WEBVTT - …do you need a maths degree? 0:00:01.410 --> 0:00:04.650 Hey there, I'm Maiki Lynch and I'm an accountant. And in this 0:00:04.650 --> 0:00:07.950 series from ACCA, I'm sitting down with some other accountants 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:10.679 and people who work in finance to lift the lid 0:00:10.679 --> 0:00:12.840 on some of the common myths you might have fallen 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:18.419 for about this awesome career path. This week we are looking at one 0:00:18.420 --> 0:00:22.230 of the core questions people tend to have about these jobs. Namely, 0:00:22.650 --> 0:00:26.310 isn't accounting and finance basically just maths? Do you need 0:00:26.310 --> 0:00:29.580 to be a maths genius? And can you make a career in accounting 0:00:29.759 --> 0:00:40.620 without a maths degree? Let's find out. This is By All Accounts. Ah, maths, 0:00:41.250 --> 0:00:42.930 for some of us, just the word can send a 0:00:42.930 --> 0:00:46.409 shiver down the spine, conjuring memories of school and protractors 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.999 and calculators and quadratic equations and worst of all: maths tests. 0:00:51.210 --> 0:00:54.209 Then there's the opposite, the people who love maths and 0:00:54.270 --> 0:00:57.779 numbers and even have degrees in the subject. But do 0:00:57.780 --> 0:00:59.880 you need to be one of these people to progress 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:03.959 in careers that involve some numbers like accounting? For me, 0:01:04.530 --> 0:01:07.740 I'm one of those people that has always enjoyed maths. 0:01:08.309 --> 0:01:10.410 I found if I really understood what I was trying 0:01:10.410 --> 0:01:13.770 to do with practice, I didn't need to remember anything 0:01:13.770 --> 0:01:17.880 at all, and that's brilliant. In over 10 years of teaching, 0:01:17.970 --> 0:01:20.880 I found it is exactly that practice element that can 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.789 get those students who love maths and those who haven't 0:01:23.789 --> 0:01:26.490 touched the subject in years to where they need to be, 0:01:26.700 --> 0:01:31.289 mathematically speaking, through their accountancy studies. So I found two 0:01:31.290 --> 0:01:34.230 people who currently work in accounting and finance to ask, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.470 do you need a maths degree to enjoy these jobs? 0:01:37.950 --> 0:01:40.020 First up, Kyle Simpson, welcome. 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:42.541 Thank you. Thank you for having me here. 0:01:42.541 --> 0:01:42.542 And Ben Kewin. Hello. 0:01:42.542 --> 0:01:42.602 Hello. Thanks for having us. 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:46.109 So what do you think? Kyle, I'm going to come 0:01:46.109 --> 0:01:49.019 to you first. Do you need to be amazing at 0:01:49.020 --> 0:01:50.909 maths to work in accounting and finance? 0:01:50.909 --> 0:01:54.840 I don't think so because I'm just exactly opposite of 0:01:54.900 --> 0:01:58.050 amazing at math. If I look back at my school days, I 0:01:58.050 --> 0:02:03.359 never liked particularly math. My school grades were kind of 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.170 reflective of that, and when I was studying accountancy I 0:02:07.170 --> 0:02:10.619 didn't really feel that there was a overall huge area 0:02:10.620 --> 0:02:16.018 where you need very technical math skills like plus, minus, multiply, divide. 0:02:16.169 --> 0:02:18.540 That's kind of the basic principles I had, but that 0:02:18.719 --> 0:02:20.969 got me through all the exams I needed to pass 0:02:20.969 --> 0:02:24.029 to be qualified. So I don't really think it's essential 0:02:24.029 --> 0:02:26.221 to have extensive maths knowledge to become an accountant. 0:02:26.221 --> 0:02:30.268 That's really encouraging to hear, particularly for those who perhaps 0:02:30.450 --> 0:02:33.059 maths isn't their favorite subject. Ben, can we come to 0:02:33.059 --> 0:02:34.859 you with the same question? Do you think you need 0:02:34.860 --> 0:02:37.350 to be amazing at maths to work in accounting and finance? 