Practice or Industry? - the choice is yours

Over the last three days, many of you have been sitting your ACA Advanced level exams. I hope these have gone well! July/August is always a funny time of the year with people preparing for exams, planning next steps with hopes for the future - combined with clients taking holidays and the British weather having it's ups and downs.

Whether you're due to qualify soon or qualified a few years ago, there is always speculation and mixed opinions on whether to stay in practice or move to industry.

There can be so much focus on getting through the exams whilst balancing workloads (understandably) that sometimes there isn't time to consider the best route to take once-qualified. There are typically two main areas that people tend to think about. Whether to stay in practice or move in-house. The most common in-house options are; Industry & Commerce, Financial Services, Not for Profit or Corporate Finance.

If you are looking to move in-house one day, the best route to take depends on your current experience and client exposure.

Pros to moving to a larger Practice;

• Clear progression routes with tailored training
• Working with larger clients meaning that you can then work for a larger in-house client one day - offering more scope for progression
• Gaining new or deeper exposure to clients within a sector that you are passionate about (and may like to move in-house with in the future)
• If desired, you can have the chance to move internally to gain experience in Corporate Finance or other areas of interest e.g tax. I have seen an influx of tax accountants wanting to move to do pure accounts - practice is the best route for this to happen
• Some in-house clients will only look at candidates from larger/Big4/top6 firms (silly I know)
• Having a reputable well-known practice client on your CV

Pros to moving in-house;

• Chances of an increased initial salary - (currently staring at 55K outside of London through to 65K+ in London) - though think about scope for progression also
• Working within a sector that you are passionate about
• Working in a fast-paced, commercial environment
• You may have more responsibility and ownership of financial decisions within the business - usually if joining a smaller company
• Potentially working in a close-knit finance team offering a sense of 'belonging'

In the last seven years (I've been at Michael Page for too long!) I've definitely seen the scope for newly-qualified accountants definitely change. Previously, in-house clients would typically only want big4 or top6 candidates who have had audit exposure to huge FTSE listed companies. Most clients wanted candidates with first time passes in their exams and ideally first class degrees from red brick universities. Now however, there is so much more flexibility. I think this is due to some really strong smaller firms offering commercial exposure and strong training. I also think that people working remotely during the pandemic (with increased autonomy) has led to clients trusting their staff more. Leading to more flexibility and inclusivity when hiring.

Some industry clients now want candidates with a variety of accounts exposure which excludes most big4 accountants. This means that candidates who before would have had no choice but to make the move to a larger firm now have more options to consider.

If you are currently in a small firm, I would advise you to go to a larger practice for at least a year once qualified. Some people say 'well my friend moved into Industry (into a small start-up) so I'll be fine. This may be true - though if you leave practice with only exposure to clients with small turnovers, you will be limited on the size of industry client that you can move to, therefore potentially stunting progression with that client but then limiting yourself to only small clients in the future.

Candidates who usually do really well with industry moves are typically from a Big4/top20 firm doing pure audit with large clients OR have personable client experience in a small firm (accounts and audit) and also large firm exposure (Big4/top20) - this shows best of both with working with small and large clients in different capacities.

I work alongside the Practice, FS, I&C and NfP consultants at Michael Page. I am fully candidate-focused, meaning that I don't have my own jobs to fill. This means that I can offer impartial advice without the incentive of persuading someone to take a route that is going to benefit me directly.

I often advise candidates in small and mid-tier firms that for long-term career progression, a year or so in a larger Practice will offer more exposure and mean that if/when looking for industry later down the line, you can have more choice in the type of client that you choose to work for. With larger client exposure, you will then have the choice between moving to a start up company or a large FTSE. You can specialise within a sector, get to know your clients and gain a sense of what it would be like to work for them internally. Many candidates assume that working in industry will give them more work-life balance but it really depends on the client and firm. From hearing feedback, it seems quite interchangeable.

The first move you make once qualified will set the tone and pace for the rest of your career. One extra year in practice can really benefit the next forty in industry.

#practice #industry #aca #acca #icas #finance #newlyqualified