Anonymous wrote
I am an Indian by nationality. I recently got a job offer from one of the Big 4 firms to train at the Internal Audit department as a graduate trainee. The company will sponsor my ACA also in the meanwhile.I did my under graduation from the University of Delhi in India and got an additional degree from Germany after that. I did one internship with this Big 4 in Germany for 6 months and then was sent by the company (as one of the best interns) for a rigorous traineeship to Manhattan, New York (again 6 months). The company now finally offered me a full time job (Graduate Trainee - Internal Audits, Advisory) with the ACA training. I am 24 years old. My work visa is of course sponsored by the company and is valid for 5 years. So now, I was wondering about the next prudent step. The important question for me is if the top league investment banks value the Internal Audit experience + ACA degree from a Big 4. Or shall an MBA after 3 years be the better step? I took my GMAT exam recently and got a score of 730. (just for information - the average at Harvard Business School is 710).Or I could have some offers to work as an analyst right now with some banks. But do the analysts at banks really learn? I heard all they do is data collection. But of course they are better paid than the Big 4 jobs. But then again the Big 4 offers excellent client interaction. I heard that after my ACA and MBA from a top bracket school, I could become an associate directly with an investment bank. How true is that? So there are so many things getting creating confusion at this time. Kindly suggest an action plan. I would be grateful!
A manager at Marks Sattin wrote:
In such a complicated situation, our best advice would be to come in and talk to one of our consultants - assuming your current requirements are for work in the UK. If you are looking for work in the USA - which is the impression you are giving, you are probably best talking to a US-based recruitment consultant as they will be better placed to offer advice on the US markets. I'm sorry we couldn't offer more help on this occasion.
All the best in making that decision!
About the WH Marks Sattin Job Doctor
WH Marks Sattin is a specialist recruitment agency dealing with accountancy, finance, tax and consultancy professionals. This is our Job Doctor forum/blog.
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Looking for a career change? Want some advice on which industries are good to get into at the moment?
Go on, ask our consultants some questions! If you want you can comment on our answers... We hope you find it useful!
1. Click "comments" on any of the previous posts (even if it isn't related to your question
2. Type in your question in the box
3. Select "anonymous" if you don't have your own account
4. Click "Publish your comment"
We will try to answer your question in 3 to 5 days.
http://www.whmarkssattin.com/
Looking for jobs in IT? Why not talk to our sister company Greythorn - specialist IT recruiter.
Friday, 3 August 2007
From public sector to commerce
Anonymous wrote
I am an ACMA with over 20 years experience in financial and management accounts. For the last 5 years I've worked in the public and not-for-profit sectors, latterly in FP&A, but have found that I'm now 'typecast' in these roles.What are the steps that I should take to successfully return to the commercial world?
A consultant at Marks Sattin wrote:
Although working in the public and not for profit industry can be rewarding, it is not generally perceived to be good experience from which to move into the commercial sector, and you will find it difficult to make this transition. Your recent experience within FP&A also means that the roles that will suit you best will be commercial positions that are highly sought after. I would suggest moving into a more competitive area of public sector such as the housing organisations as these are better respected.
All the best
I am an ACMA with over 20 years experience in financial and management accounts. For the last 5 years I've worked in the public and not-for-profit sectors, latterly in FP&A, but have found that I'm now 'typecast' in these roles.What are the steps that I should take to successfully return to the commercial world?
A consultant at Marks Sattin wrote:
Although working in the public and not for profit industry can be rewarding, it is not generally perceived to be good experience from which to move into the commercial sector, and you will find it difficult to make this transition. Your recent experience within FP&A also means that the roles that will suit you best will be commercial positions that are highly sought after. I would suggest moving into a more competitive area of public sector such as the housing organisations as these are better respected.
All the best
Friday, 27 July 2007
A career change from accountancy
Anonymous wrote
I am a recently qualified accountant (ACA). I trained working for a large audit firm. I have a Multimedia systems degree and three As at A Levels. My degree covered diverse areas from animation to web and database design, although I limited programming experience. I am looking for a career change. I was wondering if financial software companies take on accountants as trainee developers?
Managers at Marks Sattin and her sister company, Greythorn, who specialise in IT recruitment wrote:
One thing that you will have to face is that you will experience quite a considerable pay cut if you want to move away from accountancy. You will however be in quite a good position due to your understanding of financial systems.
