices. Its largest
  specialism is external auditing, a legal requirement that
  financial statements be examined to determine
  whether they are ‘true and fair’. Internal audits, similar
  processes held internally in an organisation, are best
  practice rather than a legal requirement.
• Tax: Accountants working in tax help clients to
  understand and meet their tax obligations, and to
  understand the impact that any changes within their
  organisation or to the tax laws will have upon their tax
  bill.
• Business advisory/financial services: This specialism
  helps businesses achieve their objectives through a
  package of services including tax compliance and
  financial planning.

There are lots of specialisms within these areas so
research what different employers offer before applying.
Graduates in public practice become trainees and, in areas
such as auditing, will spend considerable time at clients’
offices. In larger firms, graduates rotate around different
clients to gain exposure to the industry and often
specialise from an early stage in a particular aspect of
work, such as charities auditing. In smaller firms, there is
less opportunity for early specialisation; instead, you are
more likely to work on a range of tasks for clients. When
working for other organisations, financial accountants
maintain financial accounting systems and financial
reports on the organisation’s performance.

Qualifications

Graduates of all disciplines are accepted into the
profession and train to become qualified accountants,
combining work and study. Employers help choose the
professional association/qualification that best suits the
graduate’s chosen career route. Those graduates with a
finance-related degree are exempt from some parts of the
qualification process.

On top of being numerate, accountants require strong
communication, analytical, time management and
teamworking skills. They also need an ethical approach to
business and the ability to combine a tough work/study
schedule.