I say this as someone who was exactly in the same shoes as the TS about 2 years ago.

For a UK university accounting graduate, the most natural route is to apply to a Big 4 firm under its Graduate Scheme. By doing so, you would have to do ICAEW's ACA or ICAS's CA (both are equally prestigious qualifications). Typically they wouldn't make you do the ACCA.

It is true that the ACA is engineered in a way to groom public accountants, but if you look at its structure it has a paper which focuses on Business & Finance and another one on Business Strategy; as well as a Case Study paper at the end which is based on a business scenario.

My advice would be to go for a summer internship at the Big 4, do your best and if you get the job, do take it because the amount of focus they put on the training and support for your ACA studies is immense.

After going through all your posts, my advice would be this:

- Don't do the 1 year placement

- Instead, try for a summer internship (application window should be open now). The interview and assessment process is far less rigorous than for a graduate position within the same company. The internship would typically be 8 weeks during your summer vacation (usually July-August). Perform well over the course of the internship and ace the interview at the end of it and you're guaranteed a graduate position right after you graduate! All you need to worry about is your academics in your third year.

Also, as an accounting grad it would be best for you to hone your skills in a Big4 firm as the client experience (soft skills) that you will get in the UK is invaluable. And you would be one of the lucky ones to be able to experience the tremendous support and training that the big4 in UK will provide. You can use time with the firm to decide what sort of client base you would like to have, which can help you determine the type of industry you could potentially specialise in in the future.

This post has been edited by cyclonova: Nov 24 2009, 07:19 AM

An internship with the Big4 in the UK usually comprises of the following application steps:

1) Online application form
2) Online numerical/verbal reasoning test
3) Assessment centre (group discussion, report-writing)
4) Senior manager / partner interview

Personally I went through all of the above and still managed to juggle it with my studies simultaneously - along with many others before me. So it's not as hard as it sounds. As long as you do your research and keep your commercial awareness up-to-date you should be fine. You do not have to spend 5 hours a day on preparing for applications. What you have to do is:

- Enhance commercial awareness (be aware of the news in the marketplace, and how your employer firm is involved in the market)
- Do research on the firm you are being interviewed with (newspaper, internet, firm website, annual report are good sources of info)
- Practise online tests

Also, you do not need to apply for a work permit for an 2-month internship position. If you get a graduate position with the firm should you do well over the course of your internship and ace the final interview, your visa (Tier 2 General Migrant) fees will be sponsored by the firm via a Certificate of Sponsorship.

I was working in EY London in the summer of 2008 (July-August) within Assurance. PM me if you want.

As for the AAT, consider how much time you need to take to study it. In the UK, the most natural route for grads is to graduate with a degree (some even with non accounting-related ones) and do the ACA thereafter. You sound a bit reluctant to go straight into the ACA after graduation. Trust me, many people before you and before me have done it so it's not impossible. Everything requires a bit of effort, really.