How to Become an Accountant (UK): Salary, Skills & Career Guide

Quick facts

Starting salary

£24,000 - £32,000 (trainee)

Mid-career salary

£45,000 - £70,000 (qualified)

Senior salary

£90,000 - £200,000+ (partner / CFO)

Work environment

Office or remote, busy at year-end

Time to entry

3 - 5 Years (ACA / ACCA / CIMA)

Degree required

Not strict (ACA / ACCA / CIMA matter)

Category

Business, Finance and Legal

Compare pay across careers in the UK salaries by career report. Also in: High-paying careers, Stable careers, Career change.

What a Accountant does

Prepare accounts, advise on tax, and help businesses or people manage money correctly.

• Audit Associate - Check company accounts for accuracy and compliance.
• Tax Advisor - Help individuals and businesses minimise tax legally.
• Management Accountant - Provide internal financial reporting and forecasting.
• Forensic Accountant - Investigate fraud and financial disputes.

How to become an accountant in the UK

The standard route is a 3-5 year training contract while studying for one of the three main qualifications - ACA (Big 4 / mid-tier audit firms), ACCA (broader / international / smaller practice), or CIMA (industry / management accounting). You're paid throughout, with study leave and exam fees usually covered by your employer.

1. Decide whether you want practice (audit, tax and advisory at an accountancy firm) or industry (the finance team of one business), because that points you to ACA, ACCA or CIMA.
2. If you have no finance background, start the AAT Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting, which has no entry requirements.
3. Apply for a trainee role: a school-leaver or graduate training contract at a firm, an accounting apprenticeship, or an accounts assistant job you can study alongside.
4. Study for your chosen qualification while you work, using the study leave and exam funding most training employers provide.
5. Log the practical work experience your professional body requires, usually three years of relevant work, alongside the exams.
6. Qualify as a chartered accountant, then choose a direction such as audit, tax, financial planning and analysis, or management accounting.

How most people actually get started

Most accountants follow one of two paths: a graduate scheme straight from university (Big 4, mid-tier, or industry) or a school-leaver apprenticeship that combines AAT then ACA/ACCA over 4-5 years. Career-changers usually start with AAT (the entry-level qualification, 12-18 months) and then move into a small-practice trainee role to fund the chartered exams. There's no fast track - everyone sits the same exams - but you're earning the whole way through.

How long it takes

Realistically, you can be earning as a trainee accountant within months of applying to a graduate scheme or apprenticeship. Becoming fully qualified (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) takes 3-5 years of training contract plus exams. AAT-then-chartered routes via career change usually take a similar amount of time. There's no shortcut to chartered status, but you're earning a professional salary throughout.

Accountant salary in the UK

Accountant pay scales clearly with qualifications and experience. Trainees start around £24,000-£32,000 (higher in London Big 4). Newly qualified accountants typically jump to £45,000-£70,000. Senior accountants and managers push into £70,000-£120,000. At the top end, partners in mid-tier and Big 4 firms, or CFOs in industry, regularly clear £150,000-£300,000+.

Is accountant a good career?

Accounting is one of the strongest professional careers in the UK. Demand is consistent across every industry and economic cycle, the earning ceiling is high (especially in tax, audit partnership, or CFO roles), and the qualifications travel internationally. The honest trade-offs are the demanding 3-5 year training period - exams alongside full-time work - and that the day-to-day can feel repetitive in technical roles before you move into advisory or leadership.

Key skills

• Attention to detail
• Maths
• Software (Xero/Sage)
• Communication

Will accountants be replaced by AI?

High exposure. Not replaced, but the routine end of accountancy is being automated quickly. The work that survives is judgement, sign-off and advice, and there will be fewer junior hours to learn it on.

The DfE study ranked chartered and certified accountants third of all UK occupations for exposure to AI, behind management consultants and financial managers.

What AI already does in this job

• Bookkeeping, bank reconciliations and transaction coding
• First drafts of management accounts and variance commentary
• Routine personal and small-business tax returns
• Sampling and testing in audit

What stays with a person

• Signing off accounts and carrying professional liability for them
• Judgement on tax positions, provisions and anything contestable
• Advising owners and boards who need someone accountable in the room
• Professional scepticism when the numbers look too clean

If you are qualified, move towards advisory, business partnering or specialist work where your judgement is the product. If you are training, get exposure to client-facing and judgement-heavy work early rather than only processing.

Careers that reuse your skills with less AI exposure

• Insolvency Practitioner - uses the accounting, adds negotiation and statutory responsibility
• Fraud Investigator - turns the numbers into investigation, interviews and evidence
• Wealth Manager - relationship-led advice where trust is the product

More on AI and work: check another job, jobs AI will replace, AI-proof jobs.

