accounting

[mews64]

I'm thinking about a career in accounting but not really sure where to start out.. I've got a degree in music and 3 good A levels including Maths but where do I start with no real experience in accounting.?

[buildersmate]

The two main professional Institutions dealing with accountancy are the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). There are a host of others, including separate ones in Scotland and ones for Accuaries and Tax.
Here's the relevant page of advice from ICAEW - I'm taken you to the entry routes pages but you can explore the rest of the site from there - there is quite a lot of info.
http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/159081/ic aew_ga/en/Qualifications/Train_for_the_ACA/Ent ry_routes/ACA_entry_routes
Here's the same thing for CIMA.
http://www2.cimaglobal.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A 82C289-733FD06F/live/root.xsl/16681.htm
The way that many graduates qualify is to find an employer to take you on as a trainee and study part-time during employment.
It is hard graft.

[simonruss]

my girlfriend is 2 years into her ACCA course,before this she had approx 2 years gaining the AAT qualification, she has roughly another 4 years hard study in front of her! depending on how quick you pick things up it could be shorter-but not much. her employer contributes to her college fees but she still has to buy her own books (approx �120 per subject) and pay for any exam fees (approx �60 each) and a yearly registration fee to the AAT to enable her to keep the 'MAAT' bit after her name on her CV. Its not cheap and she says its very repetitive work, think about if you want to become chartered certified (private accounant work-tax, vat etc) or CIMA (more management accountancy). many companies will take you on studying either but then help 'tailor' your learning towards their requirements. There are other jobs in the accountancy role, (ie:book keeping, data entry clerk) that will help get a taste of what to expect and only require a smaller amount of learning/qualification