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Private practice accountants help people and businesses manage their money effectively.
You could work: evenings / weekends; occasionally
There will be
2.4% more Private practice accountant jobs in 2027.
In your local area
In your day-to-day duties you might:
You could work in an office or at a client's business.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a degree in any subject and then apply to graduate schemes that offer training towards a professional accountancy qualification. Subjects that show you have excellent numeracy and analytical thinking skills may be particularly useful.
If you want to take a more focused route to a graduate scheme, you could take an accountancy related degree, like:
Some degree courses may give you exemptions from some of the professional accountancy training modules.
You'll usually need:
You could gain your professional qualifications through the apprenticeship route. You could take your first steps to a career as a professional accountant by starting off on:
You'll usually need:
You could start as an accounting assistant with a firm and do professional training while working.
You'll usually need A levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications to apply. Your employer would support you to gain professional qualifications in accountancy alongside doing your job.
You could take training with one of the following professional bodies to become a qualified accountant:
They all have different entry requirements and ways to qualify, so it's important to check with them which is the right route for you. If you already have relevant accounting or business-related qualifications, you may be able to qualify in a shorter time.
If you've qualified with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), you can offer most accountancy services in private practice but you'll need to register as a 'member in practice' with CIMA.
You can find out more about becoming a private practice accountant from:Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW); Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); Association of International Accountants (AIA); Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
With experience, you could specialise in an area like auditing or forensic accounting, or become a manager in a practice. You could then move into a partnership or become a finance director.
You could become self-employed or set up your own company.
You could also teach in a further education college.
Find out more about teaching in further education from Teach in further education.
You can find out more about becoming a private practice accountant from: