I'm not really sure what the IAB offer in terms of services or benefits to it's members, or even the membership costs. However you should bear in mind that if you wish to become a self employed bookkeeper you will need to register either with a professional body like IAB or ICB, or with HMRC. I believe HMRC charge £120 for this service. Take that away from the cost of your membership and it will let you weigh up whether the other services are worth the difference.
I beleive Sheila and a few others are members of the IAB, and I'm sure they'll share their views with you when they comes along.
Kris
-- Edited by kjmcculloch83 on Monday 23rd of January 2012 09:49:50 AM
I have recently completed an OU course which entitles me to join the IAB as a member (MIAB).
My question is, is it worth it. I am currently employed, but wish to try to start my business while still in employment, as such I currently don't have any clients.
Is it worth me joining now, or should I wait until I have some work, or is it not worth it at all. I've read the benefits of membership on their website, but I'm still not sure, should I just aim wait until and do AAT or something else altogether??
I have done the same course and moved on to AAT now, but I am MIAB qualified. Yes it is worth it, your covered under the new money laundering regulations (so you dont have to pay HMRC) and you get a whole host of other benefits if your starting out on your own (also what i have done). If you wish to practice then you will have to apply for a certifcate of compliance, which is about £75 (off the top of my head! lol) You get access to IAB run seminars, and after having been on one a few months ago are really good, and relevent to your needs, these are normally discounted for being a memeber too. You also get plenty of help and support form the IAB itself when it come to getting started the ladies in the office are very friendly and knowledgable!
The membership fee to start is about £130 I think but that includes an admin charge for new members and you wont have to pay that again. Its up to you if you pay it after all, but im glad i did! Dont even bother approaching ICB as you well have to spend the same amount again (as it cost your OU course) to re-do all of what you know in their test and exam formats... Very unhelpful from what i have seen.
Yeah roughly. but that does not include insurance (if your not doing peoples books/no clients then dont worry about it) if you are/have then you need that too, also around 120-200 note dependant on where you get it.
but if you do start doing work for clients the money you make can off set this. Mine has, had to pay out of my own pocket first but, now i have a bit of work every month and the money i make from that pays for any memberships etc that i require to practice. I even funded my AAT3 out of it! (As i'm right in thinking, correct me if im wrong, they can be written off as expenses/training through the business)
I disagree with the previous comment that you should discount a professional body without at least speaking to them to see what's on offer. You can't make an informed decision without all the relevant information. I have no axe to grind about either. ICB offer exemptions based on previous qualifications and from what the previous poster said would appear a bit cheaper.
Depending on which OU course you did, it may be just an introduction course (B190: Introduction to Bookkeeping), which the ICB and its membership feel is not enough to start up your own bookkeeping business. You can join the ICB at Affiliate Level but this does not allow you to get a Practice Licence.
I understand it will be disheartening to be told you may be required to do further study, especially as the IAB offer Full Membership from this intro course, however, the ICB needs to maintain its high standards.
The OU does offer other courses that lead from its introduction course (like the B291: Financial Accounting) which when completed lead to full ICB membership.
I disagree with the previous comment that you should discount a professional body without at least speaking to them to see what's on offer. You can't make an informed decision without all the relevant information. I have no axe to grind about either. ICB offer exemptions based on previous qualifications and from what the previous poster said would appear a bit cheaper.
Kris
Oh im not... Im not 'dissing' them either. But from past experiance Ed will have to spend the same amount again around 200-300 before the ICB will even consider him for membership. Then add the membership fees on top of that again seeing him spend around 500, just to get to the same standard of an IAB memeber. This is the only reason why i went to IAB, as they took my qualifacation for what it was, not completely discounting it and treating me like i knew nothing about bookkeeping.
Both bodies have thier pros and cons, the IAB for example have a VERY poorly designed website, and no forum; the ICB have and do. but IAB are aware of this and are working to improve it. the list could go on....
