I have recently sat my IAB 3 exams and am hopeful I will pass (was getting 90-100% on past papers).
I am planning on continuing my studies with the AAT once I get my results, however I sat the NVQ 2 (foundation) in 2000 so could go straight in at intermediate but am not sure if I should repeat level 2 to refresh or if my recent studies will have covered most of it am mainly concerned about the Sage part of the course as it has been several years since I last used it.
Do you think I will struggle or will it all come back to me!
Don't really want to contact the training provider to ask and worried they will try and sell me level 2 anyway!
Thanks in advance all your advice is always good (am a serial lurker!) so hope you can help me.
I am currently studying the AAT at intermediate level and did not do foundation. Instead I did City & Guilds book keeping and accounts levels 1 and 2. If you go on the AAT website (www.aat.org.uk) you can do a skills test which helps to determine what level you start at.
Also, I don't know if you're planning on doing distance learning or not, or who you're planning to study with, but I am a distance learner and chose Premier Training. They did not hassle me at all about starting at foundation, they gave me a test to do which I then sent to them and they determined from that, that I could start at Intermediate. They didn't try and sell me the foundation level at all, they told me it would be useless and a waste of money. However, I did get a quote from another training provider and they were more pushy, so it depends who you go with I suppose.
Will head to the aat website and do the test tonight when the kiddywinks go to bed!
Am going to do distance learning and have been looking at Premier training and Kaplan so just need to look into it a bit further, good to have a recommendation though as you don't know what you are getting!
I lost my job 6 months ago and since then have made the decision to take my career in a different direction. I have always enjoyed mathematics and do have both a-levels and a degree in the subject, although my grades are not good enough for graduate "fast track" opportunities. Deciding on accountancy as both an interesting and hopefully stable career, I have applied via websites such as totaljobs and reed for every trainee accountancy, bookkeeping, accounts clerk, accounts assistant, purchase ledger clerk etc etc role that has appeared in my area. Failing with that, I have now decided to start the AAT qualification in September and have written speculative e-mails to all the local accountancy firms requesting experience. The ones that have replied have said they will hold onto my CV but nothing going at present. I am considering both ATTS and Kaplan which are my local providers although ATTS will offer the course at half price because I am currently unemployed . Despite being recommended level 2 by AAT skillcheck both providers have recommended starting at level 3 because of my previous qualifications.
I am wondering however, since the course is only one day a week (leaving another 6!) is there any other courses worth starting as well that may help increase my opportunities for employment? I have noted that starting at level 3 skips SAGE which recruiters ask for experience in. Is ICB manual and computerised bookkeeping worth doing? Should I just do level 2 AAT? Any suggestions for ways to get office experience? Thanks.
-- Edited by Benji82 on Friday 20th of August 2010 04:16:30 PM
I'm not sure where Level 2 or Level 3 of AAT starts but if you are wanting a career in accountancy I, personally, feel you need a grounding in double entry book-keeping which is the basis of all accounts.
There are many threads on here which discuss the various routes. ICB and IAB are good if you want to be a self-employed book-keeper. If you want employment either in industry/commerce or with an accountancy practice you need AAT.
Sage is only one of many book-keeping/accounts software programs and learning them is reasonably easy as it is basic data entry but you do also need a grounding in the basics in order to understand where things need to go and how to sort out mistakes.
All providers provide a 2 day "crammer" course in bookkeeping for people starting at level 3 instead of level 2 with AAT. I have just noticed that SAGE seems a popular requirement with employers and am concerned about missing that experience if I start from level 3.
Without actual experience or knowledge of accountancy I would start at Level 2 AAT, it is not just SAGE you will miss out on. As Sheila said before you will need a strong understanding of double-entry and basic bookkeeping. Have a look at level 2 syllabus and see how much you know about the things they would teach you. If you have a good knowledge of those subjects, start at level 3 otherwise level 2 or do an ICB level 1 exam at least. I am not sure in 2 days you can gain a strong knowledge of bookkeping...
All providers provide a 2 day "crammer" course in bookkeeping for people starting at level 3 instead of level 2 with AAT. I have just noticed that SAGE seems a popular requirement with employers and am concerned about missing that experience if I start from level 3.
Unfortunately I am apparently not allowed to edit this previous post. The "crammer" course is not 2 days.
I have made the decision to go with ATTS as my AAT provider. Speaking to them this afternoon I discussed starting at intermediate level compared to foundation. I was told if I attended their week long bookkeeping course (Monday-Friday 9am-4pm) from the 13th September, they (and I!) would be able to determine in that week whether I should start at foundation or intermediate. They would also cover as part of their intermediate course the units:
1. Working with computers (includes SAGE)
2. Contributing to the maintenance of a healthy, safe & productive working environment
These units are common to both foundation and intermediate and only need to be completed once.
-- Edited by Benji82 on Monday 23rd of August 2010 04:04:01 PM
I am posting on this topic again because I have already explained my current situation here.
Having done a weeks study of double entry bookkeeping upto and including trial balance, I then did a test and started on the AAT intermediate course at ATTS LTD.
However my tutor has told me I should consider doing a SAGE course as well which may help my prospects of finding a job. I have looked at SAGE home study but feel it would be more beneficial to attend a class. Do you have any suggestions for a course which may be of use to me? I am looking for something that involves a qualification rather than a quick one day course.
Just to update on myself also, I have started the AAT level 3 course (well received it today!) with Eagle. I also spoke to Premier who wanted me to pay for the costing unit of level 2 but not sit the actual exam as they felt it would help? Unsure if this is the case yet but at £99 thought it was a bit steep and will just buy the book to study first if I struggle? Did the Skills test on the AAT website which recommended starting at level 3 so went with that!
. Despite being recommended level 2 by AAT skillcheck both providers have recommended starting at level 3 because of my previous qualifications.
