Passed The UFE? What’s next?

Passed the UFE this year? Or expect to do so before the results come out?

Not sure about what your options really are?

Unsure about what the right salary level is for you now that you’ve qualified?

What if you still have some hours to put in before you can get the designation?

Relax the answers lay within this column, but first the bad news. Let’s assume you’ve passed, congratulations. Now the hard work begins!

‘What?’ I hear you say. ‘I thought passing my exams would be the end of my studying days!’ And indeed they might be. But for those who want to really develop their career, more learning lays ahead, and not just from textbooks this time, but in the ‘school of hard knocks’ too.

I’m sure you have a number of questions right now, as you face the first real crossroads of your career.

It can be a confusing time.

Headhunters calling you left, right and centre, with messages about tempting offers in industry?

But is industry really going to give you the career options you want, or would you be better off staying in public accounting?

What if you’ve trained with a big firm, what about moving to a mid-tier or smaller firm?

It can be a bewildering time for the freshly minted CA, and we understand that.

So, what does it mean now that you’ve passed the UFE?

Well it can mean the world to most newly minted CAs.

However, if you have yet to complete your 30 months practical experience, you need to get that ‘little matter’ seen to. You will also want to ensure that you have the required variety of experience (enough audit hours, etc) in order to qualify for membership.

That may mean staying put for a little while, and patience truly is a virtue in that case. However, we recently placed a UFE graduate, who had a massive number of hours shortfall in audit experience, in order for then to get the required hours and thus secure their designation (and the right to practice, should they choose to later on).

Public accounting can be a truly rewarding, interesting, diverse and financially worthwhile career,

Whether you intend to get some more experience and eventually branch out on your own, or if you intend to become a partner at your existing firm, there are substantial rewards awaiting you.

At this point in your career it might be tempting to jump into industry and escape tax season, earn a little more cash, and work fewer hours. You may well be offered a modest increase in your base salary (5 to 10%) after the results come out, or even a bonus payment, depending on which firm you work for and what the culture is there, or passing the exams might be a springboard to a promotion on the not-too-distant horizon. Either way, things will definitely start looking up for you. Then there is the tempting call of industry.

However, going into industry can actually limit your earnings potential later on in your career.

On our recruiting website, www.ifindcas.com, there is an article entitled, ‘Beware the Sirens’ (first published here, in The Bottom Line, June 2006) which goes on to explain why, so I won’t repeat that here.

Suffice to say that I now see a number of really good CAs who want to return to public accounting but now face a tough time getting back in.

The longer they are away from public accounting, the more difficult a return becomes.

Challenges that face the returning CA include:

· Tax changes
· Software Issues & Competencies
· Salary requirements of a senior person returning to a more junior level

So think long and hard about where you intend your career to take you before making any major changes, and seek out the advice and opinions of trusted sources.

Also, a few words for those whose names do not appear on the UFE pass list… do not become discouraged. I have seen many a great CA who, if truth be told, didn’t pass the UFE first time around. Just take this as, not the end of the world, but a fresh chance to study that little bit harder, or that little bit smarter, and bounce back stronger than ever before.

They say the key to success is being able to bounce right back after failure. How high are you going to bounce?