There’s more than one way to cook an egg, just as there’s more than one way to start your accountancy and finance career journey.
The most obvious path is obtaining a bachelor’s degree in accountancy, financial management, business management, or something similar—preferably followed by a master of business administration (MBA) in finance, operations management, marketing, business analytics, etc. However, other established and recognized pathways exist, too.
CFA: An Alternative Pathway
For instance, you can register for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, enroll for a CFA course, sit for and pass all three CFA exams, complete the relevant work experience requirement, and become a member of the CFA Institute.
Becoming a CFA is a good way to transition into a career in finance if you hold a non-finance degree. A bachelor’s degree qualifies you to enter the CFA program.
Even if you don’t have a degree, you can enter the CFA program and start a career in finance. If you have at least 4,000 hours of work experience gained within the last three years—or a non-overlapping combination of work experience and higher education during the same period—you are eligible for the program.
CFA Roles
The CFA designation proves you are skilled in and have been equipped with the necessary investment analysis knowledge, frameworks, and strategies. Thus, you can work in roles like the following:
- Investment officer
- Investment analyst
- Investment researcher
- Financial analyst
- Portfolio operations executive
- Financial institution rating officer
- Investment associate
- Credit analyst
- Investment advisor
ACCA: Another Way Into a Career in Finance
If you want to focus on accountancy instead of investment analysis, consider becoming an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) professional. Do you satisfy the following ACCA program entry requirements?
- Two advanced levels or A-levels
- Three General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs)
- The two A-levels and three GCSEs are on five distinct subjects
- One of the five subjects is English
- One of the five subjects is mathematics
If you meet the above criteria, you can register for the ACCA program, take ACCA review courses, and become a full-fledged professional accountant by doing the following:
- Sit for and pass 13 exams.
- Complete the ACCA program ethics and professional skills module.
- Compile three years of demonstrable practical work experience in a relevant role (or roles), with each work experience logged and signed off on by a qualified supervisor.
Once you have fulfilled all of the above program-completion requirements, you can apply to become an ACCA member and use “ACCA” after your name.
ACCA Roles
The ACCA professional designation is a sought-after qualification that can take your career anywhere. The world is your oyster, as this credential is globally recognized. All industries need accountancy professionals, so you can work for any organization, private or public, in any domain you like.
ACCAs occupy roles like the following:
- Accountant
- Compliance officer
- Finance director
- Financial controller
- Financial planner and analyst
- Finance manager
- Credit control officer
- Finance accountant
- Management accountant
- Head of finance
- Group accountant
- Business analyst
There are many other roles ACCAs are qualified to fill, depending on the work experience they’ve accumulated or their preferred specialization.
Jumpstart Programs: A Way In for School Leavers
If you don’t meet the program entry qualifications required by either CFA or ACCA, you will need to spend more time towards satisfying eligibility requirements. For the CFA qualification, accumulate practical work experience. For the ACCA designation, you can start with foundations in accountancy (FIA), which are entry-level qualifications you can use in lieu of ACCA’s A-level and GCSE minimum education requirements.
There are classrom and online financial training programs that can help jumpstart a career in finance and accountancy. They make for an excellent starting point, particularly for school leavers who want to earn the ACCA qualification.
Such a program may have you studying and passing the first four modules in the ACCA program:
- Business Technology
- Management Accounting
- Financial Accounting
- Corporate and Business Law
Once you have passed these exams, you will achieve a foundation-level qualification, the ACCA Diploma in Accounting & Business, which is also deemed a Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) Level 4 qualification.
This qualification can get you into the ACCA program. Not only that, it will also gain you exemptions for the exams you already sat for and passed, so you’ll need to study and sit for only the rest of the program’s required exams.
The great thing about jumpstart programs is that they supplement your ACCA foundation-level studies with courses that will enhance your skills and employability. Supplementary training may include:
- Spreadsheets
- Financial statements
- Financial statement analysis
- Fundamentals of budgeting and cost control
- Principles of mergers and acquisitions
- Pricing strategies
- PowerPoint presentations
- Financial modelling
If There’s a Will, There’s a Way
There are various ways to get into a career in accountancy and finance. The more straightforward alternatives are the CFA and the ACCA programs. You can also start with a jumpstart program to earn foundation-level qualifications that you can use to become eligible for the more advanced pathways.
