Q&A: Career plan for auditing

I am AAT qualified and an ACCA finalist. I ‘m currently in the process of obtaining a degree in Accountancy as I feel it’s important to have a degree qualification. (I only have to do the final level as exempted due to ACCA part qualification).  I have been in industry & commerce and also a short stint in the practice. (not BIG 4).  I also have worked in an internal audit department of an airline but not in the UK. I’m in my late thirties.

At present I’m contemplating embarking on a career in audit. Will this work for me or should I stick to the industry & commerce? Appreciate your advice.

 

Your professional qualifications and experience in industry certainly won’t preclude you from a side-ways career move into audit.  Indeed, many employers will see these as a strong foundation.  However, to give you specific advice on the move and its suitability for you personally, I’d need to know a lot more about you: likes and dislikes, talents and weaknesses, personal and career goals and aspirations. 

What I can do, is provide a model that you can work through that will assist in your decision- making.  Here goes:

 

Phase 1 Know Yourself

·         Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years time?  What’s important to you in your life and career?  What are your core values?  (Values are your personal operating principles which if not met, will cause you unhappiness.  Email me at info@theaccountantscoach.com to request your own Values Matrix).

·         What are you looking for from your career move?  Use your current and past work experience to identify aspects of your roles that you have found more/less satisfying. 

·         What can you offer?  What are your personal skills, talents, strengths?  What makes you special?

·         What are you prepared to invest?  Where are you willing to start on the career ladder?  What salary and benefit package do you require?  What further learning are you prepared to undergo?

 

Phase 2 Understand what’s involved your favoured career

An easy way to do this, is to simply compare and contrast the audit career you are considering with your current position.  What’s similar, what’s the same, what’s diametrically opposed?  Areas you might consider include: core skills, work life balance, travel, working environment, pressure, office and client relationships, team structure,  autonomy, career progression, financial package and security. 

 

Phase 3 Map across the first 2 phases

You’ve now got 2 lists and you can simply map across from Phase 1 to Phase 2.  You will then be able to determine if your favoured career is going to be a good match to satisfy your aspirations within a satisfactory tolerance range and at an acceptable level of personal investment.