First of all, let’s get the facts straight. The conventional wisdom that an accountancy qualification entitles you to a job for life has never been true. This is because accountants, along with their colleagues in the wider workforce, have no immunity from the economic cycle or company decision-making. Ever since the fall of Lehman’s in September 2008, companies have been frantically shedding staff as they struggle to deal with the worst downturn since World War II and senior finance professionals, as highly paid non-revenue generators, have inevitably been among those in the firing line.