Our recommendation would be to approach the HR department in your current company to see whether a secondment into the information systems department would be possible. If this opportunity is not available to you, you are best trying to apply to financial software companies on their graduate training programmes. Even if it was a while ago that you graduated, the new laws on age discrimination mean that you will still have a chance to get on to these programmes.
Unfortunately Greythorn doesn't deal with graduate opportunities, but by all means come back to us in the future if you need help.
All the best in your search
I am a recently qualified accountant (ACA). I trained working for a large audit firm. I have a Multimedia systems degree and three As at A Levels. My degree covered diverse areas from animation to web and database design, although I limited programming experience. I am looking for a career change. I was wondering if financial software companies take on accountants as trainee developers?
Managers at Marks Sattin and her sister company, Greythorn, who specialise in IT recruitment wrote:
One thing that you will have to face is that you will experience quite a considerable pay cut if you want to move away from accountancy. You will however be in quite a good position due to your understanding of financial systems.
Our recommendation would be to approach the HR department in your current company to see whether a secondment into the information systems department would be possible. If this opportunity is not available to you, you are best trying to apply to financial software companies on their graduate training programmes. Even if it was a while ago that you graduated, the new laws on age discrimination mean that you will still have a chance to get on to these programmes.
Unfortunately Greythorn doesn't deal with graduate opportunities, but by all means come back to us in the future if you need help.
All the best in your search
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Practice, commerce or legal accounts...
Conor wrote:
I am a qualified AAT (2001) together with a few other similar level accounting quals. My most recent assignments were in Internal Audit with a big 4 & a top 20 firm. Due to Regulatory changes in Sarbanes Oxley, I have been made redundant in March. Since then I have been completing the AAT Bookkeeping Certificate Course, Excel NVQ level 3, and Sage Line 50, so that I may return to an accounting role working as part of a team on a salary range of between £20 to £25K, I am interested in either practice, commerce or the accounts office of a legal firm (they always request legal accts experience?) What areas do you suggest? What challenges / difficulties will I face to get back into work?
A manager in the public practice team wrote:
It's very difficult to say with the limited information you've provided, though junior roles for individuals with this sort of experience are not in abundance within Public Practice. Internal Audit candidates are always in demand and the most likely avenue for you to pursue should be within the commercial sector where the demand is greatest.
I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck.
I am a qualified AAT (2001) together with a few other similar level accounting quals. My most recent assignments were in Internal Audit with a big 4 & a top 20 firm. Due to Regulatory changes in Sarbanes Oxley, I have been made redundant in March. Since then I have been completing the AAT Bookkeeping Certificate Course, Excel NVQ level 3, and Sage Line 50, so that I may return to an accounting role working as part of a team on a salary range of between £20 to £25K, I am interested in either practice, commerce or the accounts office of a legal firm (they always request legal accts experience?) What areas do you suggest? What challenges / difficulties will I face to get back into work?
A manager in the public practice team wrote:
It's very difficult to say with the limited information you've provided, though junior roles for individuals with this sort of experience are not in abundance within Public Practice. Internal Audit candidates are always in demand and the most likely avenue for you to pursue should be within the commercial sector where the demand is greatest.
I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck.
Becoming an account assistant
Anonymous wrote:
I am currently studying for Foundation In Finance (Diploma) and have successfully completed basic bookkeepig, purchase ledger, sales ledger and final accounts 1. But still studying for Sageline 50, excel proficient, data entry, and powerpoint profient. I am finding it difficult to work as an account assistant as the recruiters seem to want someone with some experiance, any advice?
A consultant at Marks Sattin wrote:
It is always very difficult to get your foot in the door as employers do tend to look for as much experience as possible - even for more junior roles. I would suggest that you do some voluntary work for a charity and also get as much advice as you can from your careers officer or tutor (if you are studying at a college). If not, I can only recommend that your are very persistent and write to lots of firms in your local area.
All the best in your search!
I am currently studying for Foundation In Finance (Diploma) and have successfully completed basic bookkeepig, purchase ledger, sales ledger and final accounts 1. But still studying for Sageline 50, excel proficient, data entry, and powerpoint profient. I am finding it difficult to work as an account assistant as the recruiters seem to want someone with some experiance, any advice?
A consultant at Marks Sattin wrote:
It is always very difficult to get your foot in the door as employers do tend to look for as much experience as possible - even for more junior roles. I would suggest that you do some voluntary work for a charity and also get as much advice as you can from your careers officer or tutor (if you are studying at a college). If not, I can only recommend that your are very persistent and write to lots of firms in your local area.
All the best in your search!
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