Can I apply for bookkeeping job while being in debt?!

lea

Hiya

I have approx 20k of mine and my partners debt on credit cards and loans all in my name.
I want to apply for a job as a trainee bookkeeper-is this ok??
I'm sure I read somewhere that policemen and accountants arent allowed to have debt, and didnt know if this applied to bookkeepers as well??

Thanks
Lea

mattp_3

it is highly unlikely that being in debt will affect your chances, unless you are seriously behind with payments to those debts.

Policemen and Accountants are not allowed to go bankrupt (although in the case of the Police Force this rule is beginning to be ignored I believe?)

Some employers may conduct a credit check but they will be looking for a bad payment history such as CCJ's or Bankruptcy.

Policemen often go for IVA's rather than bankruptcy so that their future in the Force is not affected.

Hope this helps?

Thefunkygibbons

Accountants are not allowed to have debt?

Interesting the number of credit card applications I get, many of them from The Institute of Chartered Accountants

Debt is allowed, although don't be surprised if people worry about your risk of committing fraud, so best work hard and keep it quiet

lea

Thanks for your help. I just didnt want the embarrassment of going for the job and being turned down because of being in debt...

Thanks
Lea

Spendalot_2

I am a qualified accountant with lots of debt.
Each year I need to make a declaration to my institute that I am not bankrupt or in any payment arrangements with creditors. Or come to think of it, maybe I only made that declaration when I joined the institute not annually.

Either way, debt that is managed properly is OK.

earthboundboy

The AAT do not have a blanket policy on this - you have to declare bankruptcy / IVAs to them if you wish to become a full member, but they will not necessarily expel you - each case is reviewed individually.

Certainly it would appear that IVAs / bankruptcy could potentially have career implications higher up the ladder (I don't know exactly what CIMA/ACCA etc guidelines are on this) but I would imagine that the problems would only really be significant if you worked in a practice or independently, unless employment laws change and you can be credit scored by employers (a scary thought!)