Accountancy practice want previous experience, why?

louisajones1

Hello

I have been working in accounts for over 15 years. Sales/Purchase ledger, bank recs. Payroll etc.
Last year I become AAT qualified.

I am thinking about going down the bookkeeper route and have just seen a job advertised by a local accountancy practice for a Senior Accounts Clerk.
Sounds ideal - role states dealing with accounts for sole traders/partnerships and SME's.
They are looking for someone with experience and AAT, but not someone who wants to study beyond AAT - me!

However, a requirement is for the candidate to have already worked 4/5years in an accountancy practice, why?
I haven't, so how can I get around this or what can I say for them to at least look at my application?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Many Thanks
Louisa

burg

The reason for this Louisa is that many who have not worked in practice may struggle with the constant changing of client they are working on. Getting used to this needs time and training and many who have not had this exposure before can struggle. You should be looking at ways where you can reduce this concern.

NeilH

Hi

The nature of the work in an accounting practice differs from that of working in business/industry. Going by the description you posted, it sounds like the role would involve working not just on general accounting/bookkeeping but final accounts for various businesses. The best place to gain good accounts prep experience is usually in practice, those from business/industry don’t usually have this skills.

Working in business/industry generally involves book-keeping, VAT, payroll, management accounts etc. Practice usually involves final accounts prep, tax, and/or audit. If you looking to move into practice, have you considered book-keeping roles? Generally moving from industry to practice involves starting over.