ACCA part-qualified – job assessment / advice

HipCat

It is my first post so I would like to say hi to everyone.

I was wondering if you could help / share your thoughts on my problem:

I have a staff review this December and I want to fight for a bigger pay rise (currently I am on €29k + performance related bonus, also my employer pays my college fees).

Let me give you some background on my current role and experience:

I am nearly a qualified accountant (ACCA), having passed 11/14 exams (currently preparing to take P1 and then next year I am planning to take P4 and P5). I passed all my exams in the first sittings except for F8 (47% – but I got it in the second sitting. I have nearly 4 years of experience in working in Finance, in industry (started as an accounts assistant but I moved up to position of Financial Accountant but it actually feels that I am doing Assistant Accountant’s work).

My responsibilities are: -
- Preparation of management accounts for 3 entities and the consolidated accounts for the group. This includes preparation of accruals, prepayments, work in progress, deferred income, sales variance analysis, monthly cash flow statement, FA register and depreciation.
- Management of the company’s cash flow, prepare and monitor annual budgets.
- I supervise one assistant accountant (that looks after AP and AR) that reports directly to me.
- Statutory returns: VAT and VIES – I do not have much experience with CT as our auditors look after this as a part of the annual fee. I only calculate and post the monthly P&L charge.
- Balance sheet reconciliations: Banks, credit cards, DRS, CRS, PAYE , VAT control account, CT control account, Non-current asset additions, intercompany loan account
- Besides this I work on different costing analyses, internal and external analyses (PESTEL, stakeholder, Culture web just to name few).
- Also currently working on introduction of balanced scorecard/ KPI reporting

I’m also experienced with project management/ systems accounting: I have an advanced knowledge of Excel and I program in VBA (was able to improve a lot of processes intra and inter departmental).

Since I will be qualified soon I am afraid that am not getting enough experience as an accountant and was wondering what else could I add to my CV?

There are good few accounting standards that I only know from college and never used them in real life e.g. IAS 19 Employee Benefits etc. I did not deal with shares at all (as there are only 3 shareholders in the company), did not prepare SOCIE etc.

I was wondering if I should leave my current company before I get qualified to get more experience somewhere else just to boost my confidence (and CV). On one hand I am afraid that if I left now and got a job somewhere else I could get a better salary but I would be stuck in one area (currently I have a good exposure to lots of things – at least that’s what I think) on the other hand I am not sure if I am getting enough experience and I am afraid that once I become qualified and decided to move I will not pass the probation period in the new place

Many thanks for all the responses and ideas

thomlin

A lot of what you do in your role is standard operating procedures for someone at your level in accountancy and if you go into your assessment saying everything you did here then you're not going to get the pay increase you want and your boss isn't going to be too impressed either.

Focus on the value you've added i.e. the project work etc and put a euro value on them money talks after all. If you want a 5K pay increase ask for 10K unrealistic, but gives you room to negotiate and whatever you do don't say I can get it somewhere else certain to blow any negotiation deal.

Career track - Personally I think you are focusing too much on the technical side of being an accountant and you are limiting your potential and career progression. As an accountant our responsibility when it comes to accounting standards is to Read, Understand and Apply nowhere does it say you must be experienced in this standard to apply it, see what I'm saying?

You've probably heard this in your lectures as have I "as an accountant you need to see the bigger picture" and while it is a pain to hear this over and over it does have merit. Technical skills are very important up to a certain level in our careers as accountants, but then you've got to focus on the bigger picture as in soft skills, people skills, open mindedness etc this is the difference between an accountant and a glorified book keeper no offence intended to you or book keepers.

Tom

HipCat

Thanks Tom for the comment.

I get the part that I have show more than just number crunching to get a better pay rise (I think I did it this year - saved both time and money on various things).

Regarding the bigger picture - I do try to do this however there are times that I am not kept in the loop I am only notified when actions have been taken.... that's why I think I am still being treated as a junior.

What I do not understand is that there many ads for either finalist or recently qualified accountants with much higher starting salary that I am now.... so it makes me think and doubt my skills. Also in June at my midyear review my manager told me that my salary was appropriate for my level/experience and responsibilities - the bonus was included in this.

This is very demotivating as in my previous job I was on 29k and that was a position of an account's assistant I know I maybe comparing apples with oranges but still...

So what is should be my next step regarding additional responsibilities, any suggestions?

KlausFlouride

. Also in June at my midyear review my manager told me that my salary was appropriate for my level/experience and responsibilities - the bonus was included in this.


I think you've answered your own question here. You have solid experience and academic record, so be confident in your abilities and that experience.
IMHO, head down, finish exams, and then move on to a new job. Reading between the lines, your current role has no room to grow, and you will get frustrated quite quickly.

HipCat

Hi KlausFlouride ; thanks for the comment.

You think I should wait until I finish my exams and then move....but that exactly what I do not understand. What makes the move from being part-qualified on the 29k to being qualified on 40+k? Is it really just the letters? I have 3 more exams to finish (P1 P4 and P5), I doubt that I will learn significantly more than I know now( I do not doubt that I will learn few new things)

I tried to focus more on the experience and application of the knowledge from the exams into real life examples instead of trying to pass the exams as soon as possible. This was my managers advice - that experience is more important than the exams. I know that they are equally important, but it looks like that without 4 letters in front of my name I am stuck on less than 30k for at least 6-9 months?! This is frustrating considering I know people with less exams passed (but similar experience) and working as managers etc.

I am trying to establish is it me and my lack of experience or is it the company that is holding me off from moving up the ladder/ getting more money?

Could you share based on your experience what was your responsibilities and duties when you were part qualified and how things changed when you became qualified?

KlausFlouride

HipCat wrote: »

Could you share based on your experience what was your responsibilities and duties when you were part qualified and how things changed when you became qualified?

I did something similar to you, trained in a MNC, started off in AP etc, did the ACCA exams, but ended up stuck there for longer than I wanted/intended due to job market collapse (2008-2012 era). Would have done broadly similar work to yourself.

What I found was you will always be viewed as the trainee within your current company, irrespective of how hard you worked/experience/qualifications etc.. My take is progression in most companies is pretty non-existent, you need to change company. By all means look around for another job, if you're willing to move now. I think you could do better financially and work wise, but I would guess you're wasting your time trying to convince your current employer to improve your lot.

As for the difference between being part-qual and fully qualified, I agree with you, it's a hangover from the apprentice system to provide cheap labour. It's just one of those things.

HipCat

Thanks, I was expecting that this will have to happen....I just needed someone to validate what I already knew...

How did your career change after you qualified? Is there anything you could suggest me e.g. getting experience in any particular area etc? My manager will be delighted if I take on more responsibilities:) something I could add to my cv before leaving.

KlausFlouride

Qualifying made no difference to me, it wasn't that kind of company. I ended up stuck there for 3 years after qualifying doing the same work, waste of time, but couldn't get anything else. I wouldn't use my career as a role model!

Could you get more involvement with the auditors?, specifically on the CT calculation and the related filing. Probably your company generates almost all the detail for CT calc, so see if you can prepare that.