by Jessica Smith

Accountancy is a career that many covet thanks to its prestigious status, excellent salary, and perks including career breaks and travel. However, just like anything worth having, it certainly isn’t easy to get. Here, we take a look at the long journey you need to take if you’d like to become an accountant.

University

First of all, you will need to get a degree in accountancy. In order to be accepted onto a degree course you need proof of your proficiency in relevant skills, in the form of school level qualifications in subjects like business, statistics, mathematics, and economics. Although you will always earn a reasonable salary as an accountant, you can enhance this by working for the biggest firms, and in order to do this you will need to attend the very best universities which requires top grades.

Once at university, you will need to complete at least one hundred and fifty hours of your course. If for any reason you do meet this amount of credit, you can top it up by signing up to a post graduate master’s degree programme. The more credits you come out with; the more chance you have of being hired by the top firms. They will also look for proof of any personal characteristics that they believe would make you an asset to their team. For example, any volunteering you’ve done, hobbies that you have, and work experience you may have completed.  

Experience

Once you have completed your accountancy degree, you then need to find employment in the industry. This is, of course, likely be a junior role as you will not yet be a certified accountant. The best places to look are accountancy firms or accounting departments in the public sector, that are looking for a helping hand.

Your typical responsibilities will probably include preparing tax returns and other basic tasks, but you could also be asked to help out on projects being managed by certified accountants, giving you a realistic idea of the full breadth of what you will be doing once you are certified yourself. You need to complete at least two years of work experience in the field, mastering the returns process and how to use software like this payment solution for accountants, before you can move onto the next stage of the process.

Exams

The exam period is rumoured to be the hardest part of the career path towards becoming an accountant. There are four exams you need to take, designed by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), which, if passed, will make you a certified accountant. The four exams must all be completed within 18 months of each other, after you have completed your two years of work experience. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available to help you to prepare, such as Roger CPA. Once you have passed the exams, you will also need to regularly renew your licence by completing coursework based on the ongoing changes to laws and practices.

As you can see, the path to becoming an accountant takes time and dedication. You need to achieve good grades in relevant subjects at school, then get a place on a well-respected accountancy degree course. Following hard work, you will be able to complete your degree and find employment in an accountancy firm for two years, after which you will have to complete four notoriously difficult exams to become certified. It’s not for the faint of heart! Zenruption.com has career advice for a variety of different industries if you’re trying to decide which field would be the best for you.