Business First September 2017 Business First September 2017 | Page 22

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Chartered Accountancy : it ’ s a Career to Count On

by Pamela McCreedy , Chair , Chartered Accountants Ulster Society
uring August many students and parents get to experience the dread ,

Drelief , disappointment or exhilaration which comes with exam results .

It ’ s the culmination of a long , difficult period of work . It also comes during a time in their life when students have a lot of other things going on . Quite often results day throws up more questions than answers . Some of that uncertainty may still be hanging around .
Sometimes those best laid plans don ’ t work out – or at least get deferred for a year . Sometimes students find out that they can perhaps afford to aim a little bit higher than they thought .
If you are a student reading this , or have a son or daughter still weighing up their options , I ’ d like to make a suggestion – why not look at Chartered Accountancy . It ’ s also a great way to open doors if you need to take a step forward in your own career . There ’ s still time to enrol for classes starting in October this year if you are quick about it .
Through the school leaver and training contract options , thousands of people start their careers in accountancy firms and businesses across the island of Ireland each year . Chartered firms are actually the largest recruiter of graduates in Ireland .
For those put off by University fees or wanting to get into the world of work sooner rather than later , all of Northern Ireland FE Colleges now offer a Higher Level Apprenticeship in Accounting In partnership with Accounting Technicians Ireland . This gives trainees the opportunity to work with a local firm while studying . When candidates have completed their Accounting Technician diploma , they can then go on to study Chartered Accountancy .
For people already in the workplace , Chartered Accountants Ireland also offers a dedicated flexible route and there are now over 1,000 people training in industry , financial services and the public sector .
The flexible route is designed to allow people to study while they work . There is no training contract and students can study in their own time while working in their current role , or change jobs midway through .
Like their training contract counterparts , flexible route students do need to get an average of 3.5 years ’ experience across tax , audit , finance or IT .
Not everyone starts out in such a role , but students generally find that as they progress through their training the opportunities to take such a role begin to open up as they become more employable .
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A focus on student services helps students to get through the challenge of training to become a Chartered Accountant – almost 78 per cent of candidates are qualified within four years .
Chartered Accountants Ireland is the largest and fastest growing accountancy body in the UK and Ireland over the past 10 years , with 25,000 members and 6,500 students . While there is a strong network in accountancy practices , almost 65 per cent of members work in business , many of them as board members , CEOs and CFOs in every sector .
As Chair of a Chartered Accountants body , you would rightly expect me to be a strong supporter of the qualification . No surprise there .
Becoming a Chartered Accountant was a formative part of my business education and set me up for everything that has come later in my career in the public sector .
I was always interested in running a business . I couldn ’ t have imagined at the start of my career that it would lead to working in a senior position in the public sector .
Chartered Accountancy has equipped me with the experience to lead a multi­million pound organisation , understand the complex governance structure , drive a reform and service improvement agenda and work with a range of skilled professionals .
Chartered Accountancy has allowed me to become a leader and to make a contribution which can really make a difference . It has allowed me to work with committed and positive professionals who work hard to make the lives of other people better .
The thing is that almost every other
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As Chair of a Chartered Accountants body , you would rightly expect me to be a strong supporter of the qualification . No surprise there . Becoming a Chartered Accountant was a formative part of my business education and set me up for everything that has come later in my career in the public sector . Pamela McCready
Chartered Accountant I ’ ve spoken to feels the same about their qualification , they feel that it has set them up for great things and that it has given them a key understanding of how businesses and how organisations work .
Qualified Chartered Accountants are in high demand in Northern Ireland , while our members also work in over 90 countries around the globe . Chartered Accountants Ireland has reciprocal agreements with other accountancy bodies throughout the world which means the qualification is extremely portable .
There are over 1,000 Irish Chartered Accountants working in Australia and there is unique recognition for members in the United States . That means , as a Chartered Accountant , wherever life takes you , you ’ ll never be short of options .