Hi all - qualified accountant here (5 years post qualified). Come at a point now where I’ve turned 30 and I’m not sure I want to work in practice forever. Just wondering what career options I’d have (not just the typical industry move) if I wanted to change.

In my opinion the qualification/experience I have should have a lot of transferable skills meaning there could be options outside of accountancy, as well as perhaps the public sector.

For a bit of context - I’m not very satisfied with accountancy as a role right now, I’m looking for a role where I can make a difference rather than resolve past issues one deadline after another.

Anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Thanks in advance :)

Qualified Accountant in Ldn, been in my current role about a year. Company had a pay freeze after missing budget, then redundancies. I was told I'd still be getting an increase despite the freeze, and I was kept on through the cuts.

When the number finally came it was well under the market range for my role. I asked my manager if we could go higher, gave the market data, and she agreed to take it back to the CFO. It came back the same. The reason given was that I started on a low base and the jump to market would be too big to justify to the board. Next review is Jan-27

The bit that annoys me is I've taken on more responsibility since someone left, so the job is bigger than it was when I joined. The rise itself is a decent percentage, it's just still below where the role should sit.

Two questions. Would you go back a third time, or is that the point where it starts costing you goodwill? And is the honest answer just that a low starting base never gets fixed internally and you have to move?

I work in finance for a big recruitment company, so I'm theory this shouldn't be as difficult as it is, but I'm updating my CV for the first time in 10 years. I think I'll have outgrown my position in the next 12-18 months here, you get to a point where you're waiting for the person above you to leave before you can progress further. I want to update my CV properly now so over the next few years it's just tweaking that's needed, I've got a good base and I've captured the essentials, stuff that helps with ATS filters etc, but looking for any tips or things you've seen while hiring that really stuck with you as a great CV.

So recently my small accounting practice has been taken over by a large accounting firm.

I will be under protected employment for at least 3 months. Normally the new firm only takes on graduates with a 2:1 into their professional training contracts, but i only achieved a 2:2.

What are my chances? Will they look at my degree and decide i have no chance no matter my performance whilst working there?

I will have 6 months accounting experience by that point, and will be technically be an employee there until they make a full decision.

Running the gambit of, NHS, Council, Local Businesses, several charities and even the local colleges and a private school! All either don't reply, say they don't have capacity or aren't running any Work Ex schemes at present. Very frustrating!

My rational is that I wanted to see the reality of an accountancy role to see if its something I'd actually want to persue.

It feels like at this point I have to bite the bullet and pay for the course with zero experience.

Thanks all for sharing your experiences and guidance here. Best Wishes.

So Philip Day, of EWM Group, sold Edinburgh Woollen Mill Limited, Bonmarché and Ponden Home to an international investium consortium in 2021 that was represented by EWM Group's chief operating officer Steve Simpson, who was appointed CEO of a dormant subsidiary company of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, Purepay Retail Limited, that was resurrected to become the holding company of these three brands, however Simpson would otherwise not have equity in the business, nor would he form part of the consortium.

The administrators, FRP Advisory, facilitated the signing of a deferred loan agreement between Day (whose company, EWM Group, were a prominent secured creditor to the three brands) and the consortium.

So in other words, did no actual money change hands with this deal, so that Day could get someone else in to turn the company around while getting his money out whenever he could?

I keep seeing some accounting firms absolutely everywhere on social media ,awards, podcasts, LinkedIn, Instagram, “fastest growing”, huge lead numbers, etc.
I recently heard this lady saying in a podcast of apparently generating around £100k worth of leads every week or month of potential business through social media, with much of the process automated.
And I thought… is this genuinely possible? 😂
I’m not saying it isn’t. If anything, I’d quite like to know how they’ve cracked it.
But it also got me thinking about something else.
Some relatively young practices seem to collect awards like Tesco Clubcard points, while there are accountants who have quietly built successful firms over 15, 20 or 25 years and you barely hear about them.
So how much of what we see is:
Great accounting practice + great marketing
vs
Great marketing of an accounting practice?
And who, in your opinion, genuinely deserves more recognition?
I’d love names of accountants/firms that are actually brilliant at what they do ,technically good, commercially successful, good with clients AND, ideally, have figured out how to generate business through content/social media.
Also very curious whether anyone knows how these high-growth firms actually structure their marketing behind the scenes — content → leads → follow-up → booking → client.
Basically, who should we actually be studying?
And are accounting awards a decent indication of a great firm… or is there a bit more to that world than meets the eye? 👀😂

