I've come here just basically for some advice. I'm a recent accounting and finance graduate hoping to get a job as a trainee accountant. As competition is really high at the moment for most of the jobs going I'm hoping to stand out and get some knowledge of Sage 50.
However, I'm not to sure which package would be best suited for someone in my position who has never used Sage 50 before but is looking to develop my knowledge. I know the that their are several Sage online training courses but as I said before I'm not to sure which one I should buy.
Also am I right in believing that having knowledge of how to use Sage 50 would give me a better chance in securing a trainee position or would employers not really take notice of my ability to use the program.
Thank you.
-- Edited by Ahmed on Friday 28th of June 2013 08:22:26 PM
There are really three questions there that I will treat seperately
How to get trained in Sage
for Sage there are all sorts of options such as the course in a box option available from many sources including Amazon. The courses come in three flavours (Basic, intermediate and advanced) where really all three only go to make one course but the price can be a little offputting if viewed as a single purchase.
The handy thing about those is that each comes with a 180 day trial version of Sage 50 plus certification.
Alternatively you could buy a course from one of the training companies that specialising in this such as Ideal or Training liank.
Note that some training providers simply sell uyou the Sage course in a box but they are able to negotiate lower per unit costs and some of the courses involving all three modules can prove cheaper than purchasing individually.
Do I need to be trained in Sage
And there we have a whole other question.
Its a common misconception both amongst clients and people entering the profession that people in this line of work are pretty much just Sage end users.
Whilst Sage is an important bit of software to understand thats a concept very far from reality.
For instance, I use no Sage products at all in my practice... Doesn't mean that I cannot use it but I choose not to.
All that it is at the end of the day is a peice of software intended to make our lives easier. I have found that such comes at too high a per client cost and use other alternatives instead.
The above said, learning Sage is like learning a foreign language. Once you have learned one others are easier to pick up and as Sage has (by far) the most available entry level training materials out there it is by far the best one to start with even if you never use it in the real world.
If I want to get to X is this the right place to start.
Look at your goal which is a career in finance.
What do employers actually want? Take a look at job ad's on the Reed website.
Job after job after job is AAT or PQ (meaning part qualified ACCA, CIMA or similar)... And the icing on the cake... They all want experience.
Now look where you are, where you want to be, how you are going to get there and how much it will cost both in terms of time and study.
You have already spent a lot of time and money getting a finance degree, now fully use that, get properly trained and then think about things like Sage when you are about to open your own practice.
These are the companies that you should be looking at as your first step into the world of accountancy :
PriceWaterhouse Coopers
Deloitte
KPMG
Ernst & Young
Grant Thornton
BDO
Baker Tilly
Mazars
In fact, look at the end of this document and work your way down the list until you get some interest :
Officially E&Y is the best employer to work for. Personally I'm a big fan of KPMG having worked closely with them both here and in the US for a long time.
Now that you have a degree, next thing that you need is a qualification and signing up with one of the above they will put you through that at their cost whilst you work for them.
By all means, 6-10 years down the line when you have all of the right letters after your name look at Sage when you are in the process of setting up in practice (if you ever decide to move away from that world) but for now you have a real once in a lifetime opportunity available to you but to get a job with any of them and Sage knowledge will not be what they are looking for in order to get your foot in the door.
Of course, say goodbye to any free time for the next ten years and be prepared to live the job whereever you are sent.
Good luck moving forwards Ahmed,
kind regards,
Shaun.
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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.
