CHATTERED ACCOUNTANT (CA) ZAMBIA - CAREER INFORMATION SUMMARY
WHAT IS CA ZAMBIA AND WHO IS A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT?
CA Zambia is a premier professional accountancy qualification basically meant to enhance recognition and status of accountancy graduates both locally in Zambia and globally.
On the other hand, a Chartered Accountant (CA Zambia) graduate is a highly skilled and competent accountant who has completed both the professional examinations and compulsory three (3)-year practical training programme. It is a mandate for all the graduates of CA Zambia to undergo practical training programme for a period of 3 years.
WHAT DO ACCOUNTANTS DO?
The primary task of an accountant is to prepare and examine financial records. To make sure that records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time.
Accountants and auditors* perform overviews of the financial operations of a business in order to help it run efficiently. They also provide the same services to individuals, helping them create plans of action for improved financial well-being.
* An auditor is a person authorized to review and verify the accuracy of financial records and ensure that companies and/or businesses comply with tax laws and accounting policies and regulations.
WHERE DO ACCOUNTANTS WORK AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
Many are the times when people think that accountants are people who only work in banks and count money. However, the fact of the matter is that there are a number of accounting careers that an accountant can pursue depending on the nature of the business and the industry as indicated below.
| Accounting Career type | Duties |
| Public Accountants (e.g external auditors such as KPMG, GRANT THORNTON, PWC, EY etc) | Their clients include corporations, governments and individuals. They fulfil a broad range of accounting, auditing, tax and consulting duties. |
| Management Accountants | Also called cost, managerial, corporate or private accountants. They record and analyse the financial information of the clients they work for, and provide it for internal use by managers, usually not for public use unless at the discretion of management. |
| Government Accountants (e.g Office of the Auditor General) | They maintain and examine records of government agencies, audit private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations or taxations. |
| Internal Auditors | These are accountants who work within the organisation to check for risk management of an organization or businesses' funds. They then identify ways to improve the process for finding and eliminating waste and fraud. |
CAN ONE CHANGE FROM ONE POSITION TO ANOTHER AND HOW OFTEN?
Yes. This is called career advancement. Advancements in the field of accounting can take many forms. Entry level public accountants (accountants holding first level accounting certificates) will see their responsibilities increase with each year of practice, and can move to senior positions within a few years.
Those who excel may become supervisors, managers or Audit partners*. They may also open their own public accounting firms, or transfer to management and internal positions in private firms.
Management accountants often start as cost accountants, or junior internal auditors. They can advance to accounting manager, chief cost accountant, budget director or manager of internal auditing. Some become controllers, treasurers, financial vice presidents, chief financial officers (CFOs) or corporation presidents.
The four main types of accountants enjoy a degree of cross-over potential that is unique in business. Therefore, they can transition from one type to another throughout their careers.
*An audit partner is a Certified/Chartered accountant and full equity partner in a professional accounting firm. ... Each partner earns a share of the profits, usually in proportion to his/her ownership percentage. The audit partner signs and approves the firm's audit report and financial statements for the clients s/he manages
WHAT IS THE WORK SCHEDULE OF AN ACCOUNTANT?
The work schedule or shifts of an accountant depend on the organisation one is working for. If one is working for a government department, they typically follow the normal 08hrs to 17hrs work schedule Monday to Friday. If one is working for a private company which normally have different working hours, some work 08hrs to 17hrs while others have their own work schedules which may extend further than the eight-to-seventeen hours. An accountant who works as an auditor in a private organisation may work from eight till late and normally have frequent travels around the cities and the world as the case may be in fulfilling his/her duties. This is so because the majority of the works done by these accountants are conducted at the client’s premises.
WHAT DOES THE ACCOUNTANT’S JOB MARKET LOOK LIKE?
The job market for an accountant lies in four areas and the chances of finding a job is explained in order of highest probability as follows. A newly qualified accountant can easily find a job in an audit firm. Practically, these organizations tend to have high levels of employment turnover every now and then, not because they lay people off, NOPE, but simply because most people usually get to be pouched/offered other jobs from other companies due to the fact that these staffs work around in different organisation in carrying out their duties. Some companies are just private companies that are in different industries such as commercial, retail and trade, manufacturing, Insurance, Banking, Farming, Telecommunications to mention but a few including government institutions. Basically, almost every organisation requires an accountant and that makes it easy for an accountant to find himself/herself a job on the market. Non-governmental organisations are also other employers on list that an accountant can get a job with and pursue his/her dreams.
The job market in the Accountancy industry is sort of a balanced market as every now-and-then, individuals and companies look for better ways of managing their finances and fair taxes payable to the government ensuring that they do not incur penalties and/or found wanting thereby the need for accountants on board to manage these tasks.
WHAT OTHER PROGRAMS OF STUDY CAN MAKE SOMEONE AN ACCOUNTANT?
To work as an accountant, there are many accountancy programs being offered by a variety of institutions in Zambia such as CA Zambia (CA), Bachelors Degree in Finance, Banking and Finance, Public Sector Financial Management (PSFM), Taxation etc) and globally (e.g ACCA, CIMA, CISA, CPA etc) however, in Zambia these programmes have their branch offices but are also regulated by the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA). For more information with regard to types of accountancy programs in Zambia visit the link below; https://www.google.com/search?q=accounting+courses+in+zambia&oq=accounting+courses&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l7.7660j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
WHERE CAN I STUDY ACCOUNTANCY AND FOR HOW LONG, TO EARN WHAT QUALIFICATION?
In Zambia there are a number of Universities, Colleges and Private Tutors offering accountancy programs. To find out more about the institutions offering accountancy programs in Zambia, visit the link below; www.zambianlearner.com
WHAT MODES OF STUDY ARE AVAILABLE?
Accountancy programs are the easiest to pursue given that they can be pursued as full-time (attending full-time classes with a registered institution), part-time (attending classes only either in the evenings after work or on weekends) and even on self-study basis (buying study materials and studying freely at home). All that you need is to visit the institution offering the programs such as ZICA, CBU, UOA, Cavendish University, Lusaka University, etc get registered and buy appropriate materials, study the course then later on pay for the exams and write.
WHAT ARE THE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS?
As most accountancy-based programs, its competitive and entry depends on the levels of competition in the institution offering the program. Typically, they look for twelve (12) points in six subjects and below which should include a credit or better in Mathematics and English with four other subjects.
WHAT SORT OF CAREER-PERSONALITY MATCH IS REQUIRED?
To enjoy being an accountant, you need to be a person who loves statistical/mathematical based subjects. In your first year you will learn these and you need to pass them. After graduation, to enjoy work, you need to be a person who loves to be up to-date with the current environmental changes including technological advancements as well as thinking outside the box in figuring out impacts and solutions that these may have on businesses. All that needs what is referred to as a Continued Professional Development (CPD) zeal embedded in you. In a lay-man’s language, this is basically having a mindset that is willing to keep learning new things and finding efficient ways of doing it to achieve success.
ARE THERE FUTURE ADVANCED QUALIFICATIONS AVAILABLE AND WHY?
Yes, there are. Once you study accountancy, you may decide to pursue a Master of Science in Accounting, Masters in Finance, Master’s Degree in Audit of accounts and superior accounting, Master of Science in Forensic Accounting, Master of Science in Metals and Energy Finance, to mention but a few. A master’s degree gives you an upper hand when it comes to finding new jobs in competitive market environments especially abroad. It’s a sign that apart from general skills, you have taken keen interest to master one area of your job more than other people. With a master’s degree one would become a university lecturer as well.