I am very happy I found this website. I am going through some major life changes lately, and I have decided to build a new career for myself. After a long consideration (and reading your posts ) I decided to study accountancy, and gain a CAT qualification. My ultimate goal is to become a qualified accountant, ACCA member.
It is my understanding that I could study for the CAT exams on my own. Would it be a brave thing to do, or should I rather find a training provider? I am an absolute beginner, and I am planning to sign up for B190 at the OU to gain a good grounding in accountancy & book keeping prior to my CAT studies.
If you have no prior accounting experience, i would advice a training provider at least until you get the understanding of the basics. After that, it is up to you really. Has they are all exam based, it depends on how good you are at exams.
I have friends that have passed the accounting technician exams without much effort as they are good with exams while those with more understanding of the subjects have struggled.
I've done exactly that so my answer is a definite 'yes'.
What do you need to make this succeed?
(1) A clear set of study / exam milestones: I decided to do CAT, but wanted to get it done before my motivation waned. I decided to accomplish all three levels within a year. Levels 1 and 2 could all be completed by computer-based assessments, so that meant they could be picked off quickly. I achieved Levels 1 and 2 in five months. Level 3 was exam based and was limited to sitting twice yearly. I got distracted with a new girlfriend, so my study plan was put out by six months. But still completed in reasonable time.
(2) You've got to be highly motivated. Self-study doesn't have the benefit of distance learning. You'll be completely on your own, so you've got to be able to figure things out sensibly. That's the downside; the upside is that you can move at your own pace and mine was to be a fast a possible.
(3) Definitely go for a recommended set of study texts. ACCA should list these on their web site. I got mine from BPP. I thought they were very good - well, they were good enough to get me through my CAT exams and I didn't score less than 85% on anything, including taxation.
CAT will get you out of the foundation level of ACCA, so definitely a good interim qualification to take.
Strong Determination + Good Study Plan = Successful Outcome (with these things you don't need to chance anything to luck!)
Thank you for the responses. I contacted my local BPP centre and they explained that I do not have to complete CAT because I could start with the ACCA path straight away, since I am a mature prospective student, but I would have to complete F1 F2 and F3 first in order to do this. I am 37, and I am highly motivated:). I do realize that it is going to be hard and will take many months to complete the whole process, but I am ready for this challenge. As for the first step, I have decided to study for Cambridge ICFE to brush up my language skills, and get familiar with business math as well. So, I hope it sounds like a plan...
I did not see myself going further than the Technican qualification and living in Northern Ireland restricts my options somewhat. Is the CAT qualification viewed as favourably as the AAT qualification if going for employment or if looking for clients if self-employed?
I believe most of the people go for AAT and most of the job adverts are for AAT but CAT is meant to be equivalent. I spoke to a lot of people in accounts departments of various companies who had CAT qualification. I would think if you are applying for a job with a big company with significant size of accounts dept. they will treat CAT the same as AAT but with a small employer where you would be the only qualified in accounts,well they might would not know about CAT as probably they only heard about AAT (if). I think most of the people who are studying for CAT are doing it with the prospect of studying for ACCA in the future. All the above is only my opinion, don't take it as a fact... And for clients if self-employed I don't think it makes any difference.
You could maybe phone up a couple of employment agencies around you and ask their opinion about it (they can be friendly sometimes), a lot of the jobs around are through them so if they don't like your qualification/experience they do not process your application any further...