Our rating judges how much of the role's everyday work current AI tools can already do or draft; it measures exposure, not job losses. Occupation findings are from the Department for Education, The impact of AI on UK jobs and training (November 2023).

How to retrain as an accountant

You do not need an accounting degree. Many career changers start with AAT, which takes you from basic bookkeeping to accounting technician level, then move on to a chartered qualification (ACCA, CIMA or ACA), usually funded by an employer.

Routes for adults

• AAT - Levels 2-4, studied part-time alongside work. A practical way in without a degree.
• Trainee role with a chartered qualification - ACCA, CIMA or ACA alongside a trainee job, usually with the employer paying for exams.
• Apprenticeship - Accounting apprenticeships from technician level up to Level 7 professional qualifications, open to adults.

Paying for it

AAT Level 3 and 4 can usually be funded by an Advanced Learner Loan. Chartered qualifications are normally paid for by your employer once you have a trainee role.

Retraining at 40 or 50

Accountancy suits career changers in their 30s and 40s, especially from finance-adjacent roles. Note that routine accounting work is highly exposed to AI, so aim for the advisory end.

Can I afford to retrain? · Advanced Learner Loans · Free Skills Bootcamps

Accountant interview questions

Competency questions, technical questions and often an Excel or accounts test.

1. Talk us through a month-end close you were responsible for. What they are looking for: Process, accuracy and deadlines.
2. How would you explain the numbers to a non-finance manager? What they are looking for: Business partnering and clear communication.
3. What would you do if you found an error after the accounts were signed off? What they are looking for: Integrity and escalation.
4. How are you progressing with your qualification? What they are looking for: Commitment to ACCA, CIMA, ACA or AAT, and realistic timing.
5. How do you use automation or AI in your work? What they are looking for: Increasingly asked: whether you can make routine work faster.

If you are changing career: Show where you have worked with numbers, budgets or systems before, and your qualification plan.

Accountant CV

A two-page CV with qualifications near the top.

What to lead with

• Qualification status: ACCA, CIMA, ACA or AAT and exams passed
• Systems: Excel level, Xero, Sage, SAP
• Responsibilities with scale: number of entities, reporting deadlines

Career changer CV: Put AAT or exam progress first, then previous roles framed around financial responsibility.

Still deciding whether this is the move? The Career Change assessment works out how big a change you actually need before you start applying.

Accountant FAQs

How do I become an accountant in the UK with no experience?

The two main routes are a graduate scheme at a Big 4 or mid-tier firm (any degree subject usually accepted) or a school-leaver/apprenticeship route that combines AAT then ACA or ACCA over 4-5 years. Career-changers typically start with AAT (the entry-level qualification, 12-18 months) and then move into a trainee role at a small practice to fund the chartered exams. You're paid throughout.

How much do accountants earn in the UK?

Trainees start at £24,000-£32,000 (£32,000-£36,000 in Big 4 London). Newly qualified ACA/ACCA/CIMA accountants typically jump to £45,000-£70,000. Senior accountants and managers earn £70,000-£120,000. Partners in mid-tier and Big 4 firms, or CFOs in industry, regularly earn £150,000-£300,000+. Self-employed sole practitioners typically earn £60,000-£120,000.

What's the difference between ACA, ACCA, and CIMA?

ACA is the ICAEW qualification - traditional, audit-focused, dominant in Big 4 and mid-tier UK firms. ACCA is broader and more international - common in smaller practices and across global roles. CIMA focuses on management accounting and is the standard route for industry/in-house finance careers. All three lead to chartered status and similar earning power - the choice depends on the type of role you want.

Do accountants need a degree?

Not strictly. The chartered qualifications (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) are what matter. Many people qualify via the AAT-then-chartered route without a degree, especially school-leavers and career-changers. That said, Big 4 and mid-tier graduate schemes typically require a 2:1 in any subject, so a degree opens more doors at the top end.

Is accountancy a good career?

Yes - it's one of the most reliable professional careers in the UK. Demand is consistent across every industry and economic cycle, the earning ceiling is high, and the qualifications travel internationally. Self-employment is realistic once qualified. The honest trade-offs are the demanding 3-5 year exam period and the fact that early-career roles can feel repetitive before you move into advisory or leadership. Career Compass, our one-off career direction assessment, shows how closely it fits your interests and priorities.

Can I become an accountant at 30, 40, or older?

Yes - career-changers are common. The typical route is starting with AAT (12-18 months, often part-time) then moving into a trainee role at a small or mid-tier firm to fund the chartered exams. It still takes 3-5 years to fully qualify, but life experience helps with client work, business partnering, and the analytical side of the role.

Is Accountant right for you?

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