0:02:37.559 --> 0:02:40.409 So I'm quite the opposite to Kyle there of... I was always 0:02:40.410 --> 0:02:42.509 into my maths in school. When I started doing my 0:02:42.510 --> 0:02:44.490 accounting exams, I always thought that there was quite a 0:02:44.490 --> 0:02:47.100 big maths implication on it. I was actually quite upset 0:02:47.100 --> 0:02:49.530 by the time I came to qualify, because there's not 0:02:49.530 --> 0:02:52.019 really that much complicated maths in there! So I think 0:02:52.020 --> 0:02:53.520 that that is very much one of the things that 0:02:53.580 --> 0:02:55.860 all the way throughout everyone's always like, " Oh, you've got 0:02:55.860 --> 0:02:59.400 to do loads of maths. It's very maths based." You 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.200 deal with a lot of numbers, but it's more about 0:03:01.230 --> 0:03:02.970 the trends and the patterns and the numbers than it 0:03:02.970 --> 0:03:05.940 is with actually messing around with them and doing complicated maths. 0:03:06.570 --> 0:03:08.699 So coming from a different viewpoint there, but you're kind 0:03:08.700 --> 0:03:12.060 of landing in the same place, a similar conclusion that 0:03:12.660 --> 0:03:14.729 there isn't too much maths. There is some maths and 0:03:14.730 --> 0:03:17.369 it is helpful, but there's, there's not perhaps too much 0:03:17.369 --> 0:03:21.330 or as you may have expected going in from the outset. Kyle, 0:03:21.330 --> 0:03:22.710 I'd like to come back to you. Can we ask 0:03:23.310 --> 0:03:24.030 what your job is? 0:03:24.180 --> 0:03:27.299 I'm currently working as a finance manager at an all- 0:03:27.300 --> 0:03:31.409 through school in Northumberland. I work with one finance officer, 0:03:31.410 --> 0:03:34.890 but basically responsible for everything to do with school finance, 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:38.820 financial reporting, all the way to petty cash expense claim, 0:03:38.820 --> 0:03:42.960 those more sort of administrative tasks. It just involves day- to- 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.350 day school life, plus a bit of technical finance skills 0:03:46.410 --> 0:03:48.660 as in when I need to do sort of reportings, 0:03:48.990 --> 0:03:53.250 but it also has allowed managerial tasks to run the 0:03:53.250 --> 0:03:57.360 scope from business perspective while principals are focused on education 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:57.810 side of it. 0:03:58.650 --> 0:04:01.920 That's quite a lot of numbers for someone who admitted from the 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:06.450 outset that numbers weren't really their bag, if you will! Do you have 0:04:06.450 --> 0:04:07.140 a maths degree? 0:04:07.559 --> 0:04:11.549 I don't have any degree. Well, actually I dropped out 0:04:11.549 --> 0:04:14.640 of high school, which is equivalent secondary school in the UK, 0:04:14.730 --> 0:04:18.630 and I took an exam to be equivalent of high 0:04:18.630 --> 0:04:23.670 school graduate. So as a formal education, that's my final education. 0:04:23.790 --> 0:04:26.729 And in that, the pass mark was 50 for each 0:04:26.730 --> 0:04:30.000 subject and maximum score is 100, and on average I 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.410 got something like 88. 5 across all subjects, on average. 0:04:34.650 --> 0:04:37.320 But there was one subject that brought the score down, 0:04:37.380 --> 0:04:41.040 that was math, and I got 50 out of 100 and that was 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:45.000 just literally passing mark. But I managed to start accountancy 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:46.919 training and become qualified two years ago. 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:51.840 Congratulations. You were able to start that accountancy training without 0:04:51.900 --> 0:04:55.529 having a degree or without having another qualification to get 0:04:55.529 --> 0:04:55.950 you there? 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:01.558 Yes, there was a slightly different pathway when I started. Effectively, 0:05:01.559 --> 0:05:03.629 it's exactly the same training as if you start the 0:05:03.630 --> 0:05:07.200 full ACCA qualification. But for those people who didn't have 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:11.010 sort of entry qualification, so effectively, even though it was 0:05:11.010 --> 0:05:14.639 slightly different way around, I could start my ACCA journey 0:05:14.639 --> 0:05:16.409 without any more formal qualification. 