Accountancy positions are readily available for those who are studying towards qualifications in management, finance and commercial opportunities. However, it should be noted that these part qualified accountant jobs are difficult to secure as a student and preference is usually shown towards those who hold their full qualifications.
job options for part qualified accountants
With that being said, part qualified opportunities could be just the ticket for students seeking to start developing their CV for the next phase in their life. Some of the positions available include:
assistant accountant
Assistant accountants usually take ad hoc duties that support more senior-level accountants within firms and companies. One of the first and foremost functions of the role is to provide financial information to clients and analyse budget issues to ensure businesses are making strategic decisions or private clients are making the most of their finances. It is usually geared towards those with an interest in investments for this reason.
Assistant accountants report to the Financial Controller when performing their duties. Within small teams, assistants usually get quite a bit of exposure to different sorts of tasks, which include preparing monthly and weekly reports for senior management, completing month end reconciliations and keeping the balance sheets up to date. For this reason and direct liaising with senior management, assistants will need to be quite confident in their communication skills and working to the challenge of tight deadlines.
payroll administrator
Those who prefer taking a more hands-on approach to dealing with the personnel side of human resources without neglecting finance may choose to take on payroll administrator jobs. These roles will often require proven experience, but students typically report that they are able to use their qualifications and current standings in college and university for their benefit. They must also have a solid understanding and working of running monthly payroll and good system and procedural skills: something that is usually gained within the classroom.
In terms of duties, payroll administrators will be required to prepare and submit monthly payrolls for their site, deal with employee queries regarding their pay, and make adjustments where required to underpaid or overpaid employees. They will also be required to prepare government documents, like the annual P11D forms and PAYE Settlement Agreement in line with HMRC deadlines.
Various administrative tasks will also be required. They will need to document employee holidays, absences, sick days, etc. and compile this data to reflect departmental performance and make recommendations where required when it comes to the labour force. These will only be recommendations though. It is up to those with more senior positions in HR to act on them.
management accountant
Management accountants find themselves most productive towards the end of the month. This is because this type of accountant primarily deals with the production of the month end pack and in carrying out month end procedures including accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations. Using this information, they will also prepare monthly reports and often find themselves training individuals within the business, often cash handling in nature, how to more effectively deal with their position.
This role is most suitable for those who are already holding CIMA accreditation. However, students who are able to demonstrate high levels of commercial acumen and have held previous positions that were at least supervisory-level in nature will likely be considered. It also offers clear progression into a financial controller position, which is usually given to candidates when they complete their courses.
financial officer
Officers usually come to the role as experienced purchase ledgers, since the role mostly deals with monitoring the effectiveness of buyers and purchasers within the business and observe how cash changes hands in order to ensure profitability. They will usually be responsible for handling paperwork in this capacity, which involves batching and coding invoices (often large volumes), dealing with customer queries, and reconciling accounts along with making any late payments as required. They will sometimes be required to perform credit duties as required: including carrying out credit checks.