How to start your career in management accountancy

In this blog, we take a closer look at everything you need to know about starting your career in management accountancy.

What does a management accountant do?

Management accountants look to the future. Their job is to prepare forecasts that help their company’s leaders make better decisions.

How do I become a successful management accountant?

It takes more than a head for figures. You’ll need to know your organisation inside out, and understand its business model. You’ll need to spot the patterns in data and use past trends to make predictions that steer the company towards a bigger profit.

As a management accountant, you’ll find answers to questions such as where to invest, how much to spend, what to produce, how much it will cost, and which products and services are most lucrative.

What skills are required?

As well as excellent numeracy and an aptitude for analytics, you’ll need a range of other skills. Chief among them is the ability to communicate. Being ‘red-hot’ on the numbers is no use if you can’t explain that information to the decision-makers.

Leadership skills come into play as, at a senior level, management accountants supervise their team of accounting technicians. And you’ll need to be open to innovation to ensure your company keeps pace with new technologies and developments in a fast-changing world.

Add in attention to detail, problem-solving skills and the ability to meet tight deadlines, and you’ll see why management accountants are a valued part of any organisation.

Where will I work?

Chances are, in any sector you can think of! From media to manufacturing, telecoms to transport, the skills of a management accountant are always in demand.

You can work in all sizes of industrial, commercial and public sector organisations, ranging from start-ups through to SMEs and huge multinationals. Gain your management accounting qualifications, and you can use them to open doors to thousands of companies around the world.

What will I earn as a management accountant?

CIMA is the main specialist institution. CIMA qualifications can lead to Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) status, the only globally recognised designation for management accountants. It’s worth noting that to achieve the CGMA designation, as well as passing the exams, you’ll need to complete the practical experience requirements and show evidence of work-based skills and competencies.

CIMA training involves four levels – Certificate in Business Accounting, Professional Operational, Professional Management, and Professional Strategic. If you’re new to accounting, or hold the AAT Level 2 Certificate or Level 3 Diploma, you can start at the entry level Certificate in Business Accounting.

But if you have some experience, or a previous accountancy qualification such as the AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting, you can start at the CIMA Professional level. The full CIMA Professional training takes around three years to complete.

The ACCA route to becoming a management accountant

Alternatively, you could choose to train with the ACCA. There are four levels – Diploma in Accounting and Business, Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills, and Strategic Professional. Where you start will depend on any previous qualifications and experience. So again, if you’ve completed the AAT certification, you can take a fast-track route.

To qualify with ACCA to work as a management accountant, you’ll need to take the Advanced Performance Management (APM) and Advanced Financial Management (AFM) exam options in the final part of your ACCA training.

What is the career progression?

Management accounting offers a clear career pathway. Increased responsibilities will bring higher pay, and the opportunity to progress to a senior management accountant role. With experience, you could become a finance director or the chief executive of a company.

Your career path may not be linear. In fact, working in other areas such as financial project management or group accounting will give you wider financial knowledge and support progression towards a CFO role.

Ready to get started?

Many successful management accountants have chosen to prepare for their exams with Eagle Education. We support AAT, ACCA and CIMA learners through our flexible online programmes. Explore our courses today.

Try our AAT course subscription free for 7 days
Try our ACCA course subscription free for 7 days
Try our CIMA course subscription free for 7 days