Informing employer that you're wanting a career change

dlmcr

Unless your employers are paying or otherwise actively contributing to your study then it is not really any of their business whether you are or aren't studying for CIMA or CIPD or anything else.
In an accounts assistant role you may be expected to progress to something more senior or financey or you may not, there is no one set route to follow.
It sounds like you are not really interested in the finance side and that begs the question why you are staying in a finance role in your current company. I don't agree with the comments that they would get rid of you because you said you're not interested in progressing in the finance side of things, I think it may be more of a mutual decision because you are obviously not interested in what the bulk of your job entails.
In your position I would look to get a job in a large organisation that by it's nature will have a larger HR department and more opportunities. Interview around a bit and see what comes up in the job description and interview regarding the role and their expectations of you and also the progression routes.
In a small company you can end up in a position where you do a lot of different things in a way you wouldn't in a larger company, however you could also end up doing less of the things that interest you because those parts of the work don't exist in a way they would in a larger company.

richdeniro

I've just found out that I actually have a 6 month review the week after next so am considering mentioning something to them then. Maybe let them know that I am studying for the CIPD because I wanted to do something and CIMA wasn't for me.

I spoke to the HR Manager and she has applied to go on 3 month sabbatical next year from January to March. I told her that I would love to cover for her or at least take on some of her work during that time. She was of course really happy with that as it would mean her sabbatical is more likely to be approved.

The sticking point is going to be my boss though. I don't think he is going to be keen at all to lose me for any length of time or have me take on any HR work. He already thinks that the finance team is short staffed and overworked.

TELLIT01

I don't understand how you can cover for an HR manager if you haven't completed the required HR training and qualifications, but that's something for your company to worry about. If your current team is short staffed I think you will hard pressed to convince your manager to release you.