0:05:17.849 --> 0:05:19.469 I love that and I'm aware of that as well, 0:05:19.469 --> 0:05:23.609 that we are one of the professions where you can come in without 0:05:23.609 --> 0:05:26.160 having a degree and you can still move through and 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:29.969 get that chartered status, but you build that foundation without 0:05:30.150 --> 0:05:32.580 that being a degree or without that being A levels. 0:05:32.910 --> 0:05:34.770 Ben, I want to come back to you and just 0:05:34.770 --> 0:05:37.799 ask you a very similar question. Can you tell me 0:05:37.799 --> 0:05:40.050 about your job? What do you do, where do you work? 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:42.900 So currently I work at Crowe Isle of Man. I'm 0:05:42.900 --> 0:05:45.960 a Client Accountant. So we get books in, do a 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.450 lot of debits and credits, lots of bank recs. When 0:05:48.450 --> 0:05:50.938 you obviously get your big clients do their bookkeeping as 0:05:50.940 --> 0:05:53.159 well on the side. We deal with quite a lot 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:55.979 of trusts, quite a lot of big companies as well. 0:05:56.219 --> 0:05:58.199 Most of the stuff that we do is normally Isle 0:05:58.199 --> 0:06:00.210 of Man based, which is normally a lot of investments, 0:06:00.449 --> 0:06:02.040 but then also there's quite a lot of stuff going 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:02.790 on in the UK. 0:06:03.390 --> 0:06:08.428 Lovely. You talked about loving maths. Do you have a maths degree? What's your background, 0:06:08.428 --> 0:06:08.940 your relationship with maths? 0:06:08.940 --> 0:06:13.110 So I did maths for the maths and physics as my A- levels, 0:06:13.710 --> 0:06:16.020 and then when it came to going to uni, I went 0:06:16.020 --> 0:06:18.719 to university to do a degree in maths and physics. I 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:21.060 lasted for three weeks and then dropped out of uni. 0:06:21.330 --> 0:06:23.520 Then I started as a trainee auditor, did that for 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.000 a bit then for multiple reasons, mainly that I wasn't 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.670 mature enough to be working, I left. I went to 0:06:29.670 --> 0:06:32.850 then go do a second degree. This one was in accountancy, 0:06:32.910 --> 0:06:34.709 but it was on the Isle of Man where we 0:06:34.709 --> 0:06:37.770 don't have a specific university. We've got a college which 0:06:37.770 --> 0:06:41.279 is then linked to the University of Chester. I was 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:43.620 there for a year. Then COVID hit. So from that 0:06:43.620 --> 0:06:45.450 I then dropped out of that as well and that's 0:06:45.690 --> 0:06:48.928 when I then started doing my ACCA training. So... 0:06:48.928 --> 0:06:48.988 Wow. 0:06:49.259 --> 0:06:51.060 I've not dropped out of one, but I've dropped out of two 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.609 uni degrees and then I've still ended up becoming fully qualified. 0:06:53.609 --> 0:06:57.719 Okay. So you are fully qualified, you are a chartered accountant as well. 0:06:57.900 --> 0:06:58.140 Yeah. 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:02.428 Congratulations. I think that really shows that career paths are 0:07:02.428 --> 0:07:06.089 not just linear. They're not just go to university, get 0:07:06.089 --> 0:07:09.779 that degree. When you finished, when you got that text 0:07:09.780 --> 0:07:12.870 message or that email that said, " You've finished the qualification, 0:07:12.870 --> 0:07:14.580 you've passed all of your exams," how did you feel? 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.250 It was brill! It was really nice to know that 0:07:18.510 --> 0:07:20.610 you've reached the end and there's a point whereby you 0:07:20.610 --> 0:07:22.860 never actually have to do anything again. If you did 0:07:22.860 --> 0:07:26.219 want to continue doing more qualifications and everything, you could do, 0:07:26.219 --> 0:07:29.220 but it would be entirely your call. However, having that 0:07:29.609 --> 0:07:32.910 ACCA stamp after your name just opened so many doors. 0:07:32.910 --> 0:07:35.070 Having that means that you are set and you're going 0:07:35.070 --> 0:07:37.470 to at least always have a comfortable life and you 0:07:37.470 --> 0:07:39.570 never have to really worry about getting a job. It 0:07:39.570 --> 0:07:43.319 was a really satisfying text to receive. 