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A native of Oldcastle, Co. Meath, Martin Kennedy was one of youngest students to pass the FAE exams in 2005. Martin has been working in P. Ryan & Company in Dublin 2 since 2001 and succeeded in his FAEs in autumn 2005 at the early age of 22.

Martin Kennedy (23) found business interesting from an early age. His father taught accountancy in a secondary school and his sister, Grace, is a Chartered Accountant. Their combined influence convinced Martin that accountancy was the career for him. Most students who want to be Chartered Accountants opt to go to university, obtain a degree and then enter a training contract. Martin chose an alternative route by entering a 5 year training contract straight after his Leaving Certificate.

“I was offered a place in university to do an accountancy degree but I had already decided to take the school leaver route. The main reason was that it is a quicker way to qualify. Instead of doing a three year degree and then signing a training contract for a further three years. I wanted to get my exams and practical experience from the start because I felt it would be more relevant to my work in the future.”

Martin set the ball rolling by applying to firms that were looking for accountancy students. He accepted a trainee position with P. Ryan & Co. in 2001.

“My next step was to enroll in the IATI Foundation course. My aim was to get a distinction in those exams which would give me access to ICAI Prof 2.”

“In the beginning it took time to get used to the office routine. I was building up experience from the start and it got easier as time went on.”

“In the IATI foundation level I had two evening lectures per week and assignments throughout the year. The ICAI Prof 2, Prof 3 and FAE years had more lectures. The long days were difficult and it was tiring, but I expected that. I always felt anything worth getting was worth working for. All the students in lectures were as busy as I was so we understood each other's situations.”

On the work front, Martin says he got very good experience with his training firm.

“As a medium sized practice it gave me some exposure to all aspects of accounting and audit. My experience began with accounts preparation, mainly for sole trader clients. It grew from that point to now where I am audit senior of companies with €35 million turnover, and work on varied assignments such as mergers, management buy outs, liquidations and business plans. From the start I always got the opportunity to personally meet and deal with the clients I worked for which was also good experience.”

Asked about the disadvantages of not having a degree, Martin says: “In the leaving certificate everyone's main aim is to get the college place they want so my friends found it slightly unusual for me to be offer a university place and not take it. There were some disadvantages, such as not having the 3 or so extra years as a student and the student lifestyle. Also I didn't have the long summer holidays. At that time I was involved in athletics training with Dublin City Harriers but work, lectures and study meant I could no longer give athletics the time it required.”

Martin had been involved in athletics at a very high level and could not continue to give six evenings per week to training. However, he believes it is important to keep up sport and fitness so he has maintained a certain level of training. With the study over now, and still only 23, he has time to resume more serious training. Martin would certainly encourage school leavers to think about training trhough the IATI route for a career in the profession. “Any route to becoming a qualified Chartered Accountant is a good one in my opinion but, at 23, I have passed all my exams, have 5 years work experience and have all the options available to newly qualified Chartered Accountants so I am very pleased to have taken this route.”

“Like everything there are advantages and disadvantages. If someone doesn't mind not going to college and likes the idea of starting a professional career at a young age then I would recommend it. Your confidence grows as you pass each exam and at the same time you are gaining more and more work experience. The 5 year contract actually passes surprisingly quickly, probably because you are quite busy all the time.

I would advise students to take time in finding a firm that they are happy to work for and where they will get good experience. I would also advise people that as the exams are not easy students should try to get the correct balance between work, study and free time.”

Do chartered accountants and an ordinary accountants do the same work or different .Dont you think ,well nowadays,people with degrees have less opportunities than a person with a diploma? please reply

Hi, yes you can proceed with your education provided you have the entry requirements. I have put the information below. Your next step is to apply to our student registration department to confirm you are eligible to train. Then you will be able to enrol on CAP1 and start the lectures in the Autumn. We run the lectures through out the country and provide you will all your books and course materials. As for your work experience you need to apply directly to a firm or a business that will train you by giving you a training contract. If you want to proceed with the education side and continue looking for a job placement we also offer a pre-contract registration route which allows you start with ICAI and come back to us to register your training contract when you get one. We allow CAP1 and CAP2 exams to be taken through the pre contract route. If you want more information go to www.icai.ie Best of luck with your future studies, Caroline Bolster ICAI. In relation to the IATI Foundation Year: If a distinction is gained in the IATI foundation year, students may progress directly to CAP 1. Students must also have obtained a minimum of 360 points in their leaving certificate in not more than 6 subjects, including English and Maths, with grades not lower than C at Ordinary or D at higher level, taken at a single sitting OR a minimum of 3 GCE Advanced Level subjects achieved a grade C or higher and GCSE English and Mathematics attained a minimum of a grade B.

Hello, I am just wondering what I should do next. I completed the IATI examinations obtaining a distinction. However I dont have the relevant work experience that is necessary to obtain my qualification. I wish to future my career but would like advise I where to go next.

i am just wondering do you know of anywhere i can train to become qualified near wexford or waterford?it would have to be part-time day or else night courses.thank you