“Great flexibility, opportunities are endless.” ACCA graduates tell us why they chose an Accounting career

We could go on all we want about what makes accountancy such a great career, but it would sound better coming from some accountants themselves, right?

Seetal KC, an ACCA student and Griffith College Dublin graduate, chose ACCA because it offers great flexibility and provides an internationally recognised qualification. After joining a small audit practice on a three month internship, he was then attracted to the BDO Graduate Programme and was successful in joining their Outsourcing Department in January 2011.

He told us: As a trainee in BDO I've had opportunities to work for a wide range of clients and my duties range from bookkeeping to preparing month end reports, reporting back to clients on a monthly basis and assisting in the preparation of annual accounts.

The experience gained with different ERP and accounting systems is invaluable to my career progression. BDO's structured training programme supports trainees through ACCA exams. BDO offered me paid study leave, time off to attend lectures and access to a mentor.

ACCA appealed to me as it offers great flexibility and provides an internationally recognised qualification.

Due to my academic background in Accounting and Finance, I received 9 exemptions from the ACCA exams. ACCA has enabled me to develop the necessary skills to become a competent professional accountant which is a highly valued career globally.

Stephen McIntyre graduated from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown with a BA Honours in Accountancy and joined Baker Tilly Mooney Moore in 2010.

He was attracted to the ACCA Graduate Programme because he knew he would gain experience across a range of specialities, wanted to be part of an international network and was keen to work in a medium sized practice. He was also impressed by the study support package and the firm's exam success rates.

He told us: At Baker Tilly Mooney Moore I have been given the opportunity to gain external audit and accounting experience by working with a wide range of clients including, limited companies, partnerships and sole traders in various sectors. These assignments involve working on my own or as part of a team, either in the office or at client's premises.

I decided to study for the ACCA Qualification and actually gained exemptions from eight exams through my degree. I attended classes at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown and found the development of online tutorials a great help when revising for my exams. As the firm is an independent member of the Baker Tilly international network there are opportunities for staff to be seconded to other member firms around the world.