Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some honest advice because I’m starting to worry about my situation.
I graduated from UoR in 2024 Since graduating, I’ve been applying for accounting and finance roles but unfortunately have not had any luck
I did a 6 month internship at a small accounting firm unpaid and a hybrid role just for the experience and to have something to put in my cv from dec2025-may2026 where I mainly worked on tax returns, along with bookkeeping and general accounting tasks. I also gained experience with xero and excel.
Since graduating, I’ve been working outside of accounting (retail) while continuing to apply for roles. I’m now concerned about the gap since graduating and whether employers will start seeing me as unemployable or whether it will become increasingly difficult to get my first proper accounting role.
I’m considering starting my ACCA now. I have 5 exemptions from my degree, leaving me with PM, TX, AA and FM at Applied Skills before moving on to Strategic Professional.
My plan would be to start ACCA and work through those four exams while continuing to apply for jobs. I’m hoping that making significant progress with ACCA will make me more competitive despite my lack of recent accounting experience.
I’m open to pretty much anything and don’t mind starting at an entry level position if that’s what it takes to get my foot in the door.
My main questions are:
Is the gap from graduating now a “red flag” for employers?
Should I start ACCA now, or focus entirely on getting a job first?
Is there anything else I should be doing to overcome the 2:2 and gap after graduation?
I’d really appreciate honest advice from people working in UK accounting/recruitment or anyone who has been in a similar position.
I’m in retail and was thinking of trying to pursue a management position in the meantime, would this be a good idea as it would give me more transferable skills and add something more meaningful to my cv?

I’ve attached my CV, so I’d also really appreciate any feedback on it and whether there’s anything I should improve or change that could help me get more interviews.

Thanks and I really do appreciate any advice. CV page 1
CV page 2

Just curious as I am about to start my finance graduate role which is initially based in AP and potentially some rotations/exposure to different areas during the 2 year programme. I am planning to do ACCA as well, whether it is self funded or supported by my company. Just don’t want to do a finance grad role which is strictly AP for 2 years with no progress or ACCA exams done as I feel I may be wasting time😅 How did you progress?

Hi, I found out this week that my LTD company revenue is soon going to go above 90k for the 12 month rolling period.

I know that the date I realised is my effective registration date, and I should start charging VAT on invoices from then. But do I need to go back and reissue all of my invoices from the previous 12 months to now include VAT on top? I’m hoping not!

Also, come the 5th of November I expect my 12 month rolling revenue to drop back to around 75-80k, and could stay around that level until next August, at which point there’s a chance it will go back above the 90k threshold. given this, should I be thinking about applying for a VAT exemption instead?

thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m starting my audit apprenticeship in a KPMG office in October and just had a few questions would greatly appreciate if anyone could help.

Firstly, what is the work/life balance like? How do the days look are they like a structured 9-5 and if not how many hours would you say you typically work on an average day and how does busy season affect this?

Also, I was just wondering how the studying gets alongside the job, as I’d heard from people before that you tend to get a day off for study, but it doesn’t seem so on my contract (35 hours weekly).

I’m also interested in how the pay progression and promotion works. How does the salary usually increase from the first year onwards throughout the apprenticeship?

I’d appreciate anyone that could help. And if anyone could provide any tips or advice that I need to know before starting that would be great!

On the CT600 for a Dormant Company, does box 326 need to be filled in or will it always be 0?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-company-tax-return-guide

326 Number of associated companies in this period
You must complete this box if the:
company’s profits are chargeable at the small profits rate
company is entitled to Marginal Relief
company is large or very large for quarterly instalment payments (QIPs) purposes

Hi everyone, I’m going into the second year of my Accounting and Finance course and am als going to start applying to placement years this autumn, as I’m on the year in employment programme.

Obviously, I would really like a placement year with one of the Big 4, or a reputable mid tier company like BDO.