At the end of the day Ed will need to make his own mind up, im just speaking from experiance. Whatever route he does choose, he's making the right one! As i LOVE bookkeeping... I only wish i did this years ago instead of being stuck in a dead end job in a supermarket!!! :lol:
I took the OU B190: Introduction to Bookkeeping and then decided to join the ICB. My reasons, if I joined IAB I would have had to wait for the exam results, then apply and wait for IAB to except me. In the time that would have taken, I took my level ICB 1 and 2 and got my practice licence. Because I had done the OU course I didn't need a course provider just to invest in some books, the the cost was relatively low. With IAB I couldn't have taken any further qualifications due to the places they hold their exams, with the ICB they use the same centres as the theory driving licence and their exams are on demand. So if you live in a rural area which isn't near any big cities then ICB is convenient. Finally the extra study was worth the extra cost, because the OU course alone would not have been enough for me to have gone into self-employment. Though I had done bookkeeping before and have some experience, I found the extra study really worth it.
Depending on which OU course you did, it may be just an introduction course (B190: Introduction to Bookkeeping), which the ICB and its membership feel is not enough to start up your own bookkeeping business. You can join the ICB at Affiliate Level but this does not allow you to get a Practice Licence.
I understand it will be disheartening to be told you may be required to do further study, especially as the IAB offer Full Membership from this intro course, however, the ICB needs to maintain its high standards.
The OU does offer other courses that lead from its introduction course (like the B291: Financial Accounting) which when completed lead to full ICB membership.
Thanks for your reply.
It was B190 I studied, and I'm somewhat disheartened to hear you refer to it as 'just an introduction course'. It certainly doesn't feel like that when your trying to train, work two jobs and have a family to deal with, as I was.
I'm also not one for rushing into things. I feel the skills I have learnt from this course are sufficient to start thinking about starting out on my own. I know this will not be easy, but I also have the support of a father who's been an accountant for near on 40 years, so I have a little backup there should I need it.
I do intend to study further, and may consider the ICB route, whether that would infact teach me anything new, as opposed to just being a duplicate qualification, I'm not sure.
The IAB qualifications get more recognition than ICB qualifications because IAB qualifions are QCF accredited. The B190 course may be called an introduction to book-keeping AND Accountancy. The book-keeping part is very detailed, and certainly not a introduction to, as the course leads to accreditation, it is not a taster course as such. It is the Accountancy part that is the introduction to on this particular course.
Many IAB qualifications have exemptions with the other professional bodies (which means they are equivilent to, so you don't need to take the exam for the qualification that has the exemption). As far as I know ICB qualfications get very few exemptions. IAB course can be government funded. I haven't seen any ICB courses government funded. IAB qualifications are approved for apprenticeships. ICB qualifications are not.
If you go the ICB route, you could find you are limited your future options, whereas if you go the IAB route you are increasing your options.
The IAB members are professionally recognised book-keepers.
I am sure James (and many ICB members) would disagree with me, and may consider me biased.
-- Edited by YLB-HO on Monday 23rd of January 2012 10:14:50 PM
The B190 is an introduction, the full title is B190 Introduction to Bookkeeping and Accounting.
However it is a very good introduction, and will set you up very well for a career in bookkeeping. You would need to do further study before you could run your own bookkeeping business though (as far as ICB and its membership are concerned).
Please don't feel disheartened. Perhaps look at the syllabus for the OU B291 course for a feel of the extra skills you would learn from further study, although it is not needed depending on what services you wanted to carry out.
The term bookkeeper and its definition vary. The ICB is trying to align the profession and so applies more definition than just bookkeeper. So the ICB see this course as more of a lead to a Junior Bookkeeper role.
The next levels would be Professional Bookkeeper which covers further into the set of accounts, allowing you to do final accounts for sole traders, and then the ICB could take you to Certified Bookkeeper which covers final accounts for limited companies.
As your farther is an accountant then he could help you decide how far you want to take the books, and maybe provide on job training or something to help you through your career.
You will likely never finish studying bookkeeping and indeed, whichever professional bookkeeping body you go with, (ICB, IAB, AAT) continuing professional development (CPD) will be part of the membership requirements.
That sentence needed commas - just not sure I put them where they should have, been.
__________________
Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I don't disagree with a lot of what you say. It does appear that IAB is more recognised by other bodies. I can't help but wonder if that's because they've been around nearly 40 years compared to the ICB which is a lot younger (I think it's about 16).
ICB is really making inroads, and is becoming more recognised. But I think it's also tried to set itself apart from the others, it seems to see bookkeepers as a role in their own right, rather than a stepping stone to something else.