0:07:43.379 --> 0:07:46.139 And I want to come back over here please for me, Kyle, 0:07:46.319 --> 0:07:48.689 and just ask you a similar question about when you 0:07:48.689 --> 0:07:50.399 got to the end of your studies, how did you feel? 0:07:50.730 --> 0:07:54.480 I think it took a while for me. I mean 0:07:54.780 --> 0:07:58.319 I immediately realized I did pass and it was very exciting, 0:07:58.650 --> 0:08:01.440 but to actually feel it in my day- to- day 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.649 life it took a while, because at that time I 0:08:04.650 --> 0:08:09.540 was juggling a lot of things. I was buying a new house. 0:08:09.540 --> 0:08:14.250 My daughter was newly born, moved to Newcastle. At that 0:08:14.250 --> 0:08:17.010 time I was working as an IT Auditor at one 0:08:17.010 --> 0:08:19.620 of the big four firms, so the work was quite 0:08:19.620 --> 0:08:24.209 busy as well. And doing the last professional stage papers 0:08:24.389 --> 0:08:28.560 while doing all of that. And it was really probably the most 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.590 difficult time of my life. And then I was so relieved, 0:08:32.070 --> 0:08:35.040 one side excited, one side, relieved, but at the same 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.530 time it's quite hard to believe I finally did it. 0:08:37.740 --> 0:08:39.750 So it took me a while for a few weeks, 0:08:39.870 --> 0:08:42.600 and then I thought, I looked back and I realized actually 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:46.710 I did pass, everything's done and I've finished. And as Ben said, 0:08:46.710 --> 0:08:51.299 I can now do whatever I want to do. It was definitely good, the best 0:08:51.300 --> 0:08:52.110 moment of my life. 0:08:52.590 --> 0:08:56.250 Oh, that's so fantastic to hear. It really is. Just 0:08:56.250 --> 0:08:59.789 want to take you to that journey. So you're saying 0:08:59.789 --> 0:09:03.179 you're working as an IT auditor, you're moving, you've got 0:09:03.179 --> 0:09:07.590 your baby, you've got a lot going on, maths also 0:09:07.590 --> 0:09:10.799 in the mix there. How did you find studying for maths, 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.139 particularly as you're moving towards the latter stages of the 0:09:13.139 --> 0:09:16.439 qualification as someone who didn't have an initial love for maths, 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.560 how did you find the maths within your studies? 0:09:19.770 --> 0:09:22.530 I think if I use the example of our last 0:09:22.530 --> 0:09:28.380 stage exams, like the strategic level papers, I see one 0:09:28.380 --> 0:09:31.469 was business study and the other was financial reporting. And 0:09:31.469 --> 0:09:33.240 I didn't feel like there was a lot of maths 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.119 involved in those two. And I feel like the only 0:09:36.119 --> 0:09:39.390 paper that really required a bit more advanced maths knowledge 0:09:39.390 --> 0:09:44.098 was the advanced financial management. But even then I could 0:09:44.490 --> 0:09:47.610 kind of teach myself by searching on Google. It wasn't 0:09:47.610 --> 0:09:50.549 like a university level of maths, it was probably somewhere 0:09:50.549 --> 0:09:53.789 around the secondary school level of maths. I happen to 0:09:54.270 --> 0:09:57.300 not study as far as some other students might have 0:09:57.300 --> 0:09:59.520 done because I dropped out of school. So for a 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.100 lot of other students it might be still within the 0:10:02.100 --> 0:10:05.160 limit of what they studied at school, but even if 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:09.360 it's not, I think it was not that complex enough 0:10:09.389 --> 0:10:10.769 that you could just learn as you go. 0:10:10.799 --> 0:10:14.310 So just touching on some of what you've said there, 0:10:14.940 --> 0:10:17.940 what skills do you feel have turned out to be 0:10:18.090 --> 0:10:21.150 most important to you working as an accountant? 