Brand New Newbie - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Brand New Newbie

semsley · Guru

Sounds a very reasonable price and L1 and L2 will give you a good grounding in manual book-keeping.

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Hello Semsley,

Thank you for your swift reply

Bob

ICBUK · Guru

Hi Bob,

Welcome to the forum.

Check where and when the examinations will be held, and also check how much they cost.

Some training providers include examination fees and others don't. So what might seem like a better deal to begin with, might not always be the cheapest in the end.

James

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Hello James,

Thanks for your reply. and welcome. I am informed by Woodgrove that the exams are in January and June and that it is feesable that both can be sat in January should i progress that far. I am also told that the study hours for level one is about 60 hours and 90 for level two.

I would need to join the IAB as a student for about £100 and they cover the cost of the exams.

I trust this is correct

Regards

Bob

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Oh well, having spoken to IAB I have found that there is a new syllabus for what I want to achieve starts in September. The last exam for the old syllabus is in January. Not too sure I want to be on the tail end of an old syllabus, especially when I might be ill during the last opportunity for an exam.

Maybe that is why the courses are on offer.

I was also told that IAB membership is automatically given in the exam fee.

When I asked "what would you do" the answer was "wait for the new syllabus as the new courses are QCF and the old ones are not."

Still going ahead but mat need a little more research.

Regards

Bob

-- Edited by Spreadsheetbob on Thursday 26th of August 2010 04:55:47 PM

ICBUK · Guru

Hi Bob,

I'm not sure it would matter if you did the current non QCF as IAB is accredited currently, just because the system is changing doesn't mean any previous qualifications are null and void.

Check out the new syllabus, it is very segmented, not the IAB's fault but the QCF is all unitised now. It might be easier and quicker to get through before the new syllabus is released.

But that's just my personal opinion.

James

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Once again thanks James for your reply.

Up until Monday I knew nothing about bookkeeping other that I enjoyed a course in the army. Since then I have worked on all my home accounts using a self calculating spreadsheet that I designed myself. Therefore I know it is what i want to do next.

Since Monday I have had to deal with the differnces between the ICB and IAB with the many differing but valid opinions on this forum. Once i decided the IAB I found the courses I wanted and then was totaly thrown by the new syllabus and differing examinations.

What appeared to be three certificate levels I,2 and 3 appeared quite simple.

Then I looked at the IAB site and found eight different courses with awards, certificates in Bookkeeping, Manual Bookkeeping and Applied Bookkeeping.

I phoned the IAB to ask what the difference was between the BookKeepers course and the Manual Bookkeepers course and the operator said "to be honest I am not really sure" I can accept that, and appreciated his honesty.

What he did say was that the Manual Bookkeepers courses were not as comprehensive as the ordinary Bookkeeping courses. Therefore he suggested that within the new syllabus I should be looking at the Level 1 Award in Bookkeeping followed by the Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping.

Sorry it is a bit long winded and thanks for the input however at my age I need to get things right first time and did not want to jump in with both feet because of a financial time limit. I still intend to continue.

Regards

Bob

ICBUK · Guru

Hi Bob,

Are you saying the IAB said they did not know the difference between their qualifications?

Not sure if your asking me a question, but it might be worth calling someone like Ideal Schools who offer both ICB and IAB courses as they might be able to give you an independent view on the new structures.

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Hello ICBUK

Yes that is correct. He was quite embarrassed about it. I wasn't asking you a question just updating what I had experienced. Sorry it was a bit long winded. It is still a bit of a mine field. Looking at the courses offered by some providers it is not always easy to distiguish between the eight courses without looking into the course codes.

It appears to me that it would be easy to rush in and pay for courses that are not actually needed.

Regards

Bob

Jordan · Veteran Member

Hi Bob,

Personally I would go ICB. The courses are straight forward as far as Levels are concerned, a very easy path to what you should follow, no hidden courses.

Also, the centre based exams for some of the Levels are now sat at a local Pearson Vue centre (this is where the theory driving test exams take place) and can be booked whenever you and your course provider are happy that you can take the exam. Thus you can sit the exams anytime and there will be centre on your doorstep.

My experience thus far has been very good, bearing in mind your relationship will mainly be with your course provider, under the ICB umbrella, but having done the research between ICB/IAB last year, I am happy with what I chose, money well spent.

Sometimes simple things make a decision clear, and just opening the ICB website front page for me helped sway my decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and long winded can be ok :)

ClareB4 · Senior Member

I agree. I did a lot of research before commencing my course as I didn't want to waste money and have hidden costs etc. I couldn't get a straight answer from the IAB about the total cost of the qualifications I wanted, including exam fees and structure so I went with the ICB as they were much more transparent about how much the whole thing would cost.

It offers the added benefit of being able to take exams when and where you want them rather than waiting for twice yearly sittings (although I'm not sure if that's what the IAB still do now)

Only my opinion though...

Spreadsheetbob · Member

Thanks to both of you for your advice. Trying to sort this out in my head has been quite something. I was going to go with ICB until I read such negative things on this site about recent changes. I won't go into it, because as there are some lively threads on here already. Having thought the IAB was for me, and having the recent changes and confusion with the many different courses i will look again at the ICB. What you say makes complete sense to me.

Many thanks

Bob