Jonathan Moss
Manager
Queens Court, 24 Queen Street, Manchester, M2 5HX
- Specialism: Finance & Accountancy
- Sector: Commerce & Industry
- Roles: Permanent
- Location: North West
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Insight in Finance & Accountancy
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10 reasons to become an accountant
This Saturday 10 November 2018 is International Accounting Day, a date celebrating when Venetian mathematician Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli published an in-depth look at bookkeeping practices. Today the accountancy sector is huge, and is an integral part of most businesses across the globe. However, despite the size of the sector we are still constantly on the lookout for high-calibre, qualified accountants to take key positions across the UK. In this blog I take a look at what I think are the top ten benefits of becoming an accountant and why people should really consider it as a legitimate career move. Excellent development and career prospects: you will get out what you put in while working in finance. If you are career driven, hardworking and focused the world really is your oyster. The training on offer and the opportunities to learn new skills and develop both personally and professionally in this sector are second to none and hard work always pays off. A better than average salary: accountants can work in high pressure environments, and the salary often reflects this. Accountants in the UK can earn anything from £25,000 as a gradate entering the profession to over £100,000 as an experience chartered accountant. There are also opportunities to earn upwards of £500 per day as an interim contractor, making it a very well paid profession for candidates that are willing to work hard. Job Security: businesses will always need accountants, so overall accounting is a very stable industry to work in, and while no field can guarantee anyone a job, the prospects in accounting are excellent and are likely to stay that way. Variety of the role: as an accountant you will be able to work in almost any industry, so the variety and choice within the role is excellent. You will also work with a range of people across the business you are in, giving the role variety and making each day different and interesting. Variety of roles available: as an accountant you will also enjoy access to a vast number of different roles on a permanent, contract and interim basis. This gives candidates in the Finance & Accountancy sector a much greater chance of securing work, and if you are flexible with what you want you will likely be able to secure a role you want with relative ease. Role that you could get into include audit, reporting, business partnering and commercial an analysis. Ability to make real change: Today’s finance professionals do much more than just crunch numbers. Accountants are often required to have technical abilities coupled with a commercial acumen that enables them to advise decision makers on strategy and business processes. This makes the role of an accountant incredibly varied, challenging and often very exciting. Technology and the ever changing environment: technology is changing the way finance leaders run their teams and how they conduct business. As a result, more finance leaders are investing in digitisation of the finance function, opening up opportunities to gain efficiencies and analyse trends. This again means varied career paths as professionals who are tech-savvy have an opportunity to excel, and trained accountants will be at the forefront of exciting business change. You will gain transferable skills: the skills you will learn and develop as an accountant are easily transferable to other roles and even sectors. For example, accountants could go into teaching, trading or recruiting, so if you ever want a change of scenery you will have plenty of other options to choose from. Many accountants also become business leaders in their own right, securing Managing Director roles and setting up their own businesses. You have the option to travel: with qualifications like CIMA, ACA and ACCA, you can work in more than 120 countries. Giving you the ability to travel with work and pleasure. This is especially advantageous as you might end up working with a big firm with multiple offices in different countries. No need for a university education: you don’t need a degree to become an accountant. Having an accountancy degree can enable you to skip a few exams on the way to full qualification, but generally it will not matter whether or not you have been to university. I believe becoming an accountant is a clever career move for anyone that is ambitious and focussed. I have seen so many candidates progress through the ranks relatively quickly within finance. It is a sector that is constantly growing, and I firmly believe that the role of an accountant will always be needed. For more information on how you could get on the accountancy career ladder get in touch with me by emailing martin.parr@sellickpartnership.co.uk. Alternatively, you can check out our latest accountancy roles here.
