Prospective Students

Prospective Students

The accounting profession continues to be one of the largest employers of graduates in Ireland.  In 2015 the Gradireland Graduate Salary & Recruitment Trends Survey showed that over 50% of all graduate jobs created were in the accountancy and financial management sector. 

One of the key advantages of a career in accountancy is the variety of opportunities available for employment in the traditional roles of financial reporting and budgeting to more ad hoc projects such as advising management on potential investments and expansions into new markets. Accountants are increasingly seen as business advisors rather than bookkeepers.   

An additional benefit of obtaining an accounting qualification is that it not only allows you to work in Ireland but you can also travel and work abroad.  Most of the professional qualifications are recognised in other countries and there are a high number of Irish accountants working in other countries such as the UK and Australia. The International Experience year, an optional fourth year offered on our BComm and BComm (Accunting) programmes, offers students an opportunity to study abroad and go on work placement.  

No matter what route to qualification you take, the skills you gain while training to become an accountant are invaluable.  These skills include not just the development of technical skills and the ability to interpret, analyse, summarise and report financial information, but also the development of excellent communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills.  This enables professional accountants to become confident communicators and team players, and ultimately these skills help them to become inspiring business leaders of the future.

So how do you become an accountant?  A career in accountancy usually starts with an undergraduate degree in business, commerce or finance.  The BComm degree allows you to specialise in a particular business discipline and if you choose to specialise in accountancy you can gain valuable exemptions from the professional accountancy exams offered by the accountancy bodies.  The BComm (Accounting) specialises in accountancy from the start and requires accounting for the Leaving Certificate. This degree offers opportunities for more advanced study of accounting and is suitable for students who have fully decided on an accounting career.

We also offer two postgraduate programmes. The Master of Accounting programme’s aim is to further develop students conceptual base and knowledge and skills as an honours accounting graduate seeking a career in this area. t emphasises group work and oral and written communication skills and has been developed with reference to the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) syllabus. Therefore, significant exemptions from the CAI examinations are available. The MSc (International Accounting and Analytics) offers two pathways - one designed for high calibre business related/ commerce graduates who have not specialised in accounting and who now wish to pursue a professional career in Accounting, and another designed to provide early and mid-career accountants with the skills and knowledge needed to engage with big data in a variety of roles in practice and industry. Both include KPMG led Analytics Summer Schools on Audit and Accounting in the 21st Century: Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Related Technological Tools.