5 Simple Steps to Become a Qualified Accountant

Accounting is an industry with plenty of opportunities, but it can feel like a challenging field to get into. How long will it take to become a qualified accountant? And what benefits can you expect once you become one?

This blog explores why you should consider accounting as a career and the steps you’ll need to take to become a qualified accountant.

Why Become an Accountant?

Start Your Own Business

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own business, a career path as an accountant could make that easier. Many accounting firms were started by individuals. Once you have some hands-on experience in the industry, feel free to pursue your entrepreneurship dreams and start your own firm.

Competitive Salaries

Qualified Chartered Accountants can expect a starting salary of around €57,000. Becoming an accountant requires a lot of education and training. Your salary will reflect that once you’ve completed your certification and started working as an accountant.

Diverse Work Experiences

Every business needs an accountant to manage its money. That means you’ll have the opportunity to work with just about any type of industry that interests you.

As an accountant, you’ll primarily be in one of these four sectors:

• Public accounting: Serve many clients with tax and/or audit services
• Private accounting: Work for one company and handle accounting-related tasks
• Government accounting: Work for a government agency to help manage funds
• Education: Research and teach accounting to students

Does this sound like an exciting career opportunity? Keep reading to learn the 5 steps to becoming a qualified accountant.

Step 1: Choose Your Path

When you first start looking at your accounting career path, you’ll want to choose which type of qualification is best for you. You can choose from several, with ACCA and CIMA being two of the most recognised. ACCA is recognised globally. It’s one of the largest and fastest-growing accounting qualifications in the world. The ACCA qualification is an excellent option if you think you might like to work in various roles.

You can use the ACCA qualification to land public or private accounting jobs. Or, you can start your own accounting practice. The CIMA qualification is best suited for people that want to become management accountants. Specifically, if you’re looking to work for a business, you might be best off working towards a CIMA qualification.

Step 2: Understand Your Exemptions

ACCA and CIMA want to reward you for your prior knowledge and skills. Understanding if you qualify for exemptions and which ones to seek out will help cut your study time by letting you skip portions of the exams. That means you can become certified quicker and start searching for your dream job sooner.

ACCA Exemptions

The ACCA may award exemptions across the Foundation level qualifications and nine Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills exams. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to earn an exemption based on work experience. If you qualify for an exemption, you should think hard before claiming it. After all, the knowledge you get from studying can help you pass the more complex tests you have ahead. If you qualify for an exemption but don’t feel like the information is fresh on your mind, it might be best to study for that part of the test anyway.

CIMA Exemptions

Your degree or other qualifications may earn you an exemption in the CIMA exams. Their website has a database that you can search to see if you qualify. Most of the qualifications focus on the type of degree you hold. But you can also earn an exemption if you’re a member of ICMAP or have another relevant qualification. Pass your professional accounting exams by studying online. Let’s work together to help you become qualified quickly!

Step 3: Choose a Program

Before you start studying for your exams, you’ll need to choose a program to follow. Whether you want an online program or a traditional learning environment, you’ll have plenty of options. Consider how flexible you need your learning to be. If you have an unpredictable schedule or need to study on your own time, an online study program may be best suited for you. But if you can commit to being in class at a scheduled time, you can benefit from social interactions and live discussions.

Step 4: Study and Pass the Exams

Next, it’s time to focus on passing your exams. Pay attention to any time deadlines you have for passing your exams. Remember that you need 3 years of work experience to become qualified for either CIMA or ACCA.

CIMA doesn’t have a time limit on completing the certification. You should plan to study about 150 hours in total to pass your exams. Most people can become certified in about 3-5 years while balancing work and other obligations. ACCA requires that you complete all the exams within ten years. To become qualified, you’ll need about 3 years if you’re dedicated. Most people become certified within 4 years.

Step 5: Search for Your Dream Job!

Once you’ve qualified as an accountant with your CIMA or ACCA certification, you’ll have more opportunities for jobs in the accounting industry. Here are some to consider.

Assistant Accountant

An assistant accountant role is perfect if you’re just starting out in the accounting world. You’ll be working under a senior-level accountant. Your role will include a variety of accounting tasks, whether you’re in private or public accounting. This is a significant role to get you up to speed with accounting.

Auditor

You can choose to work in public accounting and have many audit clients, or you can choose to work in private accounting and perform internal audit tasks. Either way, auditing is a great way to see the whole financial picture of any organisation. You’ll have your hands in financial statements and help to ensure everything is accurate.

Tax Accountant

Like an auditor, tax accountants can be found in almost any sector. If you choose to work in public accounting, you can handle the taxes for many businesses, individuals, or both. Private tax accountants typically manage the business tax duties of their company. Sometimes that means submitting tax reports and providing tax advice.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a qualified accountant can have plenty of benefits. Accounting is a great career path with endless opportunities and an excellent salary. You’ll have to put in some work to get to the finish line, but it will be worth it. Follow the steps above to get started on your new career journey today.