Hi guys, I’m looking for a bit of career advice and hope you can help.

A bit about me:

I’m 22 and I’ve just gained ACCA affiliate status. I need to have my PER etc signed off which I am in the process of doing with my boss this week, then to apply for full membership.

I have all first time passes which I have achieved over 24 months, whilst working for a small firm. Previous to that I studied AAT which I also completed over 24 months, again whilst working at an accounts firm. In total 4 years work experience (3 at my current firm, and my 1st year at a similar sized firm)

The firm I work for consists of 2 partners who are both ACCA members, 3 general accounts staff who are AAT members, a lady that does payroll and a receptionist. And then there’s me! So REALLY tiny!

My work currently involves accounts prep upto final accounts and sign off, including tax work etc. I also manage all of the Companies House admin, Annual Returns and Accounts filing etc. I keep the partners informed on what accounts need to be filed at CH each month, whats outstanding etc. I also do the occasional VAT return/Sage bookkeeping if we are short. All our clients are quite small, so audits are few and far between, so not really one of my strong points.

I feel now though that I’ve progressed as far as I physically can, and am not feeling remotely challenged at work. Also my salary has increased only by a measley £1250 over 2 years between AAT qualification to now.

However, I am really grateful to my bosses for supporting me through my exams, and although I don’t have a training contract which insists I stay for X period after training, I was prepared to stick it out for a year out of respect to my bosses.

I got my results on Monday, all passes, making me an Affiliate now. One of my bosses had a chat with me and told me what a great achievement I have made and not to waste it. He told me he did not want me to look back in a couple of years time and resent having stayed so as not to upset or disapoint them. He seemed to think I had a good shot at getting in at a larger firm and that I shouldn’t waste the opportunity in front of me. He wished that they could offer my more challenging work, but that with the way things were at the moment it just wasn’t going to happen.

Well this has all really thrown me, and I would love to work in a larger organisation and have a more challenging role, but didn’t think this would be something to realistically consider yet. I don’t know anyone in my personal life in this line of work to talk to this about, but based on the info I’ve given, my work experience etc I just wondered if ‘on paper’ I had a good chance of securing a place at a larger firm, and how to go about it?

I’ve tried looking on job sites for an idea of job roles and salaries, and I know this sounds silly, but I don’t really know what role I should be looking for that fits my capabilities/experience. Everything seems to be so specific, whereas my current role is very generic. That leaves me at a loss with where to start?

I also wondered whether people could give me a general idea of what sort of salary to expect once I get my membership through. It would be Midlands based. I am currently on £17,750 and feel that this is especially low. What would you expect to receive on affiliate status also?

I’m sorry to be swamping you with so many questions, but any advice would be really appreciated! I really don’t know where to go from here, which I’m sure will strike a chord with quite a few other users of the site.

Thanks,
Mini-Me

When you say work for a larger firm, do you mean practice or in industry? although its fundamentaly the same work, its a very different work ethic and environment.

as an idea, Salary wise, I would say a newly qualified in industry, with decent experience would be looking for at least £35k (in the south east), so pretty much double what you’re on. Thats not a given though.

Hi Carl, thankyou for your response, and giving me an idea of salary. If I was to move firms it would probably be into another firm in practice. In general the salaries tend to be a little less in practice than industry, don’t they, from what I’ve seen/heard.

Mini-Me

you need to move to a larger firm now, there isn’t any more room for moving up at your current firm, not your fault but simply the situation

go to a recruitment consultant and explain you situation and they will know what the best direction isto move in but you sound like you have a good CV

Make a move.  I don’t work in practice so I’m afraid I can’t assist with that.  However I do think that regardless of whether you work in practice or industry your job has to change post-qualification.  If you can’t get extra responsibilities in your job then look for another otherwise you risk devaluing your qualification.  I think that applies to the accounts assistant in industry every bit as much as those in practice.  You don’t want to be in an awkward position some time trying to explain that you didn’t just ‘stay on to be happy in your comfort zone’.  Indeed this is something I’ll have to think long and hard about as I have one more exam to complete.

Thanks for the advice guys, I’ve been thinking about the situation over the weekend, and it does seem that a move would be the right decision to make. Like you say Graemer, if I did stay it would be because it was the easier option, and this won’t give the right impression in the future.

I’m off on my hols this Friday, but I am going to see about making an appointment with an agency or something for the week I get back. I don’t know whether agencies are the way to go or not, I’ve not had brilliant past experiences with them but they give you the impression that they have contacts at the bigger firms.

I’ll post back the feedback I get from them, as it might be of some help to others in similar positions.

Cheers for the help
Mini-Me