Accounting firm, in-house bookkeeper or bookkeeping consultant: which bookkeeping career suits you best?

Every day, we talk to a lot of finance professionals about their career path. This consistently drives the point home: choosing a job at an accounting firm, a role as an in-company bookkeeper or a job as a bookkeeping consultant is not about better or worse, but about finding the path that suits you best. Below, we outline the key differences between these three career paths, so you can decide which one fits you best.

Team

If having a steady team is important to you, an internal role may be the best option. This could be either in a company’s finance department or at an accounting firm. This ensures that you always know who you will be working with, who you can rely on, and who specializes in which fields.

As a bookkeeping consultant, you typically switch projects every 6 to 9 months. The team, company, and sector you work in will always be subject to change. It goes without saying that you will also have fellow consultants with whom you can discuss specific challenges, but these are not the colleagues you work with daily on a project. On the other hand, at TriFinance, we regularly organize office days and events allowing you to keep in touch with your fellow consultants.

Work location

Besides the work environment, the work location itself is also flexible in consultancy. Projects vary in duration and may be closer to home or have a longer commuting distance. Ideally, you work on projects within your own region or province, but the growth potential of a project outweighs the commute. This means that you may have to travel a bit further for a project that presents an exceptional growing opportunity. At TriFinance, we always agree on this after close consultation.

In a permanent position, your residence and work location can be better aligned. For those who enjoy cycling to work, this is a nice bonus. However, a longer commute doesn’t necessarily mean a worse work-life balance. Think, for example, of flexible working hours.

Development opportunities

The flexibility you show in terms of work location is balanced by a significant development potential as a bookkeeping consultant. The ambition for continuous growth remains the main reason why people opt for consultancy. Every project provides you with a different set of tasks in a new work environment, which ensures a lot of variety and a steep learning curve. This approach enables you to tackle increasingly complex bookkeeping tasks, allowing you to grow towards roles such as team lead or manager, depending on your ambitions. Every project offers new opportunities to learn and further sharpen your knowledge of systems, processes, and ERP packages. Additionally, you build a broad external finance network.

As a corporate accountant, you have a deep understanding of the ins and outs of the bookings, systems, and underlying processes within the company. Growth opportunities in this career path depend on the vision on internal mobility and team size. Your growth path is generally more organic, compared to consultancy.

At an accounting firm, you handle the A to Z accounting for your clients and act as their sparring partner. Just like in consultancy, there is an aspect of client contact, although the frequency and type of client do differ considerably. The external network you interact with as an accountant often consists of small and medium-sized enterprises and sole proprietorships. Compared to an internal role in a company’s finance department, you are further from the business and have work less with ERP packages.

Personal ambitions

Whether you choose to work in an accounting firm, take on an internal role, or pursue a job as a bookkeeping consultant, it all depends on your own career goals and personal preferences. If you want to learn quickly, grow continuously and gain broad experience across various companies and sectors, consultancy is a great option. If you value a stable team, a fixed workplace, and wish to deepen your expertise as a specialist, a role as a corporate accountant might be a good match. If you want to be part of a fixed team, but also act as a sparring partner for your clients while diving deeper into taxation, a role in an accounting firm may be a better fit for you.