Kerry 's support

ICAEW. i did an accelerated programme as part of my course which fulfilled the majority of the required examinations and a small amount of technical work. my course also offered me exemptions from two of the minor modules so there is roughly a year-18months left.

what's ACCA, CIMA and/or ICAEW?

ACCA = Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants

CIMA = Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

ICAEW = Instituation of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales.

They are basically a license to print money, & u get to put some letters after your name, although very hard work working & studying at the same time. For me to pass by next May, I will need to pass 2 exams in November & then my 4 finals next May. Currently I have passed 3/4 exams since last November. But that was with a reolcation in the middle.

i pity you mate. i kinda landed on my feet with the course i was doing and i can only imagine what a long slog it is having to go the normal route. good luck with your final exams mate let us know how you get on. who you working for anyway?

I was lucky - I got exempted from the whole of foundation (5 exams) & 2 intermediate exams. I don't think it is possible to get any more exemptions. My old housemate who has had to relocate to Livingston did it the hard way - a year doing foundation, but he has managed to fail four intermediate exams

But thanks for the good luck. Realisitcally it will be next November before I pass - I can't see me passing 4 exams & working at the same time.

I work for a firm called Iron Mountain. U probably haven't heard of them, but are the world leaders in information & record management. I work for the UK bit.

Out of interest - how is ICAEW structured?? & do u have a graduate postion sorted?

the exams themselves or the institute as a whole?

the course i did was in partnership with PwC (one of only two in the country, i think). basically involved the normal degree couple with professional exams. first year was a doddle, last two years were a bit of a struggle. the main thing that dragged me in was the offer at a job at the end (assuming you did enough during your time to show you were going to be a decent employee). i start at the PwC newcastle branch next month and see where that takes me.

PwC!! - Very impressive. I'm not sure I'd recommend auditing though - maybe for a couple of years, it can be very dry. Will give u a good understanding though.

I was wondering how the exams were structured.

thanks.

so, do these certifications let you work in audit and tax or do you have to take different certifications if you want to work in tax? does everyone start in audit, or do they hire people right into tax?

I'm a CPA

They are basically qualifications that are well regarded by employers. If they want an accountant, they look for people with these qualifications.

There is a separate one for tax, depending what level the employer wants you at. Experience still plays a large part. Also, audit is just one part of accountancy - it is taught in all qualifications as accountants have to be aware of the standards they need to attain & because at some point they are going to be subject to one. Whether you want to go into it or not is up to you. But it is a good starting point if you want to get an understanding of all the difference areas, and the different methods that firms operate.

What is a CPA?

it's a certified public accountant - the US version of the chartered accountant.