I'm upto Level 4 of my AAT studies and was wondering what I'd like to do after I've completed ACCA.
As a general discussion, what would you say brings the most success? Working for an Accountancy firm or owning an Accountancy firm?
Whats the highest possible job and highest paid job you can do with Accountancy qualifications, apart from being a director of the company?
Would you rather work for someone, do your job, get paid, go home kind of thing or would you rather be your own boss but have the added responsibility of trying to promote and grow your business?
Not really looking for answers, more just your opinions or past experiences.
A friend of my dad is an accountant for a company and apparently gets an £80'000 bonus every year on top of his salary. I find this very hard to believe.
Well you're a little further into your studies than I am so I'm not "qualified" to say, but then again there are "accounting" franchises operating with unqualified franchisees and some reportedly making multiple times more than an average chartered accountant's salary (funnily enough they don't say how many franchisees have done their money though......).
If your meaning of success is earnings, then owning a business should have more potential upside than a salary could ever deliver (footballers aside), but obviously far more risk too. That said, there are some very highly paid jobs going - a friend's brother I knew 20 years ago as the biggest lager drinking pot head at every party was earning a £300k salary less than 10 years later as financial director of a well known telecoms company!
I'd be inclined to believe the bonus story - two friends of mine work at a venture capital company as p.a.'s and their colleague who is the ceo's p.a. got paid £100k last year (about half as bonus). Go figure!
I'm upto Level 4 of my AAT studies and was wondering what I'd like to do after I've completed ACCA.
Now there's the next six+ years of your life planned out
Highest paid jobs tend to be with the big four, the banks and the major finance houses.
You can't break into that world so no point even thinking about the money on offer there... Not that you would ever get a chance to spend it as industry regards your salary as buying you... Not for 8 hours a day but basically your entire existance 24 hours a day 365 days a year... Been there, done that, not going back.
I like having my own form, setting my own hours and working to live rather than vice versa... Admitedly my former life did go a long way towards paying for the ability to be able to make that choice so three divorces on the back of never being at home isn't a complete loss.
I think that the idea of permanent people in accountancy having no responsibility is a misnomer. I know a lot of people who work in accountancy both in practice and industry and in both career paths the office lights are normally still on at 11 p.m.
Of course, so are my office lights but the difference is that I'm doing it to build my own business rather than someone elses in the hope of promotion.
On the £80k bonus issue... I've seen people get much larger bonuses than that and the thing that always confusses me is that if someone gets a high bonus why do they not then just stop working and retire to a little beach shack somewhere.
The answer seems to be not that they love their job but rather that to get into the position of getting that sort of bonus they have actually become their job and they would not know what to do with themselves if that life was taken away from them.
Thankfully I was saved by a two week mid project holiday in Thailand back in 97 which was a real epiphony moment for me where I realised that there is more to life than work and there is more to work than money.
The real knack is finding the balance of making enough money to do something that you love.
I love accountancy, I make enough at it, I could make a lot more and maybe at some stage in the future I will but for now it's all about the balance.
Whoa... Think I've gone all hippy... Next thing you know I'll be going into the office in sandals... Like getting me in sandals, or shorts or even a short sleeved shirt is ever going to happen. lol
talk later,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
There is no right or wrong answer to your questions here, Noola.
There are all sorts of pro's and con's of working for a company or for yourself. Working for a company gives you a fixed non-variable office working hours so planning on social activities is alot easier, also you get a regular guaranteed paycheck. As for working for yourself, you get the freedom to run your own business, set your own hours and so on. I know some friends who've been self-employed accountants and they make a good paycheck for themselves.
The highest possible paid job would be the ones in the financial houses and big 4 companies but competition is so tough and the workplace are reportedly very toxic because of all the competitiveness to be outstanding and be promoted, some can't stand the atmosphere while others strive under stress. So it really depends on if you can handle the stress and competition within the workplace or not.
Either working for an accounting firm or self employed brings both good and bad. It simply boils down to what you really want in our own heart.
Working for a company gives you a fixed non-variable office working hours
Hi aaronb,
welcome to the forum and nice first post.
I can't however agree with the above line though as from my experience you can end up working very long hours as an employee often for no extra pay.
I really need to have strong words with whoever came up with the idea of a professional working day contract! lol
I've actually worked in the big four environment with three of the four and several of the second tier firms and whilst there is a lot of stress you also have a feeling of belonging and very much an us against the rest of the world sort of mentality.
What I really can't stand in that environment is all of the management speak whilst actually doing very little tangible work even though at the time you feel as though what you are doing is somehow important.
I do have my favorite amongst the four and anytime that KPMG want to offer me a permie role I would be more than happy to take them up on the offer... Although I suspect that I'm now a bit too old for them.
Anyway, before I waffle on too much,
Welcome to the forum and hope we get to chat lots in the coming months,
kind regards,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
