Hi,

with ICB the gap between starting studying and attaining level II needn't be that long. (ignore the time that trainig providers tell you these things will take and just do it from the books. Personally I think AAT books are excellent for studying ICB).

Once you reach AICB you can get PII and a practice certificate and offer bookkeeping services although there are restrictions on the scope of services that you are allowed to offer. Such as self assessment and Payroll require additional exams and filing final accounts is limited.

If you go the ACCA route you can offer bookkeeping to trial balance, VAT and Payroll even as soon as you've registered with them but you cannot offer any sort of advice or file final accounts and cannot even mention anywhere that you have any connection with the ACCA. Trust me when I say that these restrictions make it pretty much impossible to run a business on this basis as clients think that bookkeepers are just cheaper accountants and want the same service for less money!

I'll leave it to others to fill in the gaps as far as AAT, CIMA and IAB are concerned.

Don't know much at all about practicing via the ATT I'm afraid. I know that Rob (Robh) has the tax technician qualification but he's not posted on here for quite some time.

Don't worry about posting in the right section of the forum. I think most of the old timers on here (l;ike me) just use the recent posts button to see what the latest posts are we we log back in.

Hope that this helps for starters,

talk later,

Shaun.

Shamus wrote:

---

I'll leave it to others to fill in the gaps as far as AAT, CIMA and IAB are concerned.

---

 Re. AAT, there doesn't seems to be any restriction aside from common sense.

While you are studying for your AAT qualification, you can set up in practice.
However, certain restrictions apply until you become a full member:

• you may not advertise in connection with AAT
• you must only undertake work within your competence and seek professional advice where necessary
• you must abide by the our Guidelines on Professional Ethics
• you are strongly advised to take out professional indemnity insurance.

http://www.aat.org.uk/content/item1769/#Im_an_AAT_student

-- Edited by KTC on Sunday 25th of September 2011 08:04:44 PM

What about MLR for AAT or IAB?

You cannot register with HMRC for MLR if you are registered with a professional supervisory body, even if your just a student.

The AAT don't seem to mention it in that paragraph, but I guess you would have to pay the £80 per year on top of student fees?

If you already have a practice with clients when you register with the ICB as a student, you can apply for special consideration and get MLR cover during your study.

This is only intended for those who are running a practice but have decided to gain qualifications. It would seem from other bodies you would have to give up your practice, or greatly reduce the services you offer, in order to study with them. The ICB recognises this is un reasonable and so developed the temporary supervision scheme to help.

What you cannot do is half way through your study decide to skip the course and set up a business, as your knowledge would be incomplete.

James,

From you comments, does this mean that Shaun, who I understand from his past posts is a registered Student with the ACCA cannot be registered with HMRC for ML (which he is), and must apply to the ACCA for his practice certicate or he cannot be in business?

Shaun would you like to comment?

Hi James, Frauke,

ACCA students can register directly with HMRC.

If you follow the flowchart, as a non practice certificate holding student member you end up down the bottom right hand side of the diagram indicating HMRC as the only option.

This is the 2008 version. I've seen a newer one but can't find it at the moment :

http://www.acca.co.uk/documents/NMLR_flowchart.pdf

Alternatively, see this factsheet :

http://www2.accaglobal.com/documents/PC_factsheet.pdf

which includes the following :

Members in the UK who provide accountancy services (within
the terms of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007) which
fall outside the meaning of public practice (for example bookkeeping)
will, nevertheless, be subject to supervision regarding
compliance with the anti-money laundering provisions under the
Money Laundering Regulations 2007. In such cases, members
may consider obtaining an ACCA practising certificate in order to
be supervised by ACCA. Alternatively, members must register with
HM Revenue and Customs or another body recognised for such
purposes. Members outside the UK should check what obligations,
if any, they have in this regard.

Frauke, you were begining to worry me a little on that one as it's one of those things that you believe 100% then get told a few times that you're wrong so begin to question your own understanding.

Thankfully in this instance, as shown above I am right and HMRC is the way ACCA expect you to go until you have a practicing certificate at which time you come in house.

kind regards,

Shaun.

No problems and thanks for raising it as an issue anyway as its so easy to miss something in the smallprint and not even realise that you're not doing something completely by the book.

I just think of the number of times that several members have read the same sentence on the HMRC website completely differently and it's only by our discussions here that we really clarify matters.

Thanks again,

Shaun.

Hi Sam,

the above was quite specific to ACCA rules rather than AAT.

You need to refer to the AAT rules for the situation specific to yourself.

For information though this question has been done before in this thread :

http://www.book-keepers.org.uk/t43202405/hmrc-monely-laundering-risk-assessment/

You will also find discussion around this in other threads as it's quite a popular question on here.

kind regards,

Shaun.