The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a prestigious accountancy body that provides students with strategic academic guidance in the field of accountancy. With an ACCA accreditation under your belt, you can contribute your services to diverse financial and management domains. This professional qualification holds global recognition and appeal as it provides candidates with practical experience of an accounting job.

The ACCA qualification enables students to land lucrative career opportunities as well as earning a handsome income. Let us look into the details of careers with ACCA qualification and their respective job responsibilities:

Public Accountant (Average annual salary: £55,000) – Public accounting is a sought-after career path for students aiming to obtain an ACCA qualification. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) provides accounting services to an accounting firm and engages in contracts with individuals, businesses and corporations. Public accountants provide the following services to their clients:

  • Completing tax returns;
  • Preparing and maintaining financial records;
  • Compiling monthly statements;
  • Auditing financial statements;
  • Handling outsourced accounting functions;
  • Engaging in consulting activities;
  • Installing large computer systems;
  • Providing litigation support;
  • Reconstructing damaged accounting records.

Forensic Accountant (Average annual salary: £36,301) – Forensic accounting is primarily required to solve fraud cases in business. Forensic accountants or investigators utilise accounting, auditing and investigative skills to analyse the finances of an individual or organisation. They are hired by government agencies, insurance companies, banks, police forces and public accounting firms. Their job responsibilities include:

  • Investigating criminal activities or financial compliances;
  • Explaining the nature of financial crime in court;
  • Preparing visual aids to support trial evidence;
  • Providing accounting analysis suitable to be used in legal proceedings;
  • Analysing, interpreting and summarising complex financial and business matters;
  • Compiling financial evidence;
  • Developing computer applications to manage data;
  • Identifying and recovering assets and tracing funds.

Internal Auditor (Average annual salary: £29,787) – Internal auditors are employed by corporations or government organisations and generally work outside the accounting office. They employ accounting principles, regulations and laws to review transactions and account details. An internal auditor (IA) is a trained professional who performs the following financial and operational tasks:

  • Improving accounting practices, policies and procedures;
  • Providing independent and objective evaluations of business activities and corporate governance;
  • Ensuring that companies are functioning in accordance with the laws and regulations;
  • Examining financial statements, expense reports and inventories;
  • Identifying problems and correcting them before the initiation of external audit;
  • Creating risk assessments for each department of an organisation.

Tax Examiner (Average annual salary: £48,126) – Tax examiners, also known as tax collectors, work for government agencies and are primarily responsible to collect data and confirm that the correct tax has been paid. These accountants should be aware of any changes in the tax law and regulation and apply them appropriately. The following pointers will give you a brief idea about their responsibilities:

  • Assisting citizens and organisations in paying taxes;
  • Reviewing tax returns to identify errors or omissions;
  • Recognising indications of tax fraud;
  • Re-computing tax, penalty or interest;
  • Exercising sound judgement;
  • Handling confidential information.

Corporate Account Manager (Average annual salary: £33,718) – Corporate accountants provide accounting services in accordance with the accounting principles, government regulations and laws. They work in business accounting departments and contribute significantly to decision-making, concerning the future of the company. They execute the following duties:

  • Day-to-day bookkeeping;
  • Preparing budgets and monitoring expenditures;
  • Overseeing external and internal audits;
  • Analysing financial statements and results;
  • Gathering financial data and ledgers and managing periodical reporting;
  • Crafting effective business plans and resolving cost-related issues;
  • Handling monthly, quarterly and annual financial closings.

ACCA qualification opens doors to opportunities all over the world, giving you the chance to branch out into new areas and develop new skills. Achieving this qualification can help a student develop strong financial know-how and the right business acumen to excel in the accounting career.

Source of Average Annual salary: Payscale.com