Alfred Said:

Is an AAT course a good way to start a career in accounting?

We Answered:

I haven't had any experience myself but my husband is an accountant. It's a very good starting point, especially for non-graduates and can lead to a decent enough career in itself. If however you want to move onto bigger and better things, you can do Management Accountant courses such as CIMA and ACCA on the back of it.

Antonio Said:

What the best way into accounting as a career?

We Answered:

Find out as much as you can about the various types of accountancy qualifications and the work the accountants do. The library is probably a good starting point for this. Decide which qualification appeals to you the most then contact the appropriate governing body to find out how you can achieve that qualification. Then, take it from there.

Robin Said:

I'm getting two job offers. How important is it to work at a big company to get ahead in an accounting career?

We Answered:

Wow thats difficult. You are choosing between your heart and your head. Normally I would say you are young and have time to develop other career options and move ahead in life but our current economy is very very bad. Many compare it to the Great Depression where people would do ANYTHING to make money (my grandfather had stories of working for 50 cents). At that time people did not look to being fulfilled on their jobs, just providing for their families. We are kinda like in that time period.

If you are living at home with your parents and money is not such a big issue you may want to go with the smaller firm and just get by while enjoying your life after work. If you need to depend on your income, I would also look at the stability of the company as jobs are hard to come by and you don't want to end up unemployed because the company goes under.

Lester Said:

how to start/ develop a career in accounting/ finance?

We Answered:

I am an accountant and in my opinion you are in a very good position to get a junior accounting role within one of the top accounting firms - now junior sounds rubbish but being a graduate it should be approx 20k salary to start with and they should pay for you to do your accountancy studies at one of the training companies and most probably give you the time off to do it. You will probably be studying ACCA or ACA, even though your degree is unrelated you will find you may be exempt from some papers (Their are some law papers within the accountancy qualifications). What I would say is find out all the top accountancy firms located by you and send them all a letter stating you want to get into an accounting role and you wish to study towards a professional accounting qualification I am more than sure you will be successful this way.

Jordan Said:

Is 32 yrs. old too late for a career change to accounting/financial management?

We Answered:

I just came out the Big 4.

They are so diverse that it is highly improbable that you will start out entry level. In the Big 4, you will probably need to get the CPA to move into mgnt. (I had no desire to move into mgnt, so I left). Plus, the Big 4 environment SUCKS! (I will change careers before I work in public accounting ever again, imo)

Another certification route is the CMA (Certified Management Accountant). With that designation, you don't need the 150hr requirement, and you don't need a degree specifically in accounting! (you just need a bach. degree - in ANY field). But that exam is hard..really hard! (there are a lot more business topics on that exam than there is on the CPA). Go to www.imanet.org for more details.

Combine the CMA w/ an MBA, and you'll be knocking down doors!

I know too many accountants who work in this profession who don't have that "accounting" degree.

Rose Said:

What area of Oracle is best for a finance career?

We Answered:

I am not super familiar with Oracle, but I do know SAP and Lawson systems as well as Hyperion Essbase. Oracle is the number 2 player in the market behind SAP. SAP has a broad customer base, but is really big in manfacturing. Their key financial module is FI/CO which us general ledger and management reporting functionality. they also have AP and Asset management which are finacially related. As for Lawsan, same odea, they have GL and SL modules which interact to provide general ledger and management reporting functionality. And also AP and AM. I am sure Oracle has the same. Oracle recently acquired Hyperion which is a very popular reporting tool used by most fortune 500 companies. So for an accountant, i would say learn Oracle general ledger, accounts payable and asset management as well as any management reporting module they might have and definitly learn Hyperion, By the way it does seem like Oracle is gaining ground on SAP and I have heard it is an excellent system.

Marion Said:

Is it possible to pursue a career in forensic accounting with a bachelors degree in finance?

We Answered:

Forensic accounting does sound interesting! Why don't you go to Monster.com and type in forensic accounting in the search criteria and see what qualifications they're asking for? That might be the best solution.

Good luck! =)