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Accounting & Finance

  • Studying: 12%
  • Employed in graduate job: 44%
  • Employed in non-graduate job: 31%
  • Unemployed: 13%
  • Average graduate salary: £21,551
  • Average non-graduate salary: £16,157

Accountancy courses develop your understanding of the context in which accounting is used, and the technical terminology and practices used within the profession. Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

View the best universities for accountancy and finance degrees.

Read Alisdair's story about interning at PwC.

Prospects

A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation almost half of accountancy and finance graduates went into employment. Of these, around 44% went into business and finance professional roles (e.g. trainee chartered accountant) and associate roles (e.g. trader).

Around 15% of accountancy and finance graduates also took jobs as numerical clerks and cashiers, while around 9% were employed as commercial, industrial and public sector managers.

Where are the jobs?

Opportunities are widely available with accountancy firms, investment banks, high street banks, insurance companies, building societies, management consultancies and public sector employers.

The most prominent graduate recruiters are the very large multinational accountancy firms. They use large-scale recruitment campaigns to attract the most promising graduates and have high minimum requirements. There are also opportunities in small to medium-sized employers (SMEs) which specialise in a particular type of work or local area. Public sector organisations need accountants to manage the public's money and invest it in public services. In the UK, a cluster of public sector jobs are available in central London with others available nationwide.

Jobs directly related to your degree

In order to become a qualified accountant you will need to obtain a professional accountancy qualification. UK professional accountancy qualifications are recognised worldwide and are increasingly in demand. There may therefore be opportunities for you to work overseas once you have gained enough relevant experience. A knowledge of finance or accounting and the relevant skills which you have developed are also useful in a huge range of other careers, such as law, journalism, advertising, marketing, public relations, sales and IT.

It is very important to remember that your degree in accountancy and finance has provided you with a range of skills and experience that will make you suitable for a wide variety of graduate level jobs. There are several different types of accountant:

  • Chartered accountant
  • Chartered certified accountant
  • Chartered management accountant
  • Chartered public finance accountant

Jobs where your degree would be useful

  • Investment analyst
  • Financial trader
  • Actuarial consultant or Actuary
  • Banker
  • Credit analyst
  • Management consultant
  • Tax adviser

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.

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