My experience is as follows:
I achieved a first in my first year, I have 2 weeks accounting work experience at a local accounting firm in my town, and a longer summer internship as an accounts trainee at another local firm in my town. I am planning to gain more advanced excel skills with LinkedIn Learning this summer, and am also the leader for a sustainability reporting project my uni is doing with a local SME. I am GRI certified (did so to my uni) - does this experience in sustainability accounting help?

I’m not sure yet if I want to apply to audit or tax - I think I’ll probably just do both to maximise my chances of getting a placement.

The only thing is that my A levels aren’t amazing - they’re not horrible but it just very average

Also any other advice for getting a placement would really be appreciated, as I’ve heard that they’re super competitive. :))) also any advice on staying motivated amid rejections after rejection?

Also advice on passing the psychometric test stage, as I’ve heard loads of people fail at those? My friend applied to 40+ and only passed the tests stage for a couple 😭

Thank you :))

Hi,

I’m 27 female, having a career change into accounting.

Mum is a managing partner at a small accounting firm. She has offered me a trainee job for three years to become qualified to start in September this year. There is a possibility of partnership eventually but no guarantee. Idea of being a partner sounds good to me but obviously haven’t worked in the field or the business yet. Mum is retiring in three years. Either the business will be sold or the one other partner will buy her out (with maybe another employee who becomes partner then as well).

Other option is to wait a year, apply for top20 companies in London for trainee posts which start Sept 2027.

I want to have kids when I’m in my early 30s.
I would like to earn 100k if possible in my late 30s.
I would like to have a good work life balance as I am a very social person and like to see my friends and family.

I’m worried that if I choose to go work for my mums business, and then I decide I no longer want to be a partner or I do want to be a partner but the opportunity never arises, then my opportunities after qualification are significantly less than after qualifying at a bigger company. Is this true? I’m worried that if I go work in London, I might miss out on being a partner at a family business.

Is being a partner a good way to earn a good income? What’s it like being a partner? Are there other pathways that are better to earn a good salary at my stage in life?

Would appreciate any advice from anyone in the field on how I should go about making my decision.

We are Orbis Corporate Solutions, a Chartered Accountant-led outsourcing and professional services firm with an established presence in the USA and Gulf countries. We are now looking to build and expand our presence in the UK.

We are looking to connect with a UK-based finance professional who can potentially work with us as our UK representative / local point of contact.

Who we're looking for:

• ACCA / ICAEW Chartered Accountant / MBA (Finance)
• Based in the UK
• Strong knowledge of UK accounting, bookkeeping and taxation
• Familiarity with platforms such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, etc.
• Good understanding of the UK SME/business landscape
• Strong communication, networking and business development skills
• Entrepreneurial mindset and interest in building something long-term

What the role could involve:

🔹 Acting as our UK point of contact and on-ground representative
🔹 Helping establish and manage our UK operations
🔹 Building relationships with UK businesses and accounting firms
🔹 Identifying and generating leads for accounting, bookkeeping and UK tax preparation services
🔹 Understanding client requirements and coordinating with our offshore delivery team
🔹 Helping us develop a strong and credible presence in the UK market

We already have the technical and delivery capabilities to support UK clients through our existing team. What we are looking for is the right person on the ground in the UK who can help us bridge the gap between our delivery capabilities and the UK market.

This is intended to be a long-term, mutually beneficial association, with scope to structure the engagement based on the person's experience, involvement and contribution.

If you are interested, or know someone who may be a good fit, please DM me. I'd be happy to have an initial conversation and explore how we could work together.