0:10:21.420 --> 0:10:25.349 One is professional skepticism. We, I think, hear about this 0:10:25.349 --> 0:10:27.450 a lot in audit paper. But I think as an 0:10:27.450 --> 0:10:31.260 accountant in this kind of time when the technology is 0:10:31.260 --> 0:10:35.610 changing really fast and the business process is changing every 0:10:35.610 --> 0:10:38.130 year by year, we see a lot of ways that 0:10:38.130 --> 0:10:41.099 we've done things that worked in the past, but maybe 0:10:41.099 --> 0:10:44.429 not quite the best way of doing going forward. And 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.210 by exercising professional skepticism like this, having mindset of always 0:10:48.420 --> 0:10:51.900 double checking are constructively challenging, whether it's the best way 0:10:51.900 --> 0:10:56.490 or not, that kind of provide opportunity for development, whether 0:10:56.610 --> 0:11:00.328 it's for the accountant like personal development or whether it's 0:11:00.330 --> 0:11:03.660 for that workplace, the company. So that's I think one 0:11:03.660 --> 0:11:06.958 of the key skills. And in line with that then 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:08.940 if things are changing, if I've asked the question, is it 0:11:09.059 --> 0:11:11.189 the best way? If it's not, what's the way forward? 0:11:11.429 --> 0:11:13.920 And if we know what's the way forward, then the 0:11:13.980 --> 0:11:17.670 adaptability to be able to learn. And I think we 0:11:17.670 --> 0:11:21.929 have this requirement for continuing professional development. So in line 0:11:21.929 --> 0:11:24.630 with that as well, we need to just constantly accept 0:11:24.630 --> 0:11:27.929 the new things so that we are able to utilize 0:11:27.929 --> 0:11:31.500 the technologies and different way of doing things that's available 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:33.990 as we progress in our career and year by year. 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:36.000 I love to hear an auditor to talk about professional 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:39.630 skepticism. That rings true, and I think auditors will be 0:11:39.630 --> 0:11:43.650 very happy to hear that too. And I just want 0:11:43.650 --> 0:11:45.630 to ask about your career. Do you feel your career 0:11:45.630 --> 0:11:47.968 has turned out as you expected? 0:11:48.059 --> 0:11:50.760 Yes, in terms of direction, it did. I did have 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.420 the idea of studying accountancy and I decided that when 0:11:54.420 --> 0:11:59.160 I left Korean Navy I did some navigation sort of 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.140 things and that had nothing to do with getting a 0:12:01.140 --> 0:12:03.810 job on land. So when I left that job, I 0:12:03.929 --> 0:12:06.809 just started from scratch and I met my wife back 0:12:06.809 --> 0:12:09.240 in South Korea. So when she wanted to come back here, 0:12:09.300 --> 0:12:11.220 I need to decide what am I going to do 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.190 to make living? And then I looked at what sort 0:12:14.190 --> 0:12:16.800 of things can I do without a degree, without much 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:21.120 saving to start with. And that's where I saw accounting 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:25.920 as the way forward, because I looked at other professions 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.070 and quite a few of them had barriers to entry 0:12:29.550 --> 0:12:32.490 and accounting was one of the very few that didn't 0:12:32.490 --> 0:12:35.910 have barriers to entry. And I also felt that accounting is 0:12:35.910 --> 0:12:39.270 kind of a core of any sort of organization, whether if they're profit- 0:12:39.270 --> 0:12:42.809 making or not, or government... well without money, nothing really runs. 0:12:42.900 --> 0:12:45.629 So to me it gave me the idea that if 0:12:45.630 --> 0:12:49.439 I choose to go become an accountant, I can start 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.579 as an accountant, and there are so many other pathways that's available. 0:12:53.789 --> 0:12:59.130 And whether if it's technical accounting like audit or tax or 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:03.270 some other ways, or more leaning towards management if you are 0:13:03.270 --> 0:13:07.679 more interested in that side of business. So I think 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.679 I'm heading towards where I wanted to be. I'm still 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:15.000 exploring what's my next step of my career, but it's 0:13:15.030 --> 0:13:18.150 going toward the right direction and I'm really happy that 0:13:18.150 --> 0:13:20.670 I could do that. The reason why I moved from 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.900 more private sector to public sector was as an accountant, 0:13:24.929 --> 0:13:28.889 I feel like once you're qualified, we can reasonably have 0:13:28.889 --> 0:13:34.410 a financially comfortable starting point as a newly qualified accountant. 