Accountancy - the myth and the reality

More than thirty years ago, Monty Python demolished the reputation of accountancy with the invention of Mr Anchovy, the accountant who would rather be a lion-tamer. Innumerable re-runs, videos and now dvd's have left an indelible impression in the public mind. But what is it really like to be an accountant in the 21st century? Would you be better off becoming a lion-tamer, after all? We asked Clare Minchington, Managing Director of Education, Training and Development at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the largest international accountancy body, and two graduate members working on the "˜front-line".

One of the biggest misconceptions about accountancy is that it's all about maths, whereas what really counts is understanding the business you are involved in and using that knowledge to help it plan for future growth. Of course, you have to be numerate, but some of the best accountants are not maths prodigies by any means. What makes them so effective is that they have a good business head on their shoulders. There are also a lot of myths about what an accountant does on a day-today basis; that he sits in some back office churning out figures. There are some finance professionals, who focus on producing sets of accounts, but today, even that calls for a thorough awareness of what is going on in the organisation around them. The "ivory tower" is long gone. For the majority, the focus is on commercial management and on getting the very best out of the people they work with. That's why at ACCA, for example, our first set of exam papers covers financial reporting, management accounting and managing people and this breadth of training carries on right through to the final stage when the exams cover reporting, planning and general business strategy. In addition, we allow our trainees to take a wide range of optional papers so that they can concentrate their learning on the areas that interest them the most. That's why accountancy training and the ACCA qualification in particular is such a good basic platform for anyone interested in business and, certainly, for individuals with aspirations to move into senior management.

A professional accounting qualification also keeps your options open and offers you greater mobility in terms of long-term career choices and international location. Our members end up in a tremendous variety of roles from managing director to business strategist to management consultant in over 170 countries around the world. As a way of consolidating the work you've done in your first degree, it really is very difficult to beat.

Tamara Singh :

LLB Law from the University of Nottingham. ACCA finalist, due to take final exams December 2005. Currently on the finance stream of the graduate scheme at the power company, Centrica.

I'd originally intended to be a lawyer but decided to change track and opted for accountancy and ACCA as I wanted to get an internationally recognised professional qualification. When I first joined Centrica I worked on management reporting before moving over to a controls project where I managed to save the company a fairly substantial amount of money. That led them to nominate me for the Independent Graduate of the Year competition, which I'm very pleased to say I won.

I think that one of the biggest surprises about accountancy, has been just how much I have enjoyed it, particularly since it wasn't my first career choice. Working in accountancy or rather finance, which is a much more accurate description, allows you to plug into all aspects of the business and help identify ways to improve it. It gives you the information you need to drive change - information that's not generally available to people in other areas - and, as such, it's both very commercial and very exciting. It's also, perhaps, the most high profile area in any organisation - you literally get to meet and work with everyone from sales and marketing people to technical specialists to general management. Consequently, it's a great platform for anyone who wants to make the move up to a senior management role such as finance, or even managing, director.

"I think that one of the biggest surprises about accountancy has been just how much I have enjoyed it"

I've also been very pleasantly surprised about the level of support that I've received from ACCA throughout my training. They really seem to take a personal interest and are always there when you need them. However, the most important thing is that I'll soon have a qualification, which is recognised and valued right around the globe and across a wide spectrum of industries. It means that I'll have opportunities in my career that few, if any, other options could have provided.

Alastair Goddin -

Business Administration and Human Psychology at Aston University. Qualified ACCA 2003. Current role Operational Risk Manager with the insurance specialist, Primary Group

Ihad holiday jobs at Royal and Sun Alliance while at university and enjoyed my time there. So, I decided to join their finance graduate scheme when I graduated. I had a choice of which accountancy body to opt for, but went for ACCA because it seemed to be a genuinely international set-up and would allow me to either work in commerce and industry or in an auditing firm in the future. In my current role, I work with the company's various units and subsidiaries to identify and assess the risks they face and recommend ways of dealing with them.

I suppose I had the usual preconceptions of accountancy as a very technical, "back-room", subject, so, I was really surprised about how commercial you need to be. You are not just a recorder of figures, by any means - you need to get under the skin of the business and find out what makes it tick. That means you're dealing with people at all levels and from a very wide range of specialisations and have to be able to communicate with them easily and fluently.

"Of course, like anything worthwhile, a career in accountancy isn't an easy option"

It certainly puts paid to the idea of accountants tucked away somewhere poring over ledgers -“ I'm out and about all the time, looking at the problems we face and coming up with the solutions that will make us more and more successful in the future.

Of course, like anything worthwhile, a career in accountancy isn't an easy option the exams were certainly tough, although nothing you can't cope with, particularly with the high level of support you get from ACCA. But it does open up a very wide range of career choices, both at home and overseas  I've already worked in Canada, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands and of course the UK, so, I'm living proof it works.