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The work/life balancing act! Returning to work after maternity/paternity
Going on maternity leave is one of the most exciting and exhilarating experiences a new parent will ever go through! Having all the time in the world with your new born child, watching them grow and being there for them all the time is a truly memorable and rewarding experience. However, for most of us that time needs to come to an end at some point. That time for me came a few months ago and deciding the right time to return has been one of the most challenging decisions of my career to date. No one tells you how difficult going back to work will be after having a child. On the one hand I was looking forward to getting back to the career I have built for myself over the past 15 years, and on the other hand I felt apprehensive about Jack settling in at nursery and adapting to this new way of life. Luckily, I work for an organisation that has a great deal of experience with new mums and they made my return to work, and my return to work as easy as it could be. I can imagine the whole experience to be very different at an organisation that may not be as supportive. The important thing I realised when making my decision of when to come back to work was not to rush it. Parents who return to work too soon will only resent their job which is not a healthy situation to be in. One of the toughest decision for me was what nursery to send Jack to, and worrying about how he would be in a new and strange environment. It took me a long time to find a nursery that I was happy with, and it wasn’t until the eleventh hour that I found somewhere I knew he would enjoy. It is very important to find a nursey that you are 100 percent comfortable with as this made my return much easier. I imagine that parents who do not find a nursery they are totally comfortable with, or who jump straight back into their regular working day-to-day will resent their workplace even more. You need to be able to concentrate at work, and spark the right balance between your home life and your work life – which I know is much easier said than done. My advice for anyone struggling with this decision is to do keep in touch with your employer through keep in touch days and phase your return rather than jumping back into the deep end. Work with your employer and decide on a phased return to work scheme that is suitable for you. I would advise any new working mums to make good use of staying in touch days as these really helped me to keep on top of what was going on and get back up to speed. Keeping in touch regularly, and ensuring detailed handovers are in place will really help you plan your return, set realistic expectations and ensure you are not putting too much pressure on yourself. It may also be beneficial to buddy up with people that have had or are going through a similar experience. Getting advice from other women can really help make decisions that bit easier. That being said, the most important thing about a return to work is figuring out the right balance for you. When you are in work, you should try to fully concentrate on work, and when you leave the office leave your work at the door. I know this will be really challenging for a lot of professionals, especially those in high stress careers, however it is vitally important. New parents need to be brave and ask for the flexibility they need to make work/life balance work for both parties. Be prepared to give something back to your employer in return for what they give to you, and make sure that you make a good business case for working flexibly. Most employers will be accommodating, so remember to always ask for help if you feel that you need it. The quicker you feel secure and comfortable being back at work, the more productive you will become and your employer should be aware of this. I would therefore advise you to work with your manager to ensure you are both doing all you can to make your return to work as seamless and stressless as possible. Most important of all, both employees and employers should remember that working out a solution is what everyone wants, so putting the time and effort in to do so, from both parties, is worth the effort. I think the most important aspect of all of this is to have a very clear plan. This is something I wish I had done a little bit better. Planning your return to work is just as important as getting back into it, so ensure you work with your employer to make the process as easy as possible. If you would like any more advice on how to navigate your return to work feel free to get in touch by emailing me at abigail.day@sellickpartnership.co.uk, alternatively you can check out our candidate resources section for more top tips on finding your next role.
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Top 5 things businesses need to take from this year’s Budget
On Monday 29 October, 2018 the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced ‘austerity is coming to an end’ in a 72-minute-long speech that incorporated Universal Credit increases, a special tax for digital giants and equipment for schools. We take a look at the top five elements that businesses should take from this year’s budget. 1. IR35 to be rolled out to the private sector “Designed to ensure fairness”, IR35 is being rolled out to the private sector in a move that has worrying implications for the temporary sector. The update to the off-payroll working rules will see self-employed contractors, who work through their own company but are, in practice, employed by a third party, pay an increased amount of tax from 2020. According to HM Treasury, the taxpayer could be missing out on up to £1.2bn a year by 2023 due to people incorrectly paying tax as if they were self-employed. There are fears that this change, which initially will only be applicable to large and medium-sized businesses, could stifle economic growth and place a huge strain on the UK’s contract and interim workforce. 2. Apprentice training fees halved for SMEs Small business owners who offer apprenticeship training will welcome a reduction in the amount they have to contribute, down from 10 percent to 5 percent in training fees. This is part of a “£695 million package to support apprenticeships” and will come into effect for new starters from April 2019. 3. Entrepreneurs relief rules tightened Conditions under which entrepreneurs can apply for relief have been tightened, with the minimum qualifying period extended from 12 months to two years. Before the Budget was announced, there were concerns that the Chancellor was planning to scrap the relief entirely. In his speech, Hammond said: “Encouraging entrepreneur members must be at the heart of our dynamic economy, so I will retain entrepreneurs relief.” 4. £675 million for the future of British high streets A Future High Streets Fund has been promised by Hammond to help councils improve local high streets. Co-funded by the Government, the £675 million grant has been designated to help facilitate the redevelopment of high streets around the country in a move that will be well received by local business owners. In addition, from April 2019, small retail businesses will have their business rate bills cut by a third for two years, saving them an estimated £900 million. 5. Annual Investment Allowance to increase five-fold Businesses that are looking to invest and grow will benefit from a five-fold increase in the Annual Investment Allowance. The increase from £200,000 to £1 million will be available for two years, and businesses can apply from 1 January 2019. The lifting of the allowance cap was announced as part of a package aimed at boosting businesses in a bid to show the world that, “Britain is open for business”. Other measures included targeted relief for acquiring intellectual property-rich businesses and export help through direct lending. Finally, Hammond announced that employment is at a near record high and, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast, it is set to keep growing with 800,000 more jobs predicted by 2022. However, there was a noticeable absence of information on how companies will be supported in the development of these new roles, nor were any plans announced on how the government intends to help businesses recruit new talent when large numbers of the UK workforce inevitably leave after Brexit. To discuss what the Budget could mean for your business please feel free to get in touch with me on hugh.almond@sellickpartnership.co.uk. Alternatively you can check out our Insights section for all our latest blogs, news and resources.
