Which Career Path Is Yours? Start Here. Your accounting qualification opens six career paths. Most accountants do not know all six exist. Fewer know how to position themselves for them. That is what FDA is here to change. Read the description of each path below. One of them will feel immediately relevant to where you are and where you want to go. That is your starting point. PATH 1 — FINANCE BUSINESS ANALYST You analyse data, document how financial processes work today, identify the gaps between current state and future state, write the requirements for how the system should work, and build the artefacts that ERP programmes run on. You are the bridge between what finance needs and what the technology delivers. This is the most accessible entry point into ERP careers for qualified accountants. Your AP, AR, GL, and close experience is directly relevant. You do not need to know how to configure Oracle. You need to know what it needs to do — and why. Accounting knowledge that opens this door: Any experience in AP, AR, GL, reconciliations, month-end close, or financial reporting. PATH 2 — FUNCTIONAL CONSULTANT You design solutions, configure ERP systems to match business requirements, run design workshops with finance and operational teams, and support adoption. You understand Oracle, SAP, Dynamics, Unit4, or Workday well enough to configure it — and you understand finance well enough to know what the configuration must achieve. Functional Consultants sit at the intersection of accounting knowledge and system expertise. They are typically employed by Systems Integrators or work as independent contractors on ERP programmes. *Accounting knowledge that opens this door: Deep understanding of finance processes end to end — P2P, O2C, R2R, and the modules that support them.* PATH 3 — FINANCE SYSTEMS SPECIALIST You own the systems that finance runs on. You support users, optimise processes, manage system upgrades, ensure data quality, build reports, and drive continuous improvement. You sit between the finance team and IT — speaking both languages fluently and ensuring neither side loses the plot.