I've been reading the posts on this forum for a while but until now have not had anything to post.
I have been working for a large insurance company forever (25 years) and have been notified recently that our site will be closing at sometime in the next year due to cost cutting exercises.
I have been a manager for over 15 years but when I recieve my redundancy I want to leave the corporate life and become a bookkeeper/accountant either for a firm or for myself.
The strange thing is that... so do lots of my colleagues too, we had to fill in a form to highlight areas of training before we leave and Bookkeeping topped the list.
I am looking at starting the AAT qualification as soon as I can and go from there. I think I like the idea of being self-employed but it does seem a little scary too.
If anybody else on here has re-trained and can offer any advise or tips that would be great.
It is a problem that a lot of people have been told that bookkeeping is an easy option and where people are being right scoped from office jobs they assume that they can simply drop into bookkeeping as it's just adding a few figures up.
Sounds as though your one of the exceptions where you've spent some time doing your homework in the background on this site and know that there is an awful lot more to this than many people assume.
Invariably those who do their homework and realise what they are getting into are the one's who survive (an awful lot invest a fortune in study and never make anywhere near their investment back in revenue). So, very much looking forwards to exchanging messages with you for a long time to come.
AAT is certainly a very good option if you are also looking to :
a) keep your options open for permanent employment as well as self employment
b) need a qualification that will give you a foot in the door into accountancy (ACCA, CIMA, etc).
I have to say up front though that it is a more expensive option than doing ICB or IAB if your only intention was self employment.
If you are completely new to bookkeeping then it might also be worth looking at the Open University course B190 as an introduction that also carries some exemptions (Not sutre about from AAT but certainly from IAB).
The worst part about self employment is the first client. Once you have that then your confidence will grow and so should your client base.
When you are ready for software and PII etc. we've got plenty of helpful posts on here to help you make the right choice.
In the shorter term, have you decided on a training provider yet?
Premier Training, Ideal Schools and training link are all excellent choices (and we have representatives of the last two of them on this site).... Actually, Dave if your reading this I've not received the envelope stuffed with used twenties yet so I'm still mentioning the other two!!!! (lol).
Whatever you need to ask just post on here and we'll try and guide you onto the best and most cost effective path. (There are a lot of choices and some very costly minefields out there).
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.
Many thanks for the informative post, lots to think about before deciding what to do next. I like the idea of becoming self-employed one day - but it is completely alien to me.
