How to increase carrier in CA (accounts )
Answers
Once your many (many) years of studying towards becoming a Chartered Accountant are behind you, taking a break from learning can feel pretty good. However, as newly qualified CA your learning now needs to be self-driven – it is your responsibility to always be evolving.

So here are five ways you can continue to grow and advance your knowledge to become the best accountant you can be.
Read more: Accounting careers at Bellingham Wallace
1. Build your commercial knowledge
When your daily workload takes up a big chunk of your time, it is easy to put on the blinkers and only concentrate on what you do. But it really is important to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the world around you.
It’s also about understanding the economic drivers affecting business and what is affecting clients at an industry level. How will recent employment law changes affect business? What will another change in the OCR mean for SMEs in particular? Building your commercial knowledge will enable you to add more value to work assignments and to the clients who depend on your advice.
If you don’t attempt to understand what is happening in the world around you, then you will be left behind, and this will be no more evident that when you decide to look for a new role or advance your career to the next level.
2. Understand technology
You really can’t get away from technology. Those who have an in-depth knowledge of how it works, how it can help, and what changes will be next, will have a huge advantage over other CAs because they can contribute to efficiency improvements and suggest smarter ways of doing things.
This isn’t about just what software and systems your current employer uses. Remember technology is the future and is ingrained into many business functions – CRM, e-commerce, inventory management, accounting systems, data sharing, cloud computing. This is why a growing number of firms are setting up specialist divisions that provide advice on the risks surrounding the use and deployment of technology within organisations. Honing your appreciation for technology is therefore going to add a valuable string to your bow.
3. Earn your stripes in compliance
With so many specialisations available, sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of compliance. The reality is, every CA needs to have a good grounding in compliance in order to develop fundamental technical skills. In addition to being a vital proving ground, compliance assignments will help you appreciate the legislative, tax and financial reporting guidelines that CAs have to work within.
4. Work on your communication skills
It’s not something they tell you at university, but an important hallmark of a successful accountant is good communication skills. This doesn’t just happen on the job, it can actually be an extension of your hobbies as well.
Looking after a sports team could enhance your leadership abilities, and joining a Rotary Club will enhance your networking skills. Better yet – join Toastmasters and develop your public speaking skills, they’ll be particularly valuable when it comes to delivering presentations and communicating with clients.
To progress through the ranks you will also need to gradually build up a network of contacts. By the time you are at the manager/director level, this network should have evolved into a source of referrals for new work – and achieving this requires you to be able to develop rapport with a variety of audiences and levels.
5. Learn the art of organisation and time management
There’s no question – being a CA is a busy job with deadlines and plenty of responsibility. And as you move up to more senior roles, you will also have to help manage the workloads of others, making it imperative that you are well-organised and skilled at managing time. From setting job budgets, to monitoring productivity and planning the workflow of entire teams, being able to efficiently manage a wide range of tasks is a key part of achieving success as a Chartered Accountant.
Not sure where to start? There are plenty of resources available to help you develop organisational skills, and it is just a matter of putting them into practice on a daily basis.
Answer:
Once your many (many) years of studying towards becoming a Chartered Accountant are behind you, taking a break from learning can feel pretty good. However, as newly qualified CA your learning now needs to be self-driven – it is your responsibility to always be evolving.
So here are five ways you can continue to grow and advance your knowledge to become the best accountant you can be.
Read more: Accounting careers at Bellingham Wallace
1. Build your commercial knowledge
When your daily workload takes up a big chunk of your time, it is easy to put on the blinkers and only concentrate on what you do. But it really is important to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the world around you.
It’s also about understanding the economic drivers affecting business and what is affecting clients at an industry level. How will recent employment law changes affect business? What will another change in the OCR mean for SMEs in particular? Building your commercial knowledge will enable you to add more value to work assignments and to the clients who depend on your advice.
If you don’t attempt to understand what is happening in the world around you, then you will be left behind, and this will be no more evident that when you decide to look for a new role or advance your career to the next level.
2. Understand technology
You really can’t get away from technology. Those who have an in-depth knowledge of how it works, how it can help, and what changes will be next, will have a huge advantage over other CAs because they can contribute to efficiency improvements and suggest smarter ways of doing things.
This isn’t about just what software and systems your current employer uses. Remember technology is the future and is ingrained into many business functions – CRM, e-commerce, inventory management, accounting systems, data sharing, cloud computing. This is why a growing number of firms are setting up specialist divisions that provide advice on the risks surrounding the use and deployment of technology within organisations. Honing your appreciation for technology is therefore going to add a valuable string to your bow.
3. Earn your stripes in compliance
With so many specialisations available, sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of compliance. The reality is, every CA needs to have a good grounding in compliance in order to develop fundamental technical skills. In addition to being a vital proving ground, compliance assignments will help you appreciate the legislative, tax and financial reporting guidelines that CAs have to work within.
4. Work on your communication skills
It’s not something they tell you at university, but an important hallmark of a successful accountant is good communication skills. This doesn’t just happen on the job, it can actually be an extension of your hobbies as well.
Looking after a sports team could enhance your leadership abilities, and joining a Rotary Club will enhance your networking skills. Better yet – join Toastmasters and develop your public speaking skills, they’ll be particularly valuable when it comes to delivering presentations and communicating with clients.
To progress through the ranks you will also need to gradually build up a network of contacts. By the time you are at the manager/director level, this network should have evolved into a source of referrals for new work – and achieving this requires you to be able to develop rapport with a variety of audiences and levels.
5. Learn the art of organisation and time management
There’s no question – being a CA is a busy job with deadlines and plenty of responsibility. And as you move up to more senior roles, you will also have to help manage the workloads of others, making it imperative that you are well-organised and skilled at managing time. From setting job budgets, to monitoring productivity and planning the workflow of entire teams, being able to efficiently manage a wide range of tasks is a key part of achieving success as a Chartered Accountant.
Not sure where to start? There are plenty of resources available to help you develop organisational skills, and it is just a matter of putting them into practice on a daily basis.