Accountancy
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Originally posted by psychoticbutton:
Are you a risk manager?!?!?! Haha.Back to the topic. I work in an accounting firm in London (not as an auditor though), but still, I may be able to provide some advice.
I believe most of you by saying "accountant" are in fact referring to an auditor. In a nutshell, an auditor seeks to provide assurance over the truth and fairness of financial statements. Therefore, you will spend heck alot of time ticking boxes and doing various tests to gain confidence over the accuracy of company accounts.
My friends in Asia say hours are crazy. Frequently past midnight. But the hours will improve as you move up the ranks. That's just the nature of the beast so you have to endure it to reap the rewards in the future.
Speaking of rewards, there are significant benefits to training as an auditor, especially if you are able to leverage your time in an accounting firm into a professional qualification such as the ACCA, CIMA and what not. The pay jump is significant if you qualify and it increases your marketability (the training increases your business knowledge alot!).
Also, if you were to make partner, the remuneration is ridiculous though not even close to top bankers.
For those of you seriously considering a career in an accounting firm, don't just limit yourself to being an auditor. There are many functions in an accounting firm (go to their websites and take a look) which will appeal to different people. But all in all, join an accounting firm to get a professional qualification, not because of immediate remuneration. The benefits will only accrue in the long-term.
Any other questions, please let me know.
Take his word for it - if money's what you're after, I'd suggest picking IBs over accountancy firms any day too.
PS : psychoticbutton, where in Canary Wharf do you work?
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Originally posted by walesa:
Take his word for it - if money's what you're after, I'd suggest picking IBs over accountancy firms any day too.
PS : psychoticbutton, where in Canary Wharf do you work?
Alot of people from my team join IBs or PE firms once they qualify. Pay jumps approximately 50%, excluding bonuses. Therefore, it is safe to say that starting at an accounting firm is a decent platform to getting oneself into a higher paying job in the future.walesa: I work at London Bridge. To the best of my limited knowledge, I believe only KPMG has an office in Canary Wharf. So what brings you to London? Do you come here often?
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then i am studying ACC in NP now how sia?
i tot Ngee Ann Accountancy is the best? then now i come SgF and u tell me my job prospects not good.
the students here inbal sia, all can go JC de.
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Originally posted by spike_jose:
then i am studying ACC in NP now how sia?
i tot Ngee Ann Accountancy is the best? then now i come SgF and u tell me my job prospects not good.
the students here inbal sia, all can go JC de.
Depends on what your aspirations are.Good is a subjective word.
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Originally posted by psychoticbutton:
Alot of people from my team join IBs or PE firms once they qualify. Pay jumps approximately 50%, excluding bonuses. Therefore, it is safe to say that starting at an accounting firm is a decent platform to getting oneself into a higher paying job in the future.walesa: I work at London Bridge. To the best of my limited knowledge, I believe only KPMG has an office in Canary Wharf. So what brings you to London? Do you come here often?
To add on, for those thinking of entering this industry for the money and are deciding between accountancy/IBs, nothing beats getting into the IBs directly - you may wish to consider the "accountancy --> IB route" only if you can't get into an IB.psychoticbutton : I don't travel to London that often these days - spending most of my time divided between HK and SG with the occasional visit to some of the Asian emerging markets from time to time. My London office is located at Bank Street though. You may wish to drop me a PM with your contacts if you're interested in catching up the next time I drop by...
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Originally posted by walesa:
To add on, for those thinking of entering this industry for the money and are deciding between accountancy/IBs, nothing beats getting into the IBs directly - you may wish to consider the "accountancy --> IB route" only if you can't get into an IB.psychoticbutton : I don't travel to London that often these days - spending most of my time divided between HK and SG with the occasional visit to some of the Asian emerging markets from time to time. My London office is located at Bank Street though. You may wish to drop me a PM with your contacts if you're interested in catching up the next time I drop by...
Won't a person with a Finance degree be better abled than an Accountancy graduate to land an IB job? -
Originally posted by maurizio13:
Won't a person with a Finance degree be better abled than an Accountancy graduate to land an IB job?
For experienced hires(associates and above), it depends on what role within IB's you're referring to. Taking lateral transitions into account, it's almost impossible for someone from accountancy to move into trading although the relevant accountancy experience would ease the transition into investment banking (M&A, DCM, ECM, etc). Then again, with the right networks and appropriate contacts, nothing is impossible just that the probability of such transitions still tend to be skewed somewhat.At the analyst level, with the exclusion of certain roles that specifically require certain qualifications (ie.masters or PhD in financial maths/engineering for folks working on pricing/structuring), I don't think the specific major matters too much, although graduates of a quantitative discipline - usually accountancy, business, economics, engineering, actuarial science/maths/statistics - are still somewhat favoured (if my observations of the fresh hires I work with are anything to go by), which would be understandable given the highly numeric nature of the business, especially in FO roles.
