To be successful in the accounts line of work you have to have certain interests, skills and qualifications. Some of the basic skills you should possess before going onto a course are:
- Planning; you should be able to plan out your own work load and make sure it is all organised.
- Timing; you need to have the ability to keep to a schedule and be able to work to strict deadlines.
- Communication; it is highly important for you to have good written and verbal communication skills, this would be more important if you wanted a position that you would have to delegate work to others to be sure they know exactly what is required of them. As well as this you need to be able to work as part of a team.
- Interest; you need to have a genuine interest in business and accounts as well as being able to pay attention to detail when working.
- Honesty; this is one of the main factors of the job as in some cases you will be trusted with large amounts of money and details of business accounts.
If you feel you have all the required skills and interests then you need to then decide which course you want to take as there are many different courses that open different types of employment once completed. As well as the different courses there are also a number of ways in which you take the courses. To gain entry to any you need to make sure you have the right level of education for the course, for most courses you will have to have GCSE level Maths and English (or the equivalent), there are also some entry level courses you can take before pursuing the career any further, these are a good way of seeing if that line of work is suited to you. Some of the courses and different ways in which you can take them are;
ICB (Institution of Certified Bookkeepers) – this can be studied at level 1 so is open to most people with basic knowledge of bookkeeping. It has a level 2 qualification leading afterwards teaching people the basics in computerised bookkeeping.
City and Guilds – they offer a level 1 and 2 in bookkeeping and accounts, which again starts people off with a basic knowledge.
AAT (Association of Accountant Technicians) – the lowest level they offer is a level 2 in Bookkeeping, so is aimed at those with an existing knowledge of accounts or bookkeeping.
There are many places that offer courses in bookkeeping both online and at local colleges so if you feel that is the career you want to follow then you can gain more information from your local college.