tommy243

Hi there,

I have recently qualified and was considering a move to the Carribean. I have been working in audit in the UK and was keen to leave practise. Given things being the way they are at the moment, the majority of jobs out there seem to be in audit, so to get to the point (finally) .. I was wondering if anyone had the experience of going to the caribbean as a newly qualified auditor and how they found the work; whether it was very difficult if you hadn't done financial services before; how it compared with the UK; what work they carried out on a day to day basis etc?

Any comments would be much appreciated!!

Thanks

Bermudashorts

I have just got back from Bermuda, yes I know not actually in the Caribbean but there are similarities and some people do put them together so thought I would see if that is somewhere you are considering too?

I went over as an experienced accountant and was head of finance in a large global company, however most of my team came over as newly qualifieds and joined the accounting firms initially. I also recruited about five or six people from the accounting firms so I have some knowledge.

So if Bermuda is somewhere you are thinking of: well firstly when I left the job market was bouyant and it was really hard to find good accountants, although that could have changed by now. In my team, a few people initially transferred to Bermuda from the UK office of a big four but not all did. Everyone I knew did have financial service experience already, but I am not able to say if that is a must. I think audit work in Bermuda would be just like audit work in the UK, although there will not be companies with hundreds or thousands of employees like there is in UK.

You would have to have a job before getting a visa. Once you have the visa, you cannot change job within the first two years. I think it is very unlikely that a newly qualified would secure a job outside audit in Bermuda.

I know you wanted comments from someone who had actually been there as a newly qualified, but hope this is of some use to you. All the best.

tommy243

Thanks for your reply!!

I have to admit I was grouping Bermuda into the Caribbean - I stand corrected.

What you said is interesting and confirms what I thought that most demand would be for audit seniors.

Now I just need to decide whether living on a tropical island is worth another two years of audit .. tough choice!!

Cheers

Bermudashorts

Well I suppose there might be opportunities outside audit on one of the other islands. In Bermuda most companies would not go through the hassle of recruitment, visa process for somebody not already on the island. And generally they wouldn't need to as there is always a supply of the qualifieds who have just finished their two years with practice.

If you decide to look into Bermuda further and want to know anything else let me know. The accountancy firms in Bermuda usually take on a small group of people all at once as the previous intake leaves, it is good for settling in and making a circle of friends.

Bermudashorts

Forgot to say, the accounting firms normally recruit around March / April in Bermuda so don't hang around