Finance Jobs : Management Accountant Job Career Profile

Management Accountant Job Career Profile

As a management accountant, you would be responsible for the financial management of a business, looking after its accounts and finding ways of improving profitability and growth. You would work for one company as an in-house accountant, unlike a private practice accountant who offers accountancy and audit services to a number of fee-paying clients.

Your work could include:

• preparing regular financial statements and accounts, such as profit and loss accounts
• monitoring spending, costs and budgets
• analysing the company's financial performance
• forecasting and planning future spending and profits
• recommending ways to reduce costs and increase profits
• making business decisions, along with other managers
• carrying out internal audits of various departments
• providing external auditors with the company reports and financial data they need
• managing a team of accounting technicians and finance clerks
• overseeing the company's payroll, credit control, and bookkeeping systems.

To be a Management Accountant you should have:

• good mathematical and computer skills
• analytical ability and a logical approach
• a good understanding of business
• accuracy and attention to detail
• good communication skills
• the ability to explain technical financial information clearly
• organisational and time-management skills
• honesty and discretion.

To become an accountant, you must complete training with one of the professional accountancy bodies. Although each professional body includes some company financial management in their training, most management accountants choose to qualify with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

CIMA training involves two stages:

• CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting – CIMA's entry-level qualification, with five computer-based exams
• CIMA Professional Qualification – the second stage of training, with nine exams.

Your entry point will depend on your previous qualifications and experience.

You do not need any qualifications to begin studying for the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting, although you will need a good standard of maths and English. You will be able to miss out some or all of the CIMA Certificate exams if you have relevant qualifications, such as:

• an accountancy or business-related degree or postgraduate qualification
• Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Technician level 
• Open University Certificate in Accounting
• a professional qualification from another accountancy body.

If you have any other qualifications (including a non-business degree), you must pass all five CIMA Certificate exams before you can start the CIMA Professional Qualification. See the CIMA website for full details of exemptions.

Some management accountants choose instead to train with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), taking the business management modules instead of audit and taxation options in the final part of their training. See the ACCA website for more details.

The Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) also offers training in financial management. IFA is a non-chartered organisation with training at Technician, Associate and Fellow levels. See the IFA website for further details.

To become a fully-qualified chartered management accountant (ACMA), you must pass the CIMA Professional Qualification and complete at least three years' relevant work experience.

To achieve the CIMA Professional Qualification you will need to complete:

• six exams at Managerial level
• three exams at Strategic level
• one Test of Professional Competence in Management Accounting, based on a case study.

If you have certain relevant degrees or professional qualifications, you may be exempt from some of the Managerial stage exams.

Each paper in the Professional Qualification usually takes between three and four months. You can study full- or part-time, or through distance learning. Your employer may fund your training. See the CIMA website for details of course providers, exam centres, exemptions and the work experience requirement.

Once you have qualified, you should keep your professional knowledge up to date throughout your career. The professional accountancy bodies each run a programme of continuing professional development (CPD) to help members achieve this.

You could also choose to take a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, which may help to further your career in business management.

• Trainee and part-qualified accountants could earn between £18,000 and £30,000 a year, depending on stage of training.
• Qualified management accountants typically earn between £30,000 and £50,000.
• Finance managers and directors could earn between £50,000 and £100,000 a year, depending on company size.

Salaries also depend on location, and may be higher in London and the south-east. 

For further information about on a career profile including contact details look at finance jobs career library at www.JustAccountancyJobs.com