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currently i hav trouble choosing whether to take business adm or accountancy
can anyone enlighten me on the jobscope of both business and accountancy cos i reli hav no idea pls help me. when you grad frm business adm what job can u get what can u do?
btw i was told by my jc teacher that accounting graduates can do what business grads can do, while business grad cant do what accounting grads can do? is it true?
lastly which uni (smu, ntu , nus) is better in business and accountancy
the idea of long wrking hours n no life future is scaring me frm taking accountancy ; (
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To all those thinking about an accounting career, I have very simple advice. Don't worry too much about what you are doing now. Whether its business administration or accountancy or what not, the most important thing to get out of it are communication, analytical and writing skills, amongst others. These transferable skills will follow you through life and you will derive the most benefits from them. Technical skills can be picked up along the way as you are more sure of your career path.
Having a technical degree is beneficial only at the beginning as you will learn alot along the way. At least that's the way it is in London, alot of my colleagues have absolutely no finance, mathematical, accounting backgrounds. Does not stop them from working in an accounting firm.
Of course, this is not really relevant if you are looking for a highly specialised job. As walesa mentioned, there is probably no way anyone with a non-mathematical background is going to get a job as a quant analyst or derivatives trader. But if anyone is looking to work in an accounting firm, don't fret. Any degree or diploma is fair game for recruiters.
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What's the difference between CPA and ACCA?
I heard that for ACCA, you don't even need a degree to take it, just a poly diploma.
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Originally posted by charlize:
What's the difference between CPA and ACCA?
I heard that for ACCA, you don't even need a degree to take it, just a poly diploma.
true. i plan to take ACCA after my poly and find a job somewhere.yup i am working for the $, but who in the world does not thing of $ when working?
when earned enough, just call it a day and it should be mid-career, and time to change job.
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Originally posted by charlize:
What's the difference between CPA and ACCA?
I heard that for ACCA, you don't even need a degree to take it, just a poly diploma.
CPA and ACCA almost the same in Singapore.If you graduate from NTU, you will be a qualified CPA after 2 years of relevant work experience, same with ACCA. NTU B.Acc is equivalent to ACCA, but ACCA is ranked higher than NTU's B.Acc.
You don't need a degree to do ACCA, same with a NTU B.Acc, just A levels.
You can take ACCA, but doesn't mean you can pass, I know of graduates from NTU Finance failing the Finance paper in ACCA.
I still have friends doing the final papers for ACCA, think they want to test the 10 year rule.
In UK if you want to be a practising auditor, you need to be a member of either ACCA, ICAEW, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAI or ICAS. Whereas in Singapore, you need to be a member of ICPAS.
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
CPA and ACCA almost the same in Singapore.If you graduate from NTU, you will be a qualified CPA after 2 years of relevant work experience, same with ACCA. NTU B.Acc is equivalent to ACCA, but ACCA is ranked higher than NTU's B.Acc.
You don't need a degree to do ACCA, same with a NTU B.Acc, just A levels.
You can take ACCA, but doesn't mean you can pass, I know of graduates from NTU Finance failing the Finance paper in ACCA.
I still have friends doing the final papers for ACCA, think they want to test the 10 year rule.
In UK if you want to be a practising auditor, you need to be a member of either ACCA, ICAEW, CIMA, CIPFA, ICAI or ICAS. Whereas in Singapore, you need to be a member of ICPAS.
is the failing rate so bad? i think my choice in poly is ruined. and i think those who pass are the PRC people right? can someone advise me what to do after i finish my dip in acc? -
Originally posted by spike_jose:
is the failing rate so bad? i think my choice in poly is ruined. and i think those who pass are the PRC people right? can someone advise me what to do after i finish my dip in acc?
It's subjective. I have seen PRC doing alright for the lower and mid level papers, but when in the professional level, they can't make it. Reason, they memorised all the essay questions, I don't know how they do it, but they take out all the past year questions and memorise every damn word. But questions in the professional level is different, that's why some of the PRCs can't make it after the mid level papers. If you are already in accounting, then no choice, do ACCA or go NTU. Unless you want to consider a career switch.
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CPA = ci peh action
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Sample exam questions for P4 Advanced Financial Management.