You may be right about government funding, I don't know. But I have been doing an HNC in Accounts over the last two years at a local college, paid for by the government (thank you) I will soon have a nationally recognised qualification and the ICB have recognised it. The first year I got level 2 exemption and after examining the syllabus they have agreed it meets level three after I complete this year, so there are ways and means.
Any organisation can choose to recognise anyone elses qualifications or not.
Personally I think it is more important for an organisation to have its qualifications recognised by other organisations, especially organisations that are already known and well respected. This is nothing to do with "age", but recognition of professionalism within the education system of that organisation.
The IAB qualifactions are recognised because the IAB is a QCF awarding body in its own right. It has gone to the trouble of making sure its examination process is strigent enough to satisfy the relevant government educational authorities including government authorities outside England. I'm sure I queried this (last year?) with James, and I'm sure he said that the ICB had choosen not to apply.
I think Frauke you are going a little off topic, the question was about membership not qualifications.
I don't want to take this further off topic and turn it into an IAB vs ICB argument.
However, some of your statements about the ICB are a little incorrect and biased.
As far as I am aware the IAB is the only body to give full membership based on the B190, the ICB and AAT only give exemptions from their first levels.
You may be able to get funding for ICB qualifications in certain areas. In Scotland there are funded ICB courses via the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority), Scotland is not covered under OfQual.
The ICB qualifications are getting more exemptions, but as Kris said the ICB sees bookkeeping as more of a profession in its own right, rather than just a stepping stone. However, this is changing recently (last year) as the ICB is becoming more popular as a route to chartered accountancy in the last few years.
There are postings on other forums that detail exemptions ICB members have received from bodies like ACCA.
It would seem that Frauke brings up the OfQual argument as the only string to IAB's bow to speak, and mentions it like it is a disadvantage to ICB membership.
OfQual covers England and Wales, the ICB has a presence in over 100 countries, and is recognised by government in many of them.
The ICB did choose to stick with industry lead qualifications in England and Wales, rather than OfQual.
So back to the topic Yes membership of any professional body will be of benefit to you.
ICBUK wrote:Depending on which OU course you did, it may be just an introduction course (B190: Introduction to Bookkeeping), which the ICB and its membership feel is not enough to start up your own bookkeeping business. You can join the ICB at Affiliate Level but this does not allow you to get a Practice Licence.
I understand it will be disheartening to be told you may be required to do further study, especially as the IAB offer Full Membership from this intro course, however, the ICB needs to maintain its high standards.
James,
I went of off topic as you called it because the above. I thought the topic was IAB membership? I felt it was a lilttle unfair of you going off topic in the first place. This was not a ICB V IAB argument until you made the above and later posts (well before mine).
In a later post (and the last one too) you then went to give inaccuracies about the OU B190, and a few other things. (But I won't go into it here as you will think I am just being biased).
The OU B190 course was designed against the IAB Level 2 Certificate in Book-keeping and Level 3 Diploma in Accounting and Advanced Book-keeping.
The IAB gives exemptions to the course because it is relevant to membership of the IAB at MIAB level. Someone who has been educated to degree lecel (Level 5), would not be able to join the IAB at with this higher level if they did not additionally have the relevant qualifications for IAB membership.
Just because someone has an accountancy degree does not necessaryly mean they have a clue how to do book-keeping.
I'm not a paid by the IAB and not an employee. (Yes I'm a Non-executive voted in by the IAB members, but as anyone knows that just means I just contribute to the develpment strategy and not involved in the day to day running of the business) , but James, I thought you used to have "Head of Marketing" as part of your signature block. I presume you job has not changed, as you certainly are very good at Marketing the ICB (and I do mean this in a nice way).
-- Edited by YLB-HO on Wednesday 25th of January 2012 06:29:09 PM
Yes that was to further clarify the ICB position from another post.
Thank you for you kind words, I am not in the marketing team though, never have been (I have told them to get on here).
My title is Director and Head of IT.
I also handle a few of the advice calls that come in regarding careers or advertising etc etc. I am also very passionate about the bookkeeping industry/profession (as you can probably tell from some of my posts ) so get involved with members at meetings and talk to training providers etc.
Yes membership of any professional body will be of benefit to you.