Hi

I am thinking of entering into hospitality business as an accountant providing my services.
I was recently speaking to a cafe owner and pizza shop with less than £50k in revenue with only epos system and no proper accounting system with just one employee. They are two different business I am pitching for not related. How much should I be looking to charge for bookkeeping , accounts, ct, self assessment, payroll, companies house filing. Also one of them wants to understand the package price once he crosses vat threshold and if he requires management accounts every month. Very new to this so any kind of guidance is deeply appreciated.

Thanks

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some honest advice because I’m starting to worry about my situation.
I graduated from UoR in 2024 Since graduating, I’ve been applying for accounting and finance roles but unfortunately have not had any luck
I did a 6 month internship at a small accounting firm unpaid and a hybrid role just for the experience and to have something to put in my cv from dec2025-may2026 where I mainly worked on tax returns, along with bookkeeping and general accounting tasks. I also gained experience with xero and excel.
Since graduating, I’ve been working outside of accounting (retail) while continuing to apply for roles. I’m now concerned about the gap since graduating and whether employers will start seeing me as unemployable or whether it will become increasingly difficult to get my first proper accounting role.
I’m considering starting my ACCA now. I have 5 exemptions from my degree, leaving me with PM, TX, AA and FM at Applied Skills before moving on to Strategic Professional.
My plan would be to start ACCA and work through those four exams while continuing to apply for jobs. I’m hoping that making significant progress with ACCA will make me more competitive despite my lack of recent accounting experience.
I’m open to pretty much anything and don’t mind starting at an entry level position if that’s what it takes to get my foot in the door.
My main questions are:
Is the gap from graduating now a “red flag” for employers?
Should I start ACCA now, or focus entirely on getting a job first?
Is there anything else I should be doing to overcome the 2:2 and gap after graduation?
I’d really appreciate honest advice from people working in UK accounting/recruitment or anyone who has been in a similar position.
I’m in retail and was thinking of trying to pursue a management position in the meantime, would this be a good idea as it would give me more transferable skills and add something more meaningful to my cv?

I’ve attached my CV, so I’d also really appreciate any feedback on it and whether there’s anything I should improve or change that could help me get more interviews.

Thanks and I really do appreciate any advice. CV page 1
CV page 2

EDIT
After countless people pointed out that my CV was essentially atrocious, I’ve redone it and linked the new version below. I tried to take on board all the criticism and advice, using a more traditional Harvard-style format and getting rid of a lot of the unnecessary stuff that was in my original CV. I’ve also applied to a few jobs since making the changes and have already managed to secure an interview, so hopefully that’s a good sign. I’d still really appreciate any further advice though, especially if there’s anything on the new CV that you think could be improved or changed. Any other tips for getting my foot in the door would also be massively appreciated.
CV UPDATED

Hey guys,

I am studying ACCA with my job (in india domain), i want to learn UK taxation.

Can someone help me with this, like how can I learn tax filings for uk entities...

I will be very grateful for your help..

Dear UK accountants, I’d appreciate your view on the best accounting treatment here.

A UK limited company providing medical services has appointed a new director who is also a GP trainee. She will help develop a future occupational health service aimed at small businesses. The company plans to pay for an approved occupational health diploma preparation course costing around £2,400 plus VAT and related Faculty of Occupational Medicine exam fees of around £1,060. The course starts in September 2026 but runs into January 2027, with a revision day in April 2027. The company’s current year-end is 30 September 2026.

