My SOA - advice and tips welcomed

Eoin_McLove

raino144 wrote:

I found there to be no need - the quality of teaching and support from my tutors in FTC in Manchester (hope I get some cash for that plug! lol) was far above any I had at University. I found that doing general business reading (FT.com, The Times online, BBC Business) gave me the general business background to go with the technical knowledge taught at college.

Remember that the tutors' reputation (and repeat business from your firm) depends much more on your success and therefore they are much more attentive to your needs - everything they do is geared to you passing the exams.


On another note - being a CA trainee brings in some 'benefits' like - reclaiming mileage expenses at 40p per mile tax-free (petrol only costs about 12p) and frequent overtime opportunities (but you get taxed!)

I paid for all my socialising and hols from the extra on expenses (legitimately!) but it is very sporadic - depends on your firm & clients.

Did you do a business-related degree though? I have a BA in History and (in a couple of months) an MA in Holocaust Studies, so I'm a little concerned that I might need to do some extra reading. Should be fine though, and like you say, the £100 possibly not spent on books gives me another £2 a week to spend on other stuff, like a pint. :beer:

Sadly I don't have a car - well, I do, but it's my girlfriend's, and she'll be using it for work - so I can't make a profit on the petrol there. However, I do get a - wait for it - £2.50 (you heard it right) allowance for lunch when I'm at a client's premises. What'll that get me? A bottle of pop, an over-priced plastic sandwich, and maybe some crisps. Cashback! I'm led to believe that I'll be out of the office 75% of the time, so there's the potential to cheekily make around £375. Hmmm...

I doubt I'll get much overtime, but it all adds up!

raino144

Eoin_McLove wrote:

Did you do a business-related degree though? I have a BA in History and (in a couple of months) an MA in Holocaust Studies, so I'm a little concerned that I might need to do some extra reading. Should be fine though, and like you say, the £100 possibly not spent on books gives me another £2 a week to spend on other stuff, like a pint. :beer:

Sadly I don't have a car - well, I do, but it's my girlfriend's, and she'll be using it for work - so I can't make a profit on the petrol there. However, I do get a - wait for it - £2.50 (you heard it right) allowance for lunch when I'm at a client's premises. What'll that get me? A bottle of pop, an over-priced plastic sandwich, and maybe some crisps. Cashback! I'm led to believe that I'll be out of the office 75% of the time, so there's the potential to cheekily make around £375. Hmmm...

I doubt I'll get much overtime, but it all adds up!

I studied economics (Finance) at Uni which - while is on the face of it business-related, was very academic and technical and a little 'obscure' - CAs provide real world advice for clients so reading the business section of a quality paper (or the free online version) helps. I read a statistic somewhere that roughly half of current CA trainees have a non business-related degree. As the training is pretty comprehensive I doubt you have anything to worry about! As I found out - I did A level maths and my laptop does all that for me now!

The lunch allowance is certainly worth claiming as it's tax-free and you'll prob be taking packed lunch anyway. You don't need to buy lunch to claim the allowance ( I do and don't get the allowance! ).

You may be better placed to negotiate pay increases after reaching certain milestones - I know the salary 'up north' goes something like £15 starting £17.5 2nd yr £20 ish 3rd yr £23-25 exam qual £29-32 newly qual - ppl I know negotiated an extra £2k+ after 6 months. We're in demand at the mo so in a strong position (even though the bosses hate to admit it!)

MinnieSpender

Just a note on the books situation.

Join the Students' Union (or stay a member) and check out which bookshops will give you discount.

Libraries are good (they'll order books in for you if you ask them) but unfortunately course books are often out of date (I've found this with my course anyway). Check out your college library for more up to date books.

Once you start, consider setting up a "book pool" among your fellow students. If each person buys one book, you all get access to a larger pool of books for less money. As these text books quickly go out of date, I think you'd probably have a few takers for this. Also check out the notice board at college for cheap second hand copies.

And good luck!

Eoin_McLove

raino144 wrote:

I studied economics (Finance) at Uni which - while is on the face of it business-related, was very academic and technical and a little 'obscure' - CAs provide real world advice for clients so reading the business section of a quality paper (or the free online version) helps. I read a statistic somewhere that roughly half of current CA trainees have a non business-related degree. As the training is pretty comprehensive I doubt you have anything to worry about! As I found out - I did A level maths and my laptop does all that for me now!

The lunch allowance is certainly worth claiming as it's tax-free and you'll prob be taking packed lunch anyway. You don't need to buy lunch to claim the allowance ( I do and don't get the allowance! ).

You may be better placed to negotiate pay increases after reaching certain milestones - I know the salary 'up north' goes something like £15 starting £17.5 2nd yr £20 ish 3rd yr £23-25 exam qual £29-32 newly qual - ppl I know negotiated an extra £2k+ after 6 months. We're in demand at the mo so in a strong position (even though the bosses hate to admit it!)

Yeah, according to the ICAEW website, 55% of trainees have non-business-related degrees. Very reassuring.

I start on £15,500 (working in Tunbridge Wells, Kent), and the Human Resources Manager told me that typically I can expect to be on £17,000 in the second year, £19,000 in the third year, and £28-30,000 once qualified (hopefully September 2009!). The early salary increases aren't great, but once qualified, I should be fine. The Audit Managers are on £38-40,000, and I'd hope to get to that level a couple of years after qualifying.

What's the difference between 'exam qualified' and 'newly qualified'? I assumed that they were the same.

When did you qualify? What's your bunse now?

raino144

Eoin_McLove wrote:

Yeah, according to the ICAEW website, 55% of trainees have non-business-related degrees. Very reassuring.

I start on £15,500 (working in Tunbridge Wells, Kent), and the Human Resources Manager told me that typically I can expect to be on £17,000 in the second year, £19,000 in the third year, and £28-30,000 once qualified (hopefully September 2009!). The early salary increases aren't great, but once qualified, I should be fine. The Audit Managers are on £38-40,000, and I'd hope to get to that level a couple of years after qualifying.

What's the difference between 'exam qualified' and 'newly qualified'? I assumed that they were the same.

When did you qualify? What's your bunse now?

Exam qualified means passed all exams but not run 3 years down - newly qualified means passed exams and done the time! (sometimes it feels that way lol)...

I'm exam qualified (as of Nov '05) and time qualified (i.e. newly qualified) 1st September '06 :-)