Chartered Accountants Ireland's Student Services Manager, Diarmuid Breathnach, describes the Top Five reasons why students should elect to become Chartered Accountants.

Training as a Chartered Accountant (CA) opens the door to a vast range of exciting career opportunities in every sector of business and finance, both in Ireland and internationally. In September 2007, Chartered Accountants Ireland's Council agreed to adopt a more flexible approach for students planning to train through business.

Chartered Accountants are Ireland's leading business professionals, providing essential strategic guidance expertise and consulting in business, public practice, government and education. Irish CAs are in constant demand both at home and abroad, being recognised for their technical competence, professional standards, and veracity.

Training as a CA is a journey towards becoming a member of Ireland's largest and fastest-growing accounting body, whose members define and direct Irish business. CA training combines innovative education with mentored work experience, to produce accountants who possess a greater ability to analyse and interpret business problems and develop dynamic solutions.

Perhaps that's why CAs have the edge over their counterparts: CAs rise further and faster into more diverse and important roles in organisations. A quick look at the profiles of those running the leading Irish accountancy firms, or indeed the top ISEQ index companies, shows just how far CAs can rise.

But if I had to set out just five reasons to become a CA today, they would be:

1. The Chartered Accountant Difference

Prospective students often ask what the difference between studying Chartered Accountancy and other accounting qualifications is. The answer is that no other professional accounting qualification provides students with the same support, structure and guidance throughout the training process.

Every professional accountancy body qualification in Ireland requires trainees to have a minimum of 3 years practical experience - we are unique in that we ensure our trainees are supported while they get their experience. Any organisation wishing to train CAs must sign up to, and be assessed against, the Chartered Accountants Ireland's training regulations. These regulations provide an assurance that each trainee will receive the necessary organisational support to successfully complete their CA training.

Whether training in practice or in industry, each CA trainee has a unique, supportive training contract. In addition to normal annual leave entitlements, the training contract guarantees a minimum of 4, 6 or 7 weeks study leave per academic year. It ensures that course and exam fees are paid for by the training organisation and that trainees' success in examinations is reflected in their salaries. Crucially, trainees are guaranteed the breadth of experience necessary to qualify as a CA. Diversity and progressive advancement are the hallmarks of a CA's training experience.

As part of the training contract, each student is assigned a mentor (usually a senior CA in the organisation). The mentor is responsible for ensuring all of the above supports are in place as
well as providing essential career guidance, networking opportunities and role modelling. Research has consistently shown that mentoring relationships greatly enhance the career success of Chartered Accountants.

In short, the Training Contract gives vital support to trainees throughout their studies and training.

2. Examination Success

Where other professional accountancy bodies outsource their education, Chartered Accountancy trainees benefit from classes run directly by their Institute. All but one programme is directly run by Chartered Accountants Ireland's Student Services Unit. Students have greater levels of contact both with their Institute and their lecturers, both of whom work closely together to ensure the highest standards of delivery.

It is widely believed that other accounting qualifications can offer more exemptions from exams than Chartered Accountant students receive. However, this can be a red herring! Chartered Accountants Ireland does not use attractive exemptions to lure students. Instead, we compare each third level syllabus against our own, and where they meet, we offer exemptions. Where they don't, we don't! This honest approach to exemptions places students at the appropriate level, and ensures that the vast majority of students pass their exams on their first attempt.

81% of Irish CA students passed their final exams, 77% of those passed at their first attempt.

An independent analysis of 2006 UK and Ireland professional accounting examinations carried out the by the Professional Oversight Board demonstrates this point. Other accountancy bodies did not fare so well. ACCA had a pass rate of 59% (63% on their first attempt), while the CIMA pass rate was 45% (39% on their first attempt).

This combination of excellence in education and training programmes gives CA trainees the edge over their peers, with most trainees starting and finishing their education and training within 3.5 years.

