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FA C T S H E E T

Accountancy and Tax

Sector overview

The accounting and professional services sector employs high numbers of graduates and
according to the annual survey of the UK’s top 100 graduate employers - The Graduate Market,
High Fliers Research Limited – the accounting and financial services sector was the second
largest recruiter of graduates in 2021. Read an overview of the accounting sector and
information about key sector trends (such as technology, security and the impact of covid-19) on
the career e-learning platform.

Although useful, a degree in an accounting or a related finance degree is not essential to embark
upon a career in accountancy or tax, as gaining a professional qualification and training will play
a key part in your first years of working. Accountants can work in small or large firms and in
every sector and business imaginable, from small enterprises, public and voluntary sector
organisations, banks, charities, manufacturing companies, local authorities, publishers, film
companies, football clubs, hospital trusts, universities, large multinational corporations – the list is
almost endless!

The global demand for accountancy and financial management skills means that qualifying in this
profession can provide access to job opportunities across a broad range of services in all sectors
world-wide. Tax professionals typically work as ‘tax advisers’ in: accountancy or financial services
practice, specialist tax advice companies, ‘in-house’ at a large company outside of the financial
services industry, or as ‘tax inspectors’ working for HM Revenue & Customs in the Civil Service.
You can see an overview of careers in accounting on the career e-learning platform.

What skills may I need?

The skills you may need vary according to the employer and the job role you apply for. It is
strongly advised that you familiarise yourself with the employer’s website and consult the job
advert and person specification for information on the skills needed for each role.
Important skills for accountancy and tax careers typically include:

 High level of motivation and commitment to combine work and study

 Ability to explain complicated information to people who are not familiar with finance
 Teamwork, collaborative working and interpersonal skills

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 Commercial awareness and understanding of current issues

 Time management and ability to meet tight deadlines
 Professionalism and an ethical mind-set
 Good numeracy, analytical and problem solving skills
 IT proficiency and digital skills

How do I gain work experience?

Placements and Internships

Employers in this sector place a strong emphasis on previous work experience and many offer
summer internships or a placement year for undergraduate students, which can potentially lead
to a place on a graduate training scheme. Internships can also potentially be filled by recent
graduates in the summer before they join a master’s level degree course. A number of
employers offer ‘Insight’ days/weeks for first year undergraduates. For explanations of
opportunity types, see the job search help sheet.

Work experience schemes are integral to recruitment, with recruiters able to offer a student a
graduate position often one year before they have completed their studies. Work experience is
therefore critical in terms of improving your employment prospects.

The Big Four accountancy/professional services firms: PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG, as well as
mid-tier firms like Grant Thornton and BDO, offer accountancy/tax and internships/placements in
the UK and globally. Many other large, medium and small organisations also offer work
experience. During the pandemic, many internships were online, and some placements involved
remote working. We are currently seeing a mix of online and on-site opportunities. Use the
student services portal, targetjobs, ratemyplacement, prospects and milkround to search for
opportunities.

Informal work experience and shadowing

Contacting firms directly with a speculative application is another approach to gaining work
experience and work shadowing. Use the member directories on the relevant professional body
websites (listed on page 5) and business directories for ideas about employers to contact.

You could also consider connecting with Durham alumni on LinkedIn via the ‘Durham University
Alumni’ group and the ‘Alumni’ tool (which can be accessed from the ‘school’ page), to build
contacts and to enquire about informal work experience. See the LinkedIn help sheets and
LinkedIn e-learning topics.

Volunteering, part-time jobs and vacation work are also useful ways to gain experience and
develop employability skills. Take a look at the Student Services Portal, DUVO, and Do IT Life for
ideas.

What can I do at Durham?

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In addition to gaining work experience there are many ways you can make the most of your time
at Durham University, to prepare yourself for a career in accountancy or tax and develop the
relevant skill.
The Careers & Enterprise team host a range of employer events and sector forums. Browse
the Student Services Portal for details of upcoming events.
Look at the Developing Employability Skills guide for ideas about how to develop skills and
experience.

How can I find opportunities?

Graduate schemes, as well as internships and placements in this sector are widely available.
Employers advertise vacancies on their own websites, on the student services portal and the
vacancy sources listed on page 2, with a view to recruiting students or finalists who can start
work the following summer. Many firms will complete their recruitment over the Christmas/New
Year period. If you miss this deadline don’t give up, because employers who close their
recruitment early will sometimes re-open it later.

Many employers continue to recruit all year round (including the Big Four) for immediate start
positions. Remember also that there are lots of opportunities outside of the Big Four and other
larger accountancy firms. The professional bodies listed on page 5 are a useful source of
vacancies, as well as eFinancialCareers, GAAP Web, City Jobs, CIMA Grad Club, ICAEW
training vacancies, Accountancy Careers, ACCA Accountancy & Finance Jobs, CIMA Jobs,
Public Finance Jobs and Top Financial Jobs.

What jobs can I do in this sector?

To understand more about the different strands of accountancy and to help you decide which one
may be most attractive to you, Bright Network offers a useful overview. You can watch
accounting and financial services career pathways videos on the career e-learning platform,
while Prospects website also provides key information on a number of relevant job roles,
including:

Chartered Accountant
Chartered Certified Accountant
Chartered Management Accountant
Chartered Public Finance Accountant
Senior Tax Professional/Tax Inspector
Tax Adviser
Company Secretary
Corporate Treasurer
Financial Manager
Financial Risk Analyst
Accounting Technician

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The professional bodies (listed on page 4) also give a useful overview of the key accountancy
and tax professions.

Postgraduate study
It is not necessary to complete a postgraduate course to become an accountant or tax
professional, because professional qualifications can be gained whilst training in a graduate role.
The value of postgraduate study will, however, vary depending on your career plans. Some
employers tell us that the ideal combination is a relevant postgraduate qualification plus
experience. Other employers look for an undergraduate degree plus experience. Investigate
exactly what your ideal employer looks for in potential candidates. There is a wide choice of
accounting and finance related postgraduate courses in the UK. A good tip is to speak to the
careers centre at the university you are interested in applying to, in order to find out what
graduates do after graduation and undertake some research using university alumni tools on
LinkedIn.
Useful places to search for masters courses are: Prospects and FindAMasters.

Professional bodies and industry organisations

Professional bodies represent practitioners working within specific sectors. They play an integral
role in professional development and training and are often an excellent source of graduate
vacancies. You will often also find useful current news items, blogs and sector updates on the
websites of professional bodies. For anyone with a specific career role in mind it is very
important to establish what support, information and opportunities are available through the
respective professional body.

The main professional bodies and industry organisations in this sector are:

Accountancy
 Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
 Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS)
 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
 Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA)
 Chartered Accountants Ireland
 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Ireland
 Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA)
 Association of Accountancy Technicians
 Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators
 Institute of Financial Consultants

Tax

 Chartered Institute of Taxation

 Association of Taxation Technicians

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Further information
This Fact Sheet is one of many available in our Career Sector series. If you’re interested in this
field, you may also wish to explore our other Fact Sheets on:
 Actuarial Work

 Banking and Finance

If this Fact Sheet is required in an alternative format, please contact us at

careers@durham.ac.uk.

Any questions?
Ask a careers question to get in contact with us about anything careers-related.

Our services
You can find out more about the services we offer on the Careers & Enterprise Centre website.
Current students can also access our Supporting Students website.

Disclaimer
August 2022. Durham University and the Durham University logo are registered Trade Marks of the
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making any commitments.

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