Starting off in Accountancy

[24mmy]

Hi

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but does anyone know the best route into Accountancy.
Being 25, have decided i need a career change, and want to do something with good long term prospects. It was something i was interested in doing before i went to Uni but i stupidly chose Computer Science.
Is there any difference in starting off with AAT or ACCA.
Thanks

[The Ferret]

I've been through both AAT and ACCA, and while AAT is a decent qualification you find a lot of it is repeated at the early stages of ACCA. If you are looking to fast track and have a reasonable understanding of finances then I would jump straight in to ACCA.

What would be more important though is finding an employer willing to sponsor your training. With the economy the way it is there seems to be less and less companies wanting to do this, but there are still some around. If you do manage to find one don't expect a massive salary, the idea is to get qualified then move on to a higher paid job. Most employers that sponsor employees and pay lower wages expect them to do just that.

It's a great qualification, and certainly opens up a lot of doors for you.

[Eric Mc]

AAT is a seperate qualification in its own right. However, it is a "lower grade" qualification compared to the full blown professional qualifications of ACCA, ACA, ICAS etc.

You can use AAT as a stepping stone to the other qualifications, if you want to. It is a route sometimes chosen.

Don't forget that there are other professional level accountancy qualifications too, such as CIMA and CIPFA.

[The Ferret]

It's also important to decide whether you want to train while employed within an accountancy practice, or try to find a job in industry that will sponsor you. I chose to work in industry and found I didn't get the variety and overall exposure that I would have done in a practice. As a result I struggled on some of the technical papers when others found it easy since they did that stuff every day at work.

I wouldn't change it though, I had the best time of my life working as an trainee accountant in the motor trade. We always had a good crack, fridays in the pub etc.... something none of my friends in practice really had. For me it was all about enjoying it while I studied.

[Eric Mc]

I worked in some prctices where sociallising and pub outings were part and parcel of the culture. "Not going to the pub" is not an issue that applies to all accountancy firms. Like any sort of organisation, firms vary.

[kit_kat]

I am currently doing AAT Level 4. Having never had anything to do with Accounting before I am glad I did as you start off with basic double entry bookkeeping etc.. I'm hoping to go on and do ACA next year.

[24mmy]

Thanks for all the info, the reason i was looking at the route of AAT and then ACCA is thats what the local college offers, I werent sure if they were seen as good qualifications when applying for roles.

I am currently working in a call centre, and the chances are slim of them paying for me to study at the same time, so think i may do the AAT first in the evenings, and then see if i can get a job in accounting somewhere which will let me study too.
Thanks again

[Laughingman21]

Decide what type of accounting you want to do first as there are different qualifications. Don't just choose the qualification that the local college does as you may end up doing something you're not interested in.

Also, why do AAT first? That's just more years of study. Try and go straight into ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.

[Eric Mc]

Laughingman21 said:

Decide what type of accounting you want to do first as there are different qualifications. Don't just choose the qualification that the local college does as you may end up doing something you're not interested in.

Also, why do AAT first? That's just more years of study. Try and go straight into ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.

For a person who has absolutely no knowledge of accounting and at the same time does not work in an accounting environment, maybe the AAT route is the most sensible. It is now a legitimate way to getting into the swing of accounting.

[MrJuice]

I completed my CIMA exams back in 2009 and would suggest you choose a high quality tuition provider. Fortunately, my employer used BPP who I thoroughly recommend for their cutting the waffle and getting down to the fine points that help you pass exams

BBP are expensive but then failing exams is perhaps more expensive

If you're not working in accounting at present or for the short term, do AAT

If you are in accounting, do acca, aca, cima or
Cipfa straight out. It'll be tough but nothing a computer science brain can't handle

Best wishes with your quest!

[Pulse]

I'd suggest if you are to embark on AAT, it would be worthwhile considering starting on Level 3 or 4, rather than Level 2.

[dirty boy]

Laughingman21 said:

Decide what type of accounting you want to do first as there are different qualifications. Don't just choose the qualification that the local college does as you may end up doing something you're not interested in.

Also, why do AAT first? That's just more years of study. Try and go straight into ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.

I did AAT first before going onto ACCA, but that was because AAT is a quicker way to get a recognised professional qualification behind you (letters after your name if you so desire) and with my experience, made me feel I already had something under my belt should I decide to leave.

If you know you're going to stick it out though, i'd suggest going straight into ACCA. Although again, if you're aiming for a large practice, you may need to do crossover exams to ICAEW, as they like to retain the 'Chartered Accountants' name, and need X number of partners to do so. I know a few people marked for partner status having to do crossover exams from ACCA, although, if you can do one, you can do the crossover with relative ease.

[FamilyDub]

All the qualifications and routes have their merit and I would agree that completing AAT first does give a solid base for continued studies, or just in itself is a good qualification.

There have been other threads on here with folk asking 'what's best' and I disagree with being as simplistic as that - it depends what you want from your chosen accountancy qualification.

If you're unsure of what you want, something like ACA or ACCA is perfect, due to their broad syllabus'.

CIMA is more focused on management and (IMO) far more commercial and industry-focused. The different qualifications have different strengths .

[lauda]

Have you thought about getting a job with an accountancy firm and getting them to sponsor you through your training? The firm I work for offers training contracts for entrants at A-level (ACCA) and graduate level (ACA) with all of your training and exams paid for and time off provided for study.

I joined the graduate scheme 4 years after leaving university and we've had people in their 30s/40s joining via the 'school-leaver' A-level route so it's open to people at different stages of their working life. It also doesn't matter if you've not done accounting before - I did a degree in politics and hadn't done any mathematical study since my GCSEs.

I think that most of the larger accounting firms (and certainly the Big 4) offer similar schemes so it might be worth checking out their websites for more info.

[FamilyDub]

^^ Easier said than done - competition is fierce, especially among the 'big four' and outside of central London the number of roles isn't as plentiful.

With the job market the way it is, it'll be tough - trust me, I work in Finance for a recruitment agency!

Edited by FamilyDub on Thursday 17th November 19:38

[lauda]

FamilyDub said:

^^ Easier said than done - competition is fierce, especially among the 'big four' and outside of central London the number of roles isn't as plentiful.

With the job market the way it is, it'll be tough - trust me, I work in Finance for a recruitment agency!

Edited by FamilyDub on Thursday 17th November 19:38

Competition isn't that fierce - we've employed some absolute dross over the years!

I often wonder if this sort of perception puts a lot of people off applying since I'm constantly amazed that we seem to struggle to recruit decent candidates when apparently there are all these top quality graduates that simply can't find a job.

[northandy]

I did AAT then went onto to do CIMA, i qualified about 11 years ago.

Of the 30 people that started that AAT course at the local college on evening classes only 2 of us kept going to be fully qualifed.

Its a long slog but is worth it.

[Shotgun Rider]

Laughingman21 said:

Also, why do AAT first? That's just more years of study. Try and go straight into ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, etc.

Don't you get exemption from the first year or two of ACCA if you do AAT?

[jatinder]

Shotgun Rider said:

Don't you get exemption from the first year or two of ACCA if you do AAT?

I believe you are exempt from the first three papers (F1, F2 & F3) of ACCA.
A lot of people I know have done it this way AAT - ACCA.

Best of luck

[FamilyDub]

Are the first few ACCA papers computer-based, the same as CIMA?

If so, surely it's quicker to just get straight into ACCA...?