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  • 1.  Can you get a job in the UK with the CMA Certification and 2 years and 3 months of work experience in Accounting?

    Posted 10-14-2023 11:08 AM

    Hey All,

    I am from India and I have 2 years and 3 months of work experience in Accounting. And also got my CMA Certification some time back. Lately, I have been thinking about working abroad due to some reason. I have also cleared the BEC paper of the CPA Exam and looking forward to clear my CPA exam by June 2024. Currently I do not have a job.

    I want to know my prospects of getting a job in the UK. And any other countries that might offer an Accounting or Auditing job. Should I try the US? I am not sure about the visa process and which countries might be more appealing to get a work visa.

    I am also a little unclear about if I should continue to remain in Accounting or move to Audit once I clear my CPA. So far I have worked in Payroll Accounting for 1 year 3 months (the contract got over). Then I worked in another company in Accounts Payable process in a Senior Accountant position for 1 year. With the advent of technology I saw a few things getting automated in my previous but it was not very smooth and needed manual accountant corrections and approvals. I think Audit is more future proof. I also know that the CMA is more inclined towards FP&A & a career in Finance. I do like Finance but don't have experience in finance.

    I think I might move in the Audit line but worry that it has busy season and hear sometimes the job gets boring. But I might take the risk and move to Audit. But before that I thought it might help to hear it out from the Accounting & Finance community.

    So, what do y'all think? 

    What would you recommend for me?



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    Shankar E CMA
    Student
    Bangalore
    India
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  • 2.  RE: Can you get a job in the UK with the CMA Certification and 2 years and 3 months of work experience in Accounting?

    Posted 10-15-2023 01:04 AM
    Dear Shankar,

    I may not be able to answer on the job prospects in the UK (since not based there..) but definitely can tell you that the initial entry is always tough, be it any part of the world. Local experiences are always preferred in the majority of the sectors around the world. Options increase once you gain local exposure.

    Regarding your CMA and CPA - I am hopeful  that this would really help your resume stand out amongst a large number of candidates. 

    Finally the automation part - A vast number of professionals today are in the same dilemma (including me..) about the full impact of AI and automation on our  respective job profiles and the redundancies in each, So don't bother too much.. Today's world is how quickly and easily you can adapt to changes. So keep learning and adapting.. I believe that's the mantra of success.

    All the best!

    --
    Thanks & Regards
    Abdul Naser Parkar
    +97433929964





  • 3.  RE: Can you get a job in the UK with the CMA Certification and 2 years and 3 months of work experience in Accounting?

    Posted 10-16-2023 06:35 AM

    Hello!

    Audit, once you get your CPA, I think would be a great move. That would do a couple things for you: 1. It would help your prospects of moving to the UK/US - public accounting firms in the US are struggling to find certified professionals. 2. It would let you see different kinds of businesses and industries. 3. It would give you insight into risk based processes and best practices that you could translate to future jobs. 

    Busy season in audit is difficult and there are multiple, depending on the size of the firm and country. For me in the US, it seemed like a constant busy season with employee benefit plan swell, then non-profit, then government, and the for-profit businesses. Because the fiscal year-ends were different timeframes, it felt like a constant busy season. But great experience- you just have to suck it up, put in your time, and overcome those challenges.

    best of luck!



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    John Huddleston CMA, CSCA, CPA
    Chief Financial Officer
    Milton FL
    United States
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  • 4.  RE: Can you get a job in the UK with the CMA Certification and 2 years and 3 months of work experience in Accounting?

    Posted 10-16-2023 03:45 AM

    Dear Shankar,

    I am not sure about UK job prospects for accounting professional but I can suggest you to look for GCC market there is a lot of opportunities specially in Dubai,Qatar,and Saudi initially then you can migrate to any country easily.

    Thanks Rajeev



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    Rajeev Dogra CMA
    Director/Manager
    DOHA
    Qatar
    ------------------------------