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.290 So that means that from that point onwards, you could 0:13:37.290 --> 0:13:39.809 either choose to do what you are doing at that 0:13:39.809 --> 0:13:42.449 sort of newly qualified level or you could go all 0:13:42.450 --> 0:13:46.078 the way up. But for me, because I spent so 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:50.309 much time studying, I wanted to kind of adapt into 0:13:50.309 --> 0:13:54.330 that level of new life and focus on something that's 0:13:54.750 --> 0:13:57.600 a bit more meaningful. So something that I can give back, 0:13:57.929 --> 0:14:01.319 which is why I thought possibly going into education sector, 0:14:01.349 --> 0:14:04.679 particularly in the public sector and education, that is something 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.679 that what I do, I can see what difference I 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:13.020 do make in my workplaces. And also volunteering for this... 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.978 ACCA has this early career ambassador, so the promoting thing, 0:14:17.250 --> 0:14:19.320 those sort of things, I feel like I can give 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:23.549 something back. So that's why I think it's really good 0:14:23.549 --> 0:14:25.590 that I have those choices. 0:14:28.170 --> 0:14:31.140 It's exciting to hear you talking about the next step. Coming back to you, Ben, has 0:14:31.140 --> 0:14:33.089 it turned out as you expected? 0:14:33.510 --> 0:14:36.119 If you asked me when I was 18? No, it's 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.849 very different to what I expected. I did expect to go 0:14:38.849 --> 0:14:41.340 do a degree in math and physics, then probably go 0:14:41.340 --> 0:14:44.160 on, do a master's, potentially a doctorate, go on that 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:48.240 route. Even then when I came back, accountancy was always 0:14:48.870 --> 0:14:51.360 my plan B because both my parents were accountants, so 0:14:52.500 --> 0:14:55.230 it's in my blood. So it was always something that was 0:14:55.230 --> 0:14:56.910 always on the table. And so when I came back in 0:14:56.910 --> 0:15:00.389 and started that, but then I was an audit, I'm not 0:15:00.389 --> 0:15:03.540 an auditor, I did not enjoy that side of it. 0:15:04.020 --> 0:15:06.480 So then even then I still wanted to end up 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.359 being an accountant, but I decided to start taking a 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.090 different route towards it that then didn't turn out. And 0:15:12.090 --> 0:15:15.330 then I started again doing accountancy. But where I was 0:15:15.330 --> 0:15:17.879 working, I was essentially training up to end up being 0:15:17.879 --> 0:15:20.340 a teacher to then start training people to be accountants 0:15:20.340 --> 0:15:22.859 as well. I then didn't like the idea of standing 0:15:22.860 --> 0:15:24.510 up in front of a classroom and teaching. So after 0:15:24.510 --> 0:15:27.119 I qualified, that's when I then went more into the 0:15:27.150 --> 0:15:30.899 private sector and doing people's accounts instead. 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:33.359 Working with clients. Lovely. What's your favorite bit? 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:38.400 My favorite part about everything that I've done is the helping 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.739 people side of it. So when I was working at 0:15:40.740 --> 0:15:43.560 the place where I qualified, all the students would always 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.480 come to us and they'd ask us for help. And 0:15:45.780 --> 0:15:47.910 being able to sit down with someone and go, " Right, 0:15:47.910 --> 0:15:50.219 I see that you're stressing out about something. Here's the 0:15:50.219 --> 0:15:51.809 way that you get around it. This is how we 0:15:51.809 --> 0:15:55.170 can help." And being able to put other people at 0:15:55.170 --> 0:15:57.660 ease and help people, that's always been my favorite bit 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:00.270 throughout everything. I've always been quite a social person so 0:16:00.270 --> 0:16:02.880 that being able to comfort someone and be able to 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.700 make someone feel better in themselves, that was always my 0:16:05.700 --> 0:16:06.480 favorite side of it. 