A lot of the information so far is good so I don't have too much but...
Presumably from your 310 UCAS points you're including at least one AS level amongst that total as A-level grades come in multiples of 20. I'm pretty sure the big 4 only accept applications if you have 300+ UCAS from your 3 best A-levels which you sat first time and not including general studies.
Don't let that put you off though, there are dozens of other highly regarded accounting practices up and down the country that will happily take a look at your application and give you an interview, once you're qualified you can move into the big 4 if you had a good exam record throughout your training.
As others have mentioned you can also train at FTSE companies within there finance department, however in my opinion this doesn't give you such a wide range of options once your qualified, as the chances of moving from industry to practice are pretty slim compared to moving the other way.
My opinion of the qualications:
CA/ACA - arguably the most prestigious qualifications purely because the people who have gained them had to do so whilst being sponsored by an employer. Most people who train in practice tend to gain either of these qualifications.
ACCA - the exam content is very similar to CA/ACA but anyone can take it, ACCA unlike the ICAEW don't require the work experience gained to be under the supervision of an authorised employer. Most people who took ACCA trained in industry, although practices occassionally offer ACCA rather than ACA/CA.
CIMA - (imo) the better choice if your training in industry, it has far more emphasis on strategy and management accounting than the qualifications above. Unlike ACCA you cannot work in audit with a CMA but no one who works in audit trained in industry anyway, so the audit element of the ACCA is a waste of time unless you're training in practice.
Oh yeah and in response to the comment above about maths - just lol. Most jobs in accountancy require no more than the ability to use a calculator, some of the people who I work with in audit are attrocious at maths but are good at their job. The maths tends to be pretty simple unless you're working in corporate finance or something and are involved in company valuations, but most accountants don't.
Final year of your 3 year training contract.
Presumably from your 310 UCAS points you're including at least one AS level amongst that total as A-level grades come in multiples of 20. I'm pretty sure the big 4 only accept applications if you have 300+ UCAS from your 3 best A-levels which you sat first time and not including general studies.
Don't let that put you off though, there are dozens of other highly regarded accounting practices up and down the country that will happily take a look at your application and give you an interview, once you're qualified you can move into the big 4 if you had a good exam record throughout your training.
As others have mentioned you can also train at FTSE companies within there finance department, however in my opinion this doesn't give you such a wide range of options once your qualified, as the chances of moving from industry to practice are pretty slim compared to moving the other way.
My opinion of the qualications:
CA/ACA - arguably the most prestigious qualifications purely because the people who have gained them had to do so whilst being sponsored by an employer. Most people who train in practice tend to gain either of these qualifications.
ACCA - the exam content is very similar to CA/ACA but anyone can take it, ACCA unlike the ICAEW don't require the work experience gained to be under the supervision of an authorised employer. Most people who took ACCA trained in industry, although practices occassionally offer ACCA rather than ACA/CA.
CIMA - (imo) the better choice if your training in industry, it has far more emphasis on strategy and management accounting than the qualifications above. Unlike ACCA you cannot work in audit with a CMA but no one who works in audit trained in industry anyway, so the audit element of the ACCA is a waste of time unless you're training in practice.
Oh yeah and in response to the comment above about maths - just lol. Most jobs in accountancy require no more than the ability to use a calculator, some of the people who I work with in audit are attrocious at maths but are good at their job. The maths tends to be pretty simple unless you're working in corporate finance or something and are involved in company valuations, but most accountants don't.
Final year of what exactly? Sorry just not too clear on what you mean!
Final year of your 3 year training contract.
Last edited: