Accountancy and Tax

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Accounting technician
• Auditor - see case studies from Inside Careers
• Chartered accountant - see case studies from Inside Careers
• Chartered certified accountant
• Chartered management accountant - see case studies from Inside Careers
• Chartered public finance accountant
• Corporate treasurer
• Financial manager
• Forensic accountant - see case studies from Inside Careers
• Tax adviser

• analytical and problem-solving skills
• numeracy skills, particularly working with statistics
• a methodical approach, with accuracy and attention to detail
• communication and interpersonal skills
• leadership and effective team working skills
• initiative

Employers will want you to show a real interest in and awareness of finance and business. They will also expect you to be proficient with IT.

Most graduate roles in this sector require you to study while working. Self-motivation, commitment, time-management and working under pressure to deadlines are all important.

For roles in tax, you need the ability to interpret and explain complex legislation to non-specialists. Tact and discretion are also essential, as you will be working with confidential information.

Starting salaries for graduate jobs can vary depending on the position and location of the role. According to a 2023 report from High Fliers, the average starting salary for graduates in accounting and professional services was £35,000.

For information about salaries for specific roles use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.

• Browse our NCL Graduate Employment Outcomes directory. See examples of what our graduates were doing 15 months after their studies.
• Use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13].
• Search our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.
• Attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates.
• Sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting.
• Attend events such as recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs and placement schemes, build your network and ask questions.

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

· RateMyPlacement placement year reviews written by students.

· The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews

· Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

The following websites give advice about careers in accountancy:

• Accountancy, banking and finance (Prospects)
• Accountancy, banking and finance (TARGETJobs)
• ICAEW Accountancy careers blog

For tax and financial management there is:

• Tax: graduate area of work (TARGETJobs)
• Tax (Inside Careers)
• Corporate treasury (TARGETJobs)
• A Career in Treasury (Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments can be useful for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• FT.com
• The Economist
• Reuters
• Bloomberg.com
• Public Finance magazine
• Accountancy Daily
• Accountancy Age
• Accounting Web

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

Many big employers and the professional bodies in this sector run events and other opportunities. EY and PwC advertise their student events on their websites.

ICAEW run careers events, including interview skills and improving public speaking.

See our events, including recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join accounting or tax specific student societies. The Accounting and Finance Society often organises and promotes events and invites guest speakers to talk about their careers.

Use social media to find industry insights.

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

The main professional UK institutes for accountancy include:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Institute of Financial Accountants – for non-chartered accountants
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

There are also accountancy associations and financial regulation authorities, including:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Association of Practising Accountants – for medium-sized firms
• Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
• Financial Conduct Authority – regulates UK financial services
• Prudential Regulation Authority – regulates banks, building societies, insurers etc

Organisations related to tax include:

• Chartered Institute of Taxation
• Association of Taxation Technicians
• Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) deals with financial management.

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad

Search the following external sites for more opportunities:

Accountancy Careers

• The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.
• You can search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer - just type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• Advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Careers Service: Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Accounting and finance vacancy sites

• eFinancial Careers - worldwide jobs in all financial sectors. Site also includes examples of real interview questions, listed by employer.
• GAAPweb
• City Jobs
• Accountancy Age Jobs – search by experience level
• Guardian Jobs – under ‘job level’ select ‘graduate’ or ‘entry level’

Public sector, audit, tax and corporate treasury

Graduate schemes:

• National Audit Office
• HMRC Tax professional programme
• HM Treasury: The Graduate Programme

Graduate jobs:

• LG Jobs - vacancies in local government
• Civil service jobs
• Taxation - Jobs
• Careers in Audit
• ACT Treasury Jobs

Professional bodies – training vacancies and immediate start jobs

• ICAEW – training vacancies and jobs search
• ACCA – graduates and jobs board
• CIMA – Global jobs
• CIPFA – current opportunities
• ICAS – training vacancies and job search
• Chartered Accountants Ireland jobs listing

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

· additional vacancy websites

· CV, application and interview advice

· Advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.

If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• Find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’.
• Use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page.
• Search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working.
• Browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed.

Use the resources below to find organisations in the North East, UK and worldwide.

Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers:

• ACCA employers
• ICAEW recruiters
• CIMA recruiters
• CIPFA
• ICAS

Chartered Accountants Ireland – listed by county

Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:

· Staffing agencies and temporary help firms

· Executive recruiters and search firms

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.