It’s safe to say that people tend to have a natural affinity for certain subjects, and perhaps pick key concepts up quicker and with much more ease than others.
For some people, they are naturally good with words, communicating, reading and writing. This sees them flourish when it comes to studying English or subjects that have a heavy reliance on the understanding of English. Others are like a duck to water when it comes to mathematics.
Now, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but for those it does apply to, there’s a correlation between their strong subjects and the careers they end up pursuing. If you fall into the latter, and you’re quick and confident in working with numbers, there is a whole host of prosperous careers that are vying for your skills.
One such career path is that of accountancy, which isn’t only essential for the legal functioning of businesses and self-employed professionals alike, it’s also a field that is in great demand. Find out more about this line of work and why you should consider this career move below.
What Are the Basics of Accounting?
To help you understand the world of accounting and finance, we have broken down the fundamentals of the accounting role, and what you can expect when working in this career below.
Responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities of an Accountant can vary as the field of accountancy covers such an expansive and dynamic area. However, there are key duties you will perform in any role as an Accountant, and these include:
- Preparing accounts
- Paying and processing invoices and salaries
- Keeping organised records of all payments and receipts
- Organising and reviewing monthly and yearly accounts
- Submitting returns and contributions like tax, VAT and National Insurance
- Managing company expenses
- Using payroll and computerised accounting systems
These duties can expand with experience, and you could potentially start:
- Controlling and setting plans for budgets
- Handling financial reports
- Assisting with audits
Skills
To be successful, the Accountant role requires a particular set of skills. Not only do you need to be good with numbers, but you also need a business mindset to see how the numbers impact a commercial enterprise.
More specifically, you need to:
- Have a methodical approach to your work
- Be thorough in everything you do
- Have a genuine interest in business and finance
- Be able to communicate clearly and effectively
- Have up to date IT skills and be confident in using spreadsheets
- Be able to work equally well alone or as part of a team
- Have strong commercial acumen
- Be able to comprehend complex information, identify problems and solutions
- Keep confidential information between the relevant parties
- Thrive under pressure, be organised and capable of meeting deadlines
Salary
Like anyone considering pursuing a new career, you’re likely wondering ‘How much does an Accountant earn?’. Well, you will be pleased to know that the Accountant salary is often high compared to a large number of professional roles, and can increase substantially as you progress up the ladder.
Junior accountants, or part-qualified accountants, can expect to start earning between £17,000 to £22,000 per year, depending on the company they work for and their geographical location. When you become fully qualified, this can easily increase to more than £40,000 per year.
Bonuses aren’t uncommon for qualified accountants, and if you reach Chartered Accountant Status, earning a salary of nearly £85,000 per year and taking home an annual bonus of over £15,000 per year isn’t uncommon. So, if you’re good at Maths and want a well-paying job, becoming an Accountant is an excellent option.
Hours
If you’re considering becoming an Accountant, you can expect to work fairly regular hours for the majority of your working life. However, it is worth noting that there will be substantially busy periods at certain points in the financial year that will call for you to work outside of the regular 9am to 5pm.
That being said, the accounting profession can be quite flexible, as part-time Accountant jobs are often offered as are temporary and short-term contracts.
Working Conditions
Another thing you will want to get an idea of ahead of pursuing finance and accounting jobs is the environment in which you will work. While this differs depending on the avenue of accounting you work in, you can expect a few things from your job:
- You will largely be office based
- You will use a computer to complete a large portion of your work
- You will rely heavily on financial software packages and spreadsheet applications
If you prefer, you could decide to become a self-employed Accountant, which would allow you to run your own accounting office or visit your client at their business premises. This could either bring more stability or flexibility with it depending on which style of working you choose. Although, you will have to source your own work opportunities and organise a pension scheme for yourself etc.
A great thing about recognised accounting qualifications is that they are often internationally recognised. This brings with it the potential to move your career overseas if an international lifestyle appeals to you.
What Are 5 Careers in Accounting?
You may feel that being an Accountant is fairly one dimensional, but the truth is far from it. When you consider all the aspects involved in business funding and legal financial systems, it would be impossible for one type of Accountant to cover them all!
That is why there are a vast number of ways you can work as an Accountant, with many specialisms available depending on your interests.
Just 5 of the many Accountant-related prospects you can pursue include:
- Chartered Accountant – These accountants provide specialist accounting services and business advice in a range of important areas such as securing finances for mergers, and capital restructuring
- Company Secretary – Keep companies in compliance with financial and legal requirements, while keeping standards of corporate governance high
- External Auditor – Scour financial records and related data to give businesses, stakeholders and market regulators an accurate portrayal of business performance. Duties extend outside of regular accounting roles as the nature of your audits is to help clients identify and manage risks throughout their business
- Forensic Accountant – These accountants investigate fraud and other financial misrepresentation by looking past the numbers and identifying patterns that bring to light the illegal activities of both individuals and businesses
- Group Accountant – In this role, you would be based at the head office of a group of companies, and be in charge of duties like consolidating subsidiaries for statutory reporting, ensuring group entities are following accounting standards, and collecting information required for group reporting purposes
Is Accounting Easy Course?
Many people are put off the idea of studying accounting and finance courses because of the reputation it has for being a hard subject to study. Yes, accounting and finance courses can be challenging, but isn’t that the idea of any form of study? Challenging yourself is the only way you will learn new things and obtain the skills you need to achieve your goal.
