Now I am a reasonable person and I don't want to blame a training provider for no good reason. But am I the only one that is having problems with Kaplan's distance learning training materials for Level 1 and 2?
I have been toiling with their Practical Bookkeeping manual and bank of questions for many months now. But I just find their manual:-
frequently difficult to read,
in places counter intuitive and confusing
and the questions in their 'question kit' frequently appear, to me, to bear little resemblance to the study text I have read minutes before.
Now I know that a bad workman always blames their tools, but they do say you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear!
Is it only me who is having problems or are others in my position? Are there options other than changing training provider? If you were in my position what did you do?
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.................just an ICB student, at the moment.
My provider for Level 1 and 2 is My Course in Elgin and their training materials are really good. I initially attempted to teach myself using the Kaplan Practical Bookkeeping textbook and found it awful - full of contradictions not to mention typos. I lost complete faith in it in the end. I don't think I would've had a hope in hell chance of passing even the Level 1 exam with that book alone. I was so disgusted with the book that I actually took the time to write a negative review on Amazon about it.
I personally don't think that you can learn bookkeeping from a single book.
Kaplan texts are normally the best that you can get and if there are mistakes they publish a list of the errors via the Kaplan Engage website.
I think that everyone should work from a selection of books as you are trying to learn a subject which is really wide and deep and needs to be viewed from different perspectives.
Learning from a single text (even a good one) one could end up in a situation where they are learning that book inside out and upside down rather than learning the subject.
My recomendations for a selection of complimentary additional reading material (and eventual reference material when you've passed your exams) would be :
Business Accounts for bookkeeping and accounting courses by David Cox
Mastering Bookkeeping by Dr. Peter Marshall
Bookkeeping and accounts by Frank Woods and Sheila Robinson
Mastering Accounting Skills by Margarett Nicholson
(N.B. I don't own a copy of the book in blue).
Then use the Kaplan text as the driver combined with the other books used for reference material.
Ray, if you have any specific questions about the text let me know and I'll explain what the books trying to say in a differrent way or tell you if something is amiss with the text (I've loaned out my copy of the ICB level I/II book but can get it back on Tuesday this week).
My Personal approach with study texts is to scan read the text, then do the examples then go back and reread the text from a position of understanding something of what I am trying to achieve.
I think that is the approach that Kaplan go for which is why I prefer them over BPP study texts which seem to go more for the study the text until you understand it 100% then try the examples which will do exactly what was covered in the text rather than approach things from a different angle.
Try my way of scan reading, doing the tests then re-reading and see if it works for you.
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I also went through Kaplan, like Shaun said you do need different materials to get through the course. I bought David Cox and Peter Marshall books. Look on Ebay always a good place to buy books.
I did find the Kaplan text book have errors in it, also i found some chapters cut short- felt like i needed to know more. Kaplan books are simplified but i felt like the core of the knowledge was missing.. work through other books first and than go back to Kaplan books your'll find that it will make more sense.
I passed both 1 & 2 manual, so it can be done just keep reading and don't give up, you will get there.
funny you should mention that about some chapters feeling as though they've been cut short.
In my book acquisitions I frequently get texts from Ebay and Amazon Resellers for qualifications that I'm not doing on the grounds that you can never look at this subject matter from enough different angles.
I've seen it myself where the same material is recycled between texts not just for different levels of the same qualification but also different qualifications, with chunks taken out the lower down the tree that you go.
In some ways the repetition at later levels of things that you are already comfortable with aids learning the new stuff so maybe I can see an arguement in favour of the approach taken... But conversely at times it does seem a lazy way of writing study texts.
The worst culprits of all for this I feel are the BPP I-Learn courses where on occassion it feels as though one has bought exactly the same course for the next level up the tree.
If I had known that at the start I would have just bought the highest level course and used that for lower level studies (and saved myself a lot of money in the process).
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I to understand why they do it--To simplify, however it doe's also get confusing when you think " ok i now understand what i'm doing" you move on to the next level, then you think "WHAT????" and learn all over again what you thought you'd already learnt, can be a bit frustrating.
But these course providers are a business and are making money from the likes of you and I and everyone on this forum. Start form the bottom and work your way up, assuming that's what you have to do with course material, buy the time you realised you didn't need to, it's to late your out of pocket.
It's funny you mentioned BPP having the platinum course for the ACCA on another thread, before i read that thread i was almost certain going to go with them purely on that, assuming that their material will be better. So that was a little heads up for me..
It is a lot of money for the course through a training provider, if i had known what i know now i would have done it by myself without a training provider. I am going to do level 3 on my own.
Perserver you will get through it. My motivation was to get my money's worth by completing it.
Re the title Bookkeeping and accounts by Frank Woods and Sheila Robinson, I would recommend this book as well. I picked up a copy fairly cheaply from Amazon Marketplace (like, £7) and even though it's a few editions old, I found it very useful because of the amount of exercises (with answers at the back) it has. To me that's the best way to learn - loads of self-testing.
Good luck, Ray - I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Desperate to make a living (from a soon-to-be-launched small business with bookkeeping being offered among a package of office support services), but struggling to gain the knowledge I need to make a go of it.
