I am considering adding payroll to my skills set and would like to take some sort of qualification in it. I already have some bookkeeping/accounts experience but almost no payroll (only thing I have done is check the wages control account agrees to the wages paid etc for a set of accounts), I would like to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the everyday issues.
Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on any of the following qualifications?
AAT Payroll - I would have gone with this but it seems to no longer be available to new students as of 1st July 2010
ICB Level III Diploma in Payroll Management
IAB Payroll awards - there seems to be several choices here.
Well the IAB is QCF so it would be more recognised in an employed position, but it does mean it costs a lot more (£445 for the exams alone, or £625 if not studying at an approved college). There are also 7 different parts to it.
The ICB's Payroll should be well recognised, and due to the number of people who take the qualification with the ICB it only costs £40 for the exam.
To be honest I don't fully understand the IAB's payroll, you might want to contact them to confirm my info is correct, as they also talk about a further £480 if you sit at an IAB external centre.
Has anyone here done the IAB payroll since their new qualifications that can help?
AAT Payroll - I would have gone with this but it seems to no longer be available to new students as of 1st July 2010
I checked on this with the AAT and thought others might be interested in the response I received:
The Certificate in Payroll Administration is still available to study up until December 2011 when the last paper based exams will be sat. If you wish to study the qualification you will need to register before 30th September this year and book for your exams by the 31st October. To study Payroll you will also need to enroll with an approved training provider. Premier Training is the only distance learning provider that offers the course, alternatively, please use the following link to find a local college.
If they are stopping the qualification, does that mean they are stopping the Payroll support for members?
I don't know, I'll ask when I email the AAT about this again later today. I'll let everyone know if the payroll support is being withdrawn, I can not imagine it will be though as there are a lot of AAT Payroll qualified people out there (I personally know 3) and it is a key part for most businesses.
I had an email back from the AAT. They are definitely going to carry on offering support and advice for payroll just like they do for VAT, accounts, tax etc. Told me they would always offer support for the full range of topics which are likely to come up for Accounting technicians.
Interestingly they also said "We are looking at introducing an alternative qualification in the future, however for the time being we are unable to release any further details." So I guess that means there will be a new Payroll qualification in 2012 (the official end date for the current one is 31/12/2011).
Hi, i would suggest IAB qualification with sage line 50 up to diploma level. I have just finished it and it very easy to understand, and you could study at home through a collage, who will but you through the exams once you have finished all you assignments with them. They will also guild you through it.