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:10.020 So just to bring it back to the topic of maths, do you think you need a 0:16:12.300 --> 0:16:14.730 maths degree to work in accounting and finance? 0:16:14.850 --> 0:16:16.741 Oh, not at all. No. Without a doubt, no. 0:16:16.741 --> 0:16:16.742 Kyle? 0:16:16.742 --> 0:16:16.743 Not at all. I agree. 0:16:16.743 --> 0:16:23.759 No? And if you could give advice to someone who's considering working 0:16:23.759 --> 0:16:26.520 in accounting and finance, considering that as their career path, 0:16:26.849 --> 0:16:28.229 what would that advice be? 0:16:29.580 --> 0:16:32.130 If it's someone who's in school, I'd say, whilst you 0:16:32.130 --> 0:16:34.320 can make sure that you get out there, try and 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.570 get some work experience, get a feel for what it's 0:16:36.570 --> 0:16:38.369 actually like to do the job, to see how it 0:16:38.370 --> 0:16:40.859 is, see if it is something that you like. And 0:16:40.860 --> 0:16:42.899 if it is something that you get started on it 0:16:42.900 --> 0:16:44.880 as soon as you can. The sooner you start it, 0:16:44.910 --> 0:16:47.100 the sooner you finish it, the sooner you finish it, 0:16:47.100 --> 0:16:49.290 the sooner that all those doors open up and you 0:16:49.290 --> 0:16:51.840 can crack on with the rest of your life, well, 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:52.740 in such a brilliant way. 0:16:53.700 --> 0:16:54.840 Kyle, any thoughts? 0:16:55.410 --> 0:16:58.110 Yeah, absolutely agree. I think work experience, the most important 0:16:58.110 --> 0:17:02.069 thing to start with, and especially because there are different 0:17:02.070 --> 0:17:05.879 pathways available. Where possible, I would encourage younger student to 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.780 look out for a lot of pathways that's available, especially 0:17:09.780 --> 0:17:12.478 with the graduate scheme or apprenticeship and that sort of 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:16.770 thing. Depending on which area of accounting you start from, 0:17:17.609 --> 0:17:20.009 it might take some time to be able to switch 0:17:20.009 --> 0:17:23.309 to something else. It's always possible to switch between different 0:17:24.180 --> 0:17:28.530 roles in terms of accounting, but it's always better to 0:17:28.530 --> 0:17:31.170 know where you're walking into and then know that you'll 0:17:31.170 --> 0:17:33.869 be reasonably happy with why you can't 100% tell until 0:17:33.869 --> 0:17:34.829 you actually start a job. 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.230 I think that's such great advice from both of you, 0:17:37.230 --> 0:17:40.740 getting that experience and just a bit of exposure to what the 0:17:41.190 --> 0:17:44.490 work might entail I think is really key. That's it 0:17:44.490 --> 0:17:47.580 from this episode of By All Accounts. Thank you Kyle 0:17:47.580 --> 0:17:49.920 and Ben for chatting with me today. For a link 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.949 to watch the video version of this podcast, check out 0:17:52.950 --> 0:17:56.129 the show notes. With skills in accountancy and finance, you 0:17:56.130 --> 0:17:59.790 can work in any business anywhere and turn your passion 0:18:00.029 --> 0:18:04.350 into an exciting and rewarding career with an ACCA qualification. 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.198 You can sign up to find out more by heading 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:13.168 to accaglobal. com/ beyouanywhere. That link is also in the 0:18:13.170 --> 0:18:16.408 show notes. See you next week. I'm Maiki Lynch and 0:18:16.410 --> 0:18:19.740 this has been, By All Accounts. By All Accounts is 0:18:19.740 --> 0:18:23.880 a Fresh Air Production for ACCA. Its Lead Producer is 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:27.929 Eva Higginbotham and its Executive Producer is Annie Day, with 0:18:27.929 --> 0:18:30.688 support from Sarah Moore. Yohan Forbes is the Videographer.