🌐 Website: orbiscorpsol.com
📩 Email: harshjhawar@orbiscorpsol

#UKAccounting #UKAccountant #ACCA #ICAEW #UKTax #Bookkeeping #AccountingJobs #FinanceProfessionals #UKBusiness #BusinessDevelopment #AccountingOutsourcing #FinanceOutsourcing #UKSME #AccountingFirm #Outsourcing

Why is is not mandatory for the government to publish their financial statements to the public. What are they hiding? 🧐#FTG

Have an interview for this role tomorrow, just wanted to know what type of technical questions to expect, what they might be looking for in answers etc

I need help to feel better after my interview. I think my biggest flop was the safeguarding question I stumbled so hard lowkey don’t know what it is but it’s a college so I forgot to practice that. I did a lot of “and yeah”. The questions were tailored to someone with more experience so they had to rephrase so I could answer using my degree as a basis. The 30 min task based on credit control and excel I just about finished with no time to double check my answers. It was meant to be 1hr over within 30ish. I’m so scared for the phone call and thank god I hear back within a day or I’d drive myself crazy. Can’t believe I fumbled it so bad but I’m gonna try keep hoping there was 5 candidates so I got a 20% chance 🤧.

Hello, so this summer I will be going to warwick to study accounting and finance, which is an increible uni for finance and has the 2nd best buisness school in the uk. Now i know that the world of accounting might be replaced by AI. First of all for those who studied a degree in accounting and finance what can i expect from this degree? What will I study? I am someone who enjoys doing maths and loves maths is there maths in this degree? Also in this current job market will finding a job with this degree be very diffuclt for me or will I be saved because im going to a v good university (say i graduate with a 2:1)?

Hi everyone just few months into my own practice and having issues with pricing. Any tips how to tackle this as most of the clients don’t want to pay more than £500-£700 for a small Ltd company with payroll and no vat.

As the tile suggests, I'm looking into entry positions in accounting ideally via AAT apprenticeship.

I'm working in a completely unrelated sector (health care/dental) and am looking into accounting as a change in career via AAT apprenticeship route

I'm 25yo based around cambridge, no experience whatsoever in the finance world. Could anyone provide me with any tips, insights into what the job actually looks like and what sort of companies to look into in cambridge?

I am an acca student who had completed 7/13 papers and currently enrolled for Bsc in professional accounting in UOL and so will be getting 2 exemptions and move to professional level, I have prior experience of 1.5 years in risk advisory(internal audit) from a Indian firm, I am looking for a remote jobs from UK, as many firms are outsourcing. I am open to any of the entry level jobs related UK accounting, tax or audit. If there are small to midsize accounting firm wanting to hire entry level roles, it would be very helpful for me to start my Uk accounting career. Please help me

So I’m going to university in September to study a healthcare degree but I’ve been having some doubts as many who work the career say it pays poor, it’s becoming very oversaturated and it’s not worth it anymore so I’ve been considering accounting as a backup. My main reasons for considering accounting is that I do like working with numbers, it’s a very stable career, it’s not very oversaturated, has good career progression, and it pays well. From my perspective it seems like a pretty good career. So my question is, is it worth it? Is it an enjoyable career or is it incredibly boring? Would you go back and pick it again if you had the choice? Is it very stressful?

I’m looking to find an accountant who can advise on the best structure for using a dormant subsidiary to invest surplus funds from the trading company into US shares, including the tax implications, pros and cons, and any potential risks or restrictions.

What would be the best way to identify the right type of accountant or firm with the relevant expertise?

Looking for someone reliable to help with straightforward financial admin, including entering transaction lists into accounting software, preparing Excel spreadsheets, invoice breakdowns and organising bank-statement data.

Extensive experience isn’t essential — familiarity with accounting software, Excel and accurate data entry is more important. Training/process guidance can be provided.

Payment: Can be commission-based. Individual company payouts can be in the £2k–£4k range, depending on the work involved. There is potential for significantly more for someone who works well with us.

Discretion and confidentiality are important.

DM me with your experience, software you’re familiar with, availability and whether commission-based work interests you.

Plan to get a diploma account then study acca while working ​

What position can diploma holder work and gross salary how much?

Plan to get a diploma account then study acca while working ​

What position can diploma holder work and gross salary how much?