After graduating, I was working in financial recruitment, helping MDs, FDs and financial specialists to find new roles in all kinds of businesses. I quickly realised that these were the kind of jobs I'd like to end up doing and it was clear from their CVs that I needed a few extra letters after my name. I knew that an accountancy qualification could open a lot of doors and, having learnt quite a bit about the different options from talking to candidates and employers, I chose ACCA. It's a broader qualification that prepares your for accounting in general rather than auditing, and it's welcomed around the world.
I knew I could begin my training in my current job, but decided to go for one of the Big Four and start getting some practical experience under my belt too. I'm part way through my training at the moment, working at KPMG in the Reading office. The study is hard - and harder than university I'd say - but the balance between work and study is good. We have four weeks out for college each year and study leave for exams. I haven't really thought beyond qualifying, but there are obviously lots of options at a place like this. I could move to a specialist department such as Insolvency or M&A, or I could maybe do an international secondment.
In recent months with the recession in full swing, the accountancy sector has shown just how robust it is. Every business needs people who can handle the numbers and auditing is a legal requirement whether a business is doing well or badly. And working at KPMG with its broad client base and range of specialist divisions means even greater stability. In tough times, our restructuring and insolvency teams get busier, counter balancing the slow-down in areas such as mergers & acquisitions. It's a good place to be for lots of reasons.