3. What Does Training Involve?

Becoming a CA involves a combination of academic and professional training. There are a variety of education courses on offer, each with different structures based on local requirements. Most students will attend lectures for the equivalent of 2 weekends a month from October until May.

Some venues have a mixture of evening and weekend lectures, others operate purely on weekends, while the distance learning option comprises 4-day weekend blocks once a month.

What is common to all is the standard of lecturing. CA courses have the finest accounting lecturers in Ireland, all of whom are committed to providing the best possible education to our
students. The technical knowledge gained from the CA course will be the bedrock of your professional career.

During the time with their training organisation, trainees are taught how to apply the technical knowledge learned in the classroom environment to real-life situations; broad-business skills are developed, and mentors instil the values and integrity that are the foundation of a CA's reputation. Training can be either in industry (banks, financial services, manufacturing etc.), in
traditional accountancy practices or in the public sector.

Irrespective of the training environment though, all trainees can expect to be exposed to areas such as financial accounting & reporting, business finance, management accounting, taxation and planning, auditing and assurance, etc.

4. Chartered Accountancy - A Global Qualification

Determining how well received your accountancy qualification is on the global market is an important investigation which should be undertaken by anybody considering a career in accountancy.

Many accountancy bodies operating in Ireland make claims about the global nature of their qualification, or suggest links with larger international accountancy bodies. The next time you hear an accountancy body is global, or has 'links' with other Institutes - ask for details!

For an accountancy qualification to be truly global, foreign institutes must recognise not only your education but also the training you undertook to become qualified. Chartered Accountancy is the only Irish professional accounting qualification that has this recognition worldwide.

The truth is that with other accountancy bodies in Ireland, your qualification is global in the same way that your university degree is global - well recognised, but not in an official capacity. The training you undertake before qualification and the experience you gain post-qualification are necessary to obtain auditing and practicing certificates which entitle you to sign off on audits and accounts. Without these, the ability to operate in a foreign country is severely limited.

Irish CAs have true global mobility with both their education, and crucially, their training, recognised internationally. Unique Mutual Recognition Agreements offer CAs an outstanding entry point to business in any part of the world. An MRA is an agreement between professional bodies which allows membership to transfer from one jurisdiction to another. These agreements have been crafted in line with the most popular working destinations of Irish CAs.

Chartered Accountants are the only Irish accountants which have recognition in both the United States and Canada. Likewise, those looking for an antipodean adventure will be facilitated by exclusive agreements with the Chartered Institutes in both Australia and New Zealand. Chartered Accountants are in such demand in Australia that it is one of the few professions featuring on all skilled immigration routes to Australia: the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), the Employer Nomination Scheme and the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL). As well as these agreements, numerous others are in place with countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, England, Scotland & Wales.

Out of Chartered Accountants Ireland's 15,000 members, there are currently over 2,000 working in over 90 countries. The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), of which Chartered Accountants Ireland is a member, is an alliance of leading professional accountancy bodies representing over 700,000 CAs across the world. This brings enormous benefits to Irish CAs living in, or working in, foreign countries.

5. Career Paths and Rewards

No other career offers the mobility that a CA qualification does. Today's CAs takes on the role of a business advisor, who makes high-level strategic decisions, aimed at driving business, improving profit margins and increasing market share for their clients / employers. Many CAs also use their expertise to form their own businesses, becoming highly successful entrepreneurs.

Along with the technical skills mentioned above, CAs generally have a solid foundation in economics, marketing and management information systems.

As well as dominating public accounting practices, CA are found at the highest level in virtually every sector from healthcare to the music industry. Currently 65% of Irish CAs work in Industry, while 35% are in Practice.

The rewards that go with the CA qualification are significant. A 2007 salary survey found the average salary for a newly qualified CA is between €40K and €55K. And that's at the start of a career - the only way is up!

Courtesy of: Chartered Accountants Ireland

http://www.charteredaccountants.ie/en/

You can check out Courses for Chartered Accountants here http://www.supportingcareers.ie/exhibitors/overview/icai