If you’re good with numbers naturally, you may find it more enjoyable and interesting than other people might. If you’re good with data and analysis, but your Maths skills aren’t quite up to scratch, you can build on these as you progress through the levels of accountancy courses UK learners can take to qualify.
You need to achieve a high level of training and qualifications before you can become an Accountant. Though, the rewards you will reap when you finally assume the Accountant role will make your time studying to gain your qualifications worthwhile.
How Long Is Accounting Training?
This depends entirely on how you choose to study accounting and finance qualifications. There are different options that all have their own timeframes and cater to different styles of learning.
You can become an Accountant through:
- Trainee Accountant Jobs – Work your way up in an accounting firm that offers a training scheme. You don’t need industry qualifications or much experience to get started, and you can work in the accounting environment while you study for your official accounting qualifications. In most cases, this will be a full-time job coupled with study, so the time it takes to qualify as an Accountant depends on how much time you dedicate to your learning outside of work
- Accounting Apprenticeship – Similar to trainee Accountant schemes offered by established accounting companies, however, accounting apprenticeships work to a stricter schedule. You will work a minimum of 30 hours a week in the industry to learn on the job, but your training will take a set four years to complete. These apprenticeships are typically offered to people with school and college qualifications that complement accounting
- Vocational Accounting Courses – Considered the fastest way to qualify as an Accountant as industry-recognised vocational accounting courses can often be studied at your pace, allowing you to achieve the necessary qualifications faster. You have to complete specific qualifications in a sequential order to reach your goal, but you can finish and move onto the next as soon as you’re ready. This route could potentially shave the time it takes to become an accountant down to just a couple of years
- Study an Accounting Degree – A more traditional route to get into the industry is via an accounting degree, which can take three or four years depending on if you choose a sandwich degree that encompasses a year in industry or the direct route to achieving your qualifications. You can study A Level Accounting courses online to help you prepare for degree level qualifications
Can I Study Accountancy Online?
Yes, you can! The emergence of distance learning colleges has made it possible to study the courses you need to become an Accountant online. This means far more people can work towards this prosperous and rewarding career around their existing job and commitments because the qualifications are much more attainable.
With online accounting courses, UK learners now don’t need to go to university and commit years of their lives to full-time study. Classroom education isn’t an option for everyone, neither is the thought of taking a substantial pay cut while completing accounting training schemes or accounting apprenticeships.
If any of these considerations have prevented you from pursuing accounting qualifications previously, you now have the green light to switch up your career.
With Stonebridge Associated Colleges, you can study online accounting courses that are designed to give you the foundation knowledge and skills to prepare you for industry-recognised accounting qualifications. Plus, we offer courses aimed at expanding the skillset of existing accounting and finance professionals, in terms of utilising specific software.
Online Accounting and Finance Courses
From courses in finance for non-financial managers to those that help you put a financial strategy in place for your business, with Stonebridge, you can study:
- Accounting
- Business Accounting
- Business Finance
- Business Finance Professional
- Essential Bookkeeping
- Finance and Accounting
- Financial Management
We also offer courses in:
- Finance for Non-Financial Managers
- Financial Services
- Financial Strategy
- Introduction to Bookkeeping
- Introduction to Payroll Systems
- Management Accounting
- Managing Finance and Information
Online Sage Accounting Courses
For finance and accounting professionals who are looking to upskill in certain areas, we provide online courses in the cloud-based accounting software Sage. With desirable and essential bookkeeping and accounting features, you’ll be a whizz in your business in no time!
With Stonebridge, you can study Sage accounting and finance courses such as:
- Introduction to accounting using Sage Business Cloud
- Sage Bookkeeping Stages 1 and 2
- Sage UK Computerised Accounting for Business – Skillsfirst Award (Level 1)
- Sage UK Computerised Accounting for Business – Skillsfirst Certificate (Level 2)
- Sage UK Computerised Accounting for Business – Skillsfirst Diploma (Level 3)
- Sage UK Computerised Accounting for Payroll – Skillsfirst Award (Level 1)
- Sage UK Computerised Payroll for Business – Skillsfirst Certificate (Level 2)
- Sage 50 Accounts - Stage 1
- Sage 50 Accounts - Stage 2
- Sage 50 Accounts - Stage 3
- Sage 50 Accounts - Stage 4
You can find all these online accounting and finance courses and more on our website.
Study Accounting with Stonebridge!
If you are considering becoming an Accountant, Stonebridge Associated Colleges can help you explore this field of study to make sure it’s for you ahead of embarking on your official qualifications.
By first studying a qualification online, accounting and finance accredited courses become less daunting as you have already gotten to grips with the basics before this stage. This way, you are more likely to pass your official qualifications with flying colours and hit the ground running in your new career.
Study accounting qualifications online with Stonebridge also provides you with numerous other benefits, such as:
- Flexible Learning –Courses are taught online, so you can study from home when it suits you
- Support – Our accounting students get tutor support, in addition to 24/7 access to all the course materials you need throughout the duration of your course
- Spread Your Payments – No need to pay for your accounting qualifications all at once, spread the cost with our flexible payment option!
Find out more about how you can study our accounting courses online by speaking to one of our Course Executives today! Call them now on 01202 392 8288 or reach us online.
