Campus Events & News

28/06/2007  CA QUALIFICATION TO BE OFFERED OUTSIDE THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME

Students in Luxembourg will be the first from outside the UK to study for the prestigious CA qualification. On completion, students will be qualified Chartered Accountants. The CA course, which is regarded worldwide as pre-eminent Chartered Accountancy training, is provided by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the first professional body of accountants in the world.

An initial class of at least 15 students drawn from leading employers State Street , Brown Brothers Harriman, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers will begin their courses in the autumn. Other employers are currently finalising their plans and more students are expected to join this initial class.

The students can expect to qualify as CAs in three years, with a qualification that is recognised worldwide. On qualification, ICAS is encouraging those students who plan to stay in Luxembourg and exercise within the auditing profession to take the exams provided by the Luxembourg Auditing Institute, L’Institut des Réviseurs d’Entreprises (IRE).

Welcoming the establishment of the class, ICAS Chief Executive, Anton Colella said, “We are breaking new ground by taking the CA qualification outside the UK and onto the continent. We are responding to clear employer demand for our qualification, which is regarded by many as the ‘gold standard’ in accountancy training. CAs work successfully in a global business environment – so it made sense to offer business outside the UK the chance to train the leaders of the future through our CA programme. Luxembourg is a truly world class financial centre in which world class businesses operate – we are pleased that we can now offer them our world class qualification.”

John Li, Managing Partner, KPMG in Luxembourg said, “We welcome this excellent initiative from ICAS. Many of our clients are experiencing significant growth through the continued expansion of the Luxembourg financial services industry which continues to drive an increasing demand for accountants with strong technical and analytical skills. We have found that the CA is admirably equipped to satisfy these and other demands from our clients and KPMG are therefore delighted to be at the forefront of supporting this initiative.”

Geoffrey Cook, Managing Director of Brown Brothers Harriman in Luxembourg said, “We are committed to attracting and developing leading talent in the industry and are therefore delighted to be able to offer the CA qualification as part of our comprehensive training offering.”

Mervyn R. Martins, Senior Partner at PwC and member of ICAS said, "PricewaterhouseCoopers is delighted to be a founding participant in the ICAS training programme in Luxembourg . This programme will assist in attracting and retaining additional talented resources to a dynamic economic marketplace in the heart of Europe , and will form part of our key talent development initiatives. We are committed to providing participants this unique chance of obtaining a first class qualification in a major financial centre, which offers diverse industry and sector experience.

Combining the ICAS CA qualification with the "Luxembourg experience at PwC", will open to them a wide range of opportunities to conquer the world! "

04/04/2006  ICAS - The Route to Salary Success

CA Magazine’s exclusive salary survey of almost 3,000 ICAS members confirms accountants are well rewarded for their efforts.

Looking at opinions on remuneration, benefits, levels of satisfaction and working patterns the recently commissioned survey uncovered the following:

Salary

• The average total remuneration for Chartered Accountants is £85,400 a year.*

• Almost a quarter (24%) earn over £100,000 a year.

• Over 80% of those surveyed are satisfied or very satisfied with their current remuneration.

• The vast majority (86%) of respondents have a pay review once a year.

• The pay gap between men and women is at its narrowest for the under 30’s (£8,000) and at its widest for those aged 40 and over (around £60,000).

*Note:
- respondents had been working for an average of 17 years.
- salaries given include London as well as a wide variety of organisations and roles.
- the highest salaries were commanded by those
between 41 and 50 years of age.

Age - Remuneration (£k)

30 & under - 44.7
31 – 35 - 72.8
36 – 40 - 87.2
41 – 45 - 117.4
46 – 50 - 119.2
51 – 55 - 102.3
56 – 60 - 100.4
61+ - 85.7

Working Hours

• 57% of those surveyed work longer hours than their contract states.

• The average working week is 46 hours versus 38.4 contracted hours.

• Men in the age bracket 41-50 are the most likely to work beyond their contracted hours.

• There is a strong correlation between remuneration and the number of hours worked, with those working 65 hours a week or more attaining the highest salaries (up to £172.3k).

Benefits
• 80% of respondents are satisfied with their benefits package.
• Only 23% state that benefits motivate them more than salary.
• Benefits vary greatly but the five top received are:
- commission or bonus (48%)
- private health care (44%)
- health insurance (37%)
- money purchase pension (37%)
- 25 days annual holiday entitlement (36%)
• Some of the more unusual benefits include personal shoppers, pet insurance and even birthdays off!

To download the full salary survey, including average remuneration by job title and location, please Visit website...

25/03/2006  TOPP opportunities – number of training vacancies on the up

As the number of vacancies within the Institutes TOPPs scheme (Training Outside Public Practice) continues to rise the opportunities for graduates wishing to train as CA professionals within industry have never been better.

Through the TOPPs programme CA students can train in industry from day one of their training contract with companies as diverse as global financial services provider Deutsche Bank, energy giant BP and leading insurance provider Norwich Union.

Derek Hynds, Upstream Head of Internal Control at BP, advises that as Graduate Employer of the Year 2005* BP have recently chosen to increase their CA student intake from 9 to 20 new graduates each year. Working across the UK the three year training programme involves taking on three different roles in different parts of the business. So, as CA trainee Sudha Degamber explains, there is never a dull moment:

“My first role on the graduate programme has been in integrated supply and trading in the Northern European gas and power unit. The trading floor can be a daunting place to start and the first few weeks flew past in a blur. But it’s exciting to walk in every day to a place where it seems activity never stops and the big TV screens are running 24 hours.”

The advantage TOPP students have over those training within an accountancy firm is that, for those who have decided that they want to work in industry or commerce, it gives them the chance to do so from the very start of their training contract. Not only will graduates have all the advantages associated with working for a large blue-chip employer, but they will also be gaining what is recognised by employers as the most prestigious professional qualification available. Martin Cheetham, Finance Training Manager at Norwich Union, comments:

“Our graduates in the TOPPs scheme benefit from training for a strong, technically orientated qualification whilst also gaining fantastic commercial experience. By working on a number of challenging assignments across the company they develop sound business acumen and a broad knowledge of how the business operates. As you can imagine this requires a lot of hard work, however for those who show full commitment to the programme the rewards are high.”

TOPP employers will be looking for the same qualities that other CA training offices look for in prospective CA trainees. Lauren Rogers, Global Graduate Manager for Deutsche Bank, explains:

“Flexibility, commitment and initiative are a must for working at Deutsche Bank. As a leading global investment banking, we are always looking for high achievers and to succeed in such a dynamic environment you need to be able to make an impact from day one.”

Other TOPPs employers include Allied Irish Banks, ConocoPhillips, HBOS, Standard Life and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

To search and apply for TOPPs vacancies please visit the ‘vacancies’ page