Part-qualified accountant jobs in the UK

Leverage our national recruitment expertise and market intelligence to advance your accountancy and finance career.

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Our recruitment experience in part-qualified accounting jobs

If you’re looking for part-qualified accounting roles, we have the tenure and longstanding employer relationships your career deserves. Our expert team of over 300 specialist finance consultants will guide you through this crucial point of your professional journey, providing you with the latest market intelligence and employer insights. 

With a national reach, and an employer network numbering in the thousands, we fill a finance job every 10 minutes. No matter your ambitions, you can find a range of part-qualified accountant positions, such as management accountants, financial accountants, commercial analysts, assistant accountants, assistant management accountants through to a range of positions in professional services including audit seniors as and many others within audit & assurance, financial advisory and consulting.  

Wherever you are on your accountancy and finance career journey, we’re here as your lifelong career partner. From our Salary Guide to upskilling opportunities on our My Learning platform, we’ll make sure you’re equipped with the skills and knowledge to succeed long after your studies. 

Browse our latest part-qualified roles here or explore other careers in accountancy and finance including job roles for newly qualified accountants.

 

Part-qualified accountant employers we recruit for  

Working with over 3,000 employers across the UK – from fast growth businesses to large corporates to major accounting firms to not for profit and governmental bodies - you can be assured that we’ll offer you the greatest choice of opportunities. And with nearly 100 offices across the UK, including Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Manchester, we are able to pinpoint employers that match your exact preferences. 

We fill a finance job in the UK every 10 minutes

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PART-QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANT JOBS FAQs

Becoming a qualified accountant holds numerous benefits: 

  • You’ll earn employer trust when an external body has verified your professional skills to a certified standard 
  • It enhances your technical knowledge in the field of accountancy and will keep you up to date with changes 
  • You show a commitment to continuous professional development and learning 
  • You’ll stand out over candidates without qualifications, while also enabling you to secure a higher salary level and progress up the career ladder faster 
  • You can gain a global qualification that employers across the world will recognise, giving you greater mobility 
  • Statutory accounts must be done by law; it is reassuring to an employer that you are doing this correctly if you have a qualification.   

Part-qualified accountants have seen noticeable salary increases, with employers competing to attract candidates in a market affected by skills shortages. 

A part qualified ACCA or CIMA accountant working in business in London could expect to earn £38,000, with this rising to £50,000 for finalists.  

See our Salary Guide for a detailed breakdown of salaries across accountancy and finance. 

You can take up many roles as a part-qualified accountant in industry or public sector, such as management accountant, commercial analyst, assistant management accountant, assistant finance business partner and assistant accountant.  

Going forward, these roles and career experience help you progress to roles like finance manager, finance business partner, and financial controller and to build a career pathway to finance director in the future.  

As a part qualified audit senior in professional services you will have a range of career options ahead to build your career in audit and assurance, or move into other areas like financial advisory, consulting, tax or sustainability.  

Being a successful accountant is more than just being adept at numeracy and data management; you will need soft skills too, such as strong written and communication skills, organisation, and attention to detail.  Problem solving, strategic thinking and creativity are also valued. One of the top skills employers are looking for today is the ability to adopt change as we live in a changing world.   

See our Salary Guide for the top soft skills employers are looking for. 

Some employers may offer financial support with your studying to pay for training and your exams. Support can also include flexibility to allow you time for your studies as well as providing mentors and career planning guidance. 

The CIMA qualification is considered focused towards management and business accounting, so if you’re looking for a career that's geared towards the business side of accounting, this is the one for you. This course requires 12 exams, nine objective tests and three case study exams.  

The ACCA qualification is a broader syllabus with flexibility, so you can focus more on advanced subjects like taxation and external auditing processes. This course requires 13 exams and evidence of three years of practical work experience. 

The route to ACA is typical in a professional accounting firm and can be studied with various accounting bodies like the ICAEW, ICAS and Chartered Accountants Ireland. To become ACA qualified with the ICAEW as an example, you must demonstrate that you have: completed 450 days of work experience at an authorised training employer (ATE); passed 15 exam modules; undertaken professional development; and have advanced your ethical understanding and professional scepticism. It’s important to note that if you choose the ACA qualification, typically studied within accountancy practices, you do have the opportunity to consider a move into industry in the future. Most ACA accountants in practice focus more on auditing, but you can also gain experience in analysis, corporate finance, management accounting and tax. 

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and some accounting and business degrees give exemptions for the above qualifications which can be beneficial.  

Ultimately, the right choice between these qualifications will be based on personal career aspirations – and our expert finance recruitment consultants are able to offer advice to help you make your decisions.