Welcome to Normanie.com! This is a website I created as a bit of a hobby to create content about my experience in the Accounting world.
Typical cliche story – I wanted to be an Accountant from a relatively young age. My uncle had a pretty successful job and started his career as an accountant, and I always used to quite like how the movement of money worked. As a young teenager I always used to try and start little businesses and make money. This isn’t because I was materialistic, but just because I have a fascination with the concept of money and how it works.
I went to University in the UK and studied Accounting with Corporate Finance (BaHons) for four years. I started applying for jobs about 8 months before I graduated, and managed to land a job with a Big 4 Accounting firm.
I decided NOY to aim for the huge offices in London etc, in order to increase my chances of a career and ended up in a small jurisdiction with a huge Financial Services focus. While my University grades were good, they were nothing to shout from the rooftops about (I graduated with a mid tier 2:1).
I began studying towards my Accountancy Exams the week after I joined the accounting firm. I chose the ICAS route (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland). This is partially because I went to University, and partially because of the prestige surrounding ICAS. The general route in my office was if you had a degree, you did ICAS, while joiners coming directly from school did ACCA.
Over two years of incredibly tough exams and mental stress, and I actually passed all of my exams first time! Including an award for my final exam receiving the highest grade in my area.
I stayed with my firm for a total of three years (minimum requirement to become a Chartered Accountant), and then moved into industry with a job at a Hedge Fund.
I hope to use this blog to inspire and educate many future or current Accountants.
Norman – Normanie.com