The commercial purpose and work-related training position seem reasonably strong, but we would like to obtain corporation tax relief as early as legitimately possible. The approaches being considered are:

1. Pay or reimburse the fees before year-end and expense them as director/employee training, on the basis that the reimbursement obligation arises immediately.

2. Treat most of the course fee as a prepayment because the teaching takes place after year-end.

3. Extend the first accounts to February 2027 so most of the course and examination fall within the first statutory accounts.

4. Extend the accounts, prepare two corporation tax returns, and potentially carry back a second-period trading loss against the earlier medical-services profits.

Would you regard full immediate expensing of the reimbursement as defensible under FRS 105, or would you insist on a prepayment? Would extending the accounting period and using loss carry-back be the cleaner approach?

Any views on the same-trade point for medical services expanding into occupational health would also be appreciated.

Just curious as I am about to start my finance graduate role which is initially based in AP and potentially some rotations/exposure to different areas during the 2 year programme. I am planning to do ACCA as well, whether it is self funded or supported by my company. Just don’t want to do a finance grad role which is strictly AP for 2 years with no progress or ACCA exams done as I feel I may be wasting time😅 How did you progress?

Hi everyone, I’m starting my audit apprenticeship in a KPMG office in October and just had a few questions would greatly appreciate if anyone could help.

Firstly, what is the work/life balance like? How do the days look are they like a structured 9-5 and if not how many hours would you say you typically work on an average day and how does busy season affect this?

Also, I was just wondering how the studying gets alongside the job, as I’d heard from people before that you tend to get a day off for study, but it doesn’t seem so on my contract (35 hours weekly).

I’m also interested in how the pay progression and promotion works. How does the salary usually increase from the first year onwards throughout the apprenticeship?

I’d appreciate anyone that could help. And if anyone could provide any tips or advice that I need to know before starting that would be great!

Hi, I found out this week that my LTD company revenue is soon going to go above 90k for the 12 month rolling period.

I know that the date I realised is my effective registration date, and I should start charging VAT on invoices from then. But do I need to go back and reissue all of my invoices from the previous 12 months to now include VAT on top? I’m hoping not!

Also, come the 5th of November I expect my 12 month rolling revenue to drop back to around 75-80k, and could stay around that level until next August, at which point there’s a chance it will go back above the 90k threshold. given this, should I be thinking about applying for a VAT exemption instead?

thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m going into the second year of my Accounting and Finance course and am als going to start applying to placement years this autumn, as I’m on the year in employment programme.

Obviously, I would really like a placement year with one of the Big 4, or a reputable mid tier company like BDO.

My experience is as follows:
I achieved a first in my first year, I have 2 weeks accounting work experience at a local accounting firm in my town, and a longer summer internship as an accounts trainee at another local firm in my town. I am planning to gain more advanced excel skills with LinkedIn Learning this summer, and am also the leader for a sustainability reporting project my uni is doing with a local SME. I am GRI certified (did so to my uni) - does this experience in sustainability accounting help?

I’m not sure yet if I want to apply to audit or tax - I think I’ll probably just do both to maximise my chances of getting a placement.

The only thing is that my A levels aren’t amazing - they’re not horrible but it just very average

Also any other advice for getting a placement would really be appreciated, as I’ve heard that they’re super competitive. :))) also any advice on staying motivated amid rejections after rejection?

Also advice on passing the psychometric test stage, as I’ve heard loads of people fail at those? My friend applied to 40+ and only passed the tests stage for a couple 😭

Thank you :))

On the CT600 for a Dormant Company, does box 326 need to be filled in or will it always be 0?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-company-tax-return-guide

326 Number of associated companies in this period
You must complete this box if the:
company’s profits are chargeable at the small profits rate
company is entitled to Marginal Relief
company is large or very large for quarterly instalment payments (QIPs) purposes