I am not unique on the forum with such question, but I will still try to ask.
I live in Basel and currently search for a job.
Previously I studied in a Private school, which was situated in french part of Switzerland, taught all courses in English and likewise I have completed my Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Administration .
I have previously received a Diploma in Banking and Finance in Moscow. And worked there for almost 3 years.
Unfortunately, I am just studying German and though I already signed for Goethe Certificate Exam for level A2 - it is too low for work or study in German.
Which courses in English could I take in Basel or Zurich that will help me in finding the job either based on my previous studies or... Well, I am open minded it could be also something absolutely different.
I have tried to research myself, but did not find any single courses in English apart from full Bachelor or Masters programs.
If you are not a native English-speaker you could try the Cambridge First Certificate, Advanced or Proficiency - or one of the Cambridge business certificates...
Well, my English seems to be fine.. The problem is a "job oriented course" taught in English.. as unfortunately my German is yet too low level.
Thanks, but I have no need in any language courses apart from German ones. Specialized courses in Finance, Accounting, Audit etc is something I hope to find.
I was thinking about ACCA courses, but as it seems to me - they are not really recognized in Switzerland. There are some swiss certifications like that, but I found no exact information about them.
Unfortunately, you’re in Switzerland. If you want courses in English you should be in the UK. As English isn’t one of Switzerland’s official languages, it’s unlikely there’ll be courses taught in English. After all, all the documentation you would be dealing with here in any job wouldn’t be in English either.
Agree and I know that in my circumstances learning German is important. Unfortunately it is not as fast as I wish it to be. Therefore I was hoping to find some 1-2 year courses which will just help me to find the job. All the employees are asking for Deutsch als muttersprache and it seems to me I would reach this level by my retirement.
Some people here were discussing ACCA and I though it might be an opportunity.. but I am not sure now
Like all professional accounting qualifications, the ACCA requires two things - passing the exams and gaining practical experience in various aspects of accounting and finance.
The qualification itself is classified as a masters degree under the European education framework which means there is a lot of work involved and the exams are difficult to pass, as evident by the high failure rate.
The experience you need to get qualified would include dealing with the tax authorities, local payroll and so on and while I think it is possible to gain this kind of experience in Switzerland, I can't see how you could do it without knowing the local language.... e.g. How would you be able to complete a Swiss VAT return and deal with an queries raised by the revenue officers if you do not speak the language?
Yes there are qualified ACCAs working over here but they have already gained the necessary experience and are employed because the are experts and not trainees.
Thanks for the information. I know which modules are included into the ACCA and the fact that they are not easy. As I already sad in previous replies and in the original one - I do learn German and hopefully in 2 years would have a sufficient level of it. Until then as I already sad before, I thought to start a proper course related to my previous studies or complete a shorter specific one. I have never expected to complete a course like ACCA in short time frame.
I am absolutely aware of how German is necessary for my potential job and that is the reason why I study it. For now I believe that the level of my German is too low to complete any professionally oriented course in German.
Therefore I try to ask again: Is there any course (like ACCA) which is taught in English, that is valued and recognized in Switzerland? Does anybody know any information about Swiss certificates like ACCA? Thanks in advance
I can't think of any recognized study-programm similar to ACCA in English!
As you already have some degree in hospitality administration, have you thought of further studies in that field? The Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne ( www.ehl.ch ), a private institution member of Western Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (HES-SO), offers programmes in English in the field of Hospitality management. I guess that path could be more effective and easier.
The path here to get the recognized title of "eidgenössisch diplomierter Steuerexperte", or "eidgenössisch diplomierter Wirtschaftsprüfer" (I guess some swiss counterpart of ACCA) is very difficult.
So I am ACCA qualified and work for a Big 4 firm in Switzerland. All my trainees are studying to become dipl. eidgen. Wirtschaftspruefer. Some of my more junior client contacts are supported in their study to ACCA/CIMA as part of their graduate training programs...so I thought I'd chime in.
There is a reason why all professional qualifications like this require an extensive practical experience element. It is the practical experience that gives you plenty of transferrable skills that allow you to work anywhere in the world, regardless of local legal framework (at least to an extent).
Even though I qualified in the UK and don't know a lot about the Code of Obligation and Swiss audit standards I can work here easily. But my portfolio comprises only three clients, two reporting under IFRS and one group of US subsidiaries who need to convert their US GAAP books into Swiss GAAP for their statutory accounts...but I do have a tax team who look at my clients' taxes and plenty of colleagues I can turn to for help if my Swiss GAAP knowledge lets me down...what I could not do is work primarily with clients with Swiss GAAP and tax focus unless I did more training.
The same is true for my trainees, should they wish to work abroad in the future. The on the job training they receive and the experiences they gain will stand them in good stead anywhere. But again they could not do anything that requires strong local regulatory knowledge. All the professional qualification does is signal that somebody's obtained a certain skill set. In the case of accounting that often means a lot of transferrable skills...
But given your educational background and experiences passing a few ACCA modules while you learn German won't help you become more employable. You need somebody to give you a training contract so you can get the practical experience. As far as employability goes it would matter little if this was with an audit firm (dipl. eidgen. Wirtschaftspruefer - although I think the courses for this would be in German or French), or some kind of graduate program in industry, where even Swiss multinationals have been known to offer ACCA or CIMA study support as part of the package.
So if this is something you want to do find out about graduate programs. With the large international companies in Basel, the fact that your German is not fully up to scratch may not be an issue. At least it doesn't seem to matter with the international firms I work with. YMMV.
Of course your time would be equally well spent learning German because that would make you more employable, outside the world of multinational finance teams.