Case Study - Accountant

Name: Joyce O’Neill
Job: Accountant

I currently work as a Tax Trainee. When I first joined the company I worked for a number of months in the Audit and Assurance Department where I gained experience on the process of an audit and also in account preparations. In tax I have a wide exposure to all the different aspects of tax and not just the compliance aspect.

Accounting in school was one of my strongest subjects and this was one of the main reasons I decided to pursue this career.
 

On leaving school I studied Accounting and Finance in DCU. To gain an ACCA qualification you must join a recognized practice for 3.5 years and pass a number of professional exams. I have completed all exams and have one year left in my contract.

In this profession you are meeting people on a daily basis and therefore need good people skill. There are always deadlines on different cases and therefore you need to be able to manage your time well.

Pursuing a career in accountancy does take a number of years. However once you have achieved your qualification, there are many different areas of business that you can get into. Another pro of accountancy is that you can travel all over the world with your qualification.

An accounting qualification gives you one step ahead in the business world. Many people would have the perception of the boring old accountant but if you look at many of the successful and wealthy individuals in Ireland today, they all have an accounting qualification of some sort.