Recently I found out im going to be made redundant so decided to look into book keeping. I havent really got any experience in the subject so i decided to start with OUs B190 short course. Im really enjoying it but starting to think about what happens next. Will this course be enough to get me work in book keeping? Eventually i would like to become an accountant and have looked at OU cert in accounting but again im confused by them saying they "expect that the Professional Certificate in Accounting will be accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)". That sounds a bit hazy to me. Studying around work and family is a must for me although ideally i would like to work in book keeping before progessing to accounting.
Not sure what your background was in at your recent job, but the best way is to work in an accounts department learning the ropes in all aspects. This will give a good grounding for your accountant progression. This together with your learning will enable you to move up the ladder to become a fully fledged accountant - but that all depends on which route you wish to take and where you want to work, as different employers look for different quals.
I'm not an expert on quals but if your want to go down the accountant route, then I would say AAT or ACCA, but if your want to stay as a bookkeeper then look at ICB or IAB (although you can progress from those too upwards). I do think you started in the right place though. Good luck.
I just thought I would add that the ICAEW is probably the largest UK accounting body. I think you will find that having FCA after your name opens all the doors. But I don't want to start a flame war here
I have to agree with the last post...the FCA is the only real way to go and although the CIMA qualification is good it is not as good as being a member of the ICAEW
