Hi Carl,

you will also need to register with the AAT which will be £38 plus there are exam fee's which vary depending on where you sit them but will be around £55 to £65 per paper... Premier also advise students to purchase Frank woods accounting volumes 1 and 2 which will come in at around £70-£80 for the two books.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Frank woods books but that probably comes from not liking the Woods and Sangster collaboration versions of those books but I'm sure that they will have improved with time.

Hate to say it but what started as a reasonably priced introductory course seems to be becoming quite expensive. Sure that Nick will be on soon to tell us whether everything making up the £511 is necessary as it doesn seem to lose out if it does to OU course B190 which covers the same ground but includes all materials and exams would be only £427 and give similar AAT exemptions (you need to confirm current exemptions for yourself as thats something that changes regularly. Exemptions offered today should never be depended upon to be available tomorrow).

When looking at pricing though don't forget to factor in the quality of tutor support and Nick is a qualified accountant so you know that the advice that you would be getting is top notch whereas I'm not sure that such can be said of all training companies where many have trainers who are tutors, not accountants. Just one thing to watch out for when signing up with a training provider.

On the books front I would actually advise Business Accounts for bookkeeping and financial accountancing courses by David Cox which is currently £17.60 on Amazon. In fact it might be worth buying and studying that from end to end before signing up for any bookkeeping course.

I should note here that Premier are an excellent training company and one minor disagreement over the end price of a course is no reflection of my view of them.

However, as the bookkeeping course is being pushed on price rather than quality alone where the AAT course is being pushed on quality of the qualification I think I am justified in thinking that whilst the price of the course is very reasonable the full price when considering all of the additions that need to be added is a little too much (considering membership, exam fee's, course delivery and those Frank woods books).

That said, compare that price to some bookkeeping courses out there that cover less ground and it's an absolute bargain.

I think that the course is worth it but should be compared against pricing of OU B190 or the ACCA FIA.

I'm sure that Nick will point you in the right direction in relation to your various options in the morning.

kind regards,

Shaun.

-- Edited by Shamus on Monday 22nd of April 2013 12:59:53 AM

XRaidx wrote:

---

Hi Guys, I currently work in 'welfare to work' but I really want to get into bookkeeping then accounting (even payroll). I did start an AAT lv2 in accounting years ago, passed my first few tests but couldnt continue due an injury that prevented me from being able to attend college. 

Now I'm lookign to study from home as it works best for me considering im working now. Ive been looking at Premier Training and they have a 'AAT level 2 Award in Bookkeeping (QCF)' prices at £249, is there any reason why this course is priced higher than the AAT lv2 accounting (£153.75)?

The level 2 award in bookkeeping is a standalone introduction to bookkeeping whereas the AAT LVL2 is the first part of the AAT qualification. The bookkeeping course should not be confused with the industry recognised AAT qualification but it will put you in a much better position to go onto AAT.

If i do the Bookkeeping course, how many exams will it consist of?

There are two 2 hour assessments, both computer based

I also read the post quoted below from a different thread but I have a few questions regarding it:

 

NickCraggs wrote:

---

Hi,

In answer to your question, you only need a training provider for computerised accounting, the rest you can do on your own and many people do, without a problem.

If i could make another suggestion which you may want to think about.  You could do the AAT level 2 bookkeeping award with a training provider, as these are really important skills that you will use in level 3, level 4 (FS is by far and away the hardest part of the AAT) and you will use later on in ACCA.  You can then use this as an exemption from basic accounting 1 and 2, as they are the same sylabus anyway.  You could then self study basic costing and weaf, as they are not too onerous.  Finally you could then do computerised accouting with a training provider.  We are allowed to use the Sage Online certificate, in conjunction with our online scenarios as recognised prior learning for the CA unit.

So you would end up with

AAT level 2 Award in Bookkeeping

Sage certificate

AAT Level 2 Certificate

Whilst only having to take 4 exams and the online sage exam.

It is just another thing to think about, but obviously you dont need to rush into anything.  If you wanted to you could self study everything but CA.

There are a number of books you could use for self study, we use our own books that we publish through our sister company Premier Books and Osborne Books, others swear by Kaplan books, but there are plenty of other options.  You should be able to pick some up on ebay on from the AAT forum.  But what works best for everone is different.

Any more questions, please feel free to post on here (so maybe it can help others), or give me a call

---

 

 

My questions are:

 

1: What is 'FS'?

Financial Statements

2: would I have to then do 'basic costing and weaf' to get the lv1 and lv2 sertificate in basic accounting? also what does 'weaf' mean, not sure if its a typo or something ive not come across yet?

Nick is giving the simplified approach to passing the level. He is suggesting you take exemptions from a couple of modules by passing the basic bookkeeping.

Weaf = Work Effectively in Accounting & Finance module.

3: Does anyone know how much it would cost to get the CA completed?

Nick will be able to help more with costs.

 

Thats all I can think of at this point in time, as you can see, im a total newb but I will pick it up quickly!!

 

Thanks guys.

 

Carl

---

Hi Carl,

answers in blue above.

kind regards,

Shaun.

Morning Nick,

hope that my post read as it was intended (which was in no way meant to come accross at all detrimental to Premier).

However...

On those Frank Woods books.

I got the same advice about the Woods (then Woods and Sangster) books from the OU back when I took the old B680 certificate in Accounting. I thought at the time, ok, they're really expensive but they must be exceptional as the OU are advising them as additional reading.

Maybe it's just my learning style but they have ended up as my least read books mainly due to when I am looking things up those two seldom have the answers that I am looking for.

Conversely, the much cheaper David Cox book which I am sure that you are familiar with as it's an AAT standard text proved an excellent purchase and I highly recommend it.

As I say, might be worth reviewing the book suggestion for students considering espechially that at that level even the Cox book may prove hard going for starters.

Just a suggestion,

kind regards,

Shaun.

Hi Shaun,

yes taken as intended, all very valid points.  I am maybe a bit biased as when i did my training, partners would demonstrate their "experience" by how old their copy of Frank Woods was, although i never saw the holy grail of a first addition!

We do have a several copies of Business Accounts, which is on the reading list, especially as it is an Osborne Book we can get students a bit of discount as we use Osborne for our books which we dont produce in house.  I personally havent been through it in great detail, i will have a look on one of my late nights here when it gets quite and come back to you.

Thanks everyone for your help, read the posts at work but couldnt reply.

I want to get into payroll or bookkeeping initially and work my way up to becoming a full fledged accountant over the years. Do you think i should do the Bookkeeping course first, get exemptions for lv1 and lv2 accountancy or should I go straight for the lv2 accountancy?

Though I passed some lv2 exams, it was a while ago so I would rather fly through it again (self study) as I'm sure im rusty and things may have changed a bit since then.


How do I go about self studying? Is that option available on the website?


What appeals to me is this path that Nick demonstrated, just 4 exams sounds good to me :p:

AAT level 2 Award in Bookkeeping

Sage certificate

AAT Level 2 Certificate

Whilst only having to take 4 exams and the online sage exam.

 

 

And a question for Shamus, would the 'Business Accounts (Accounting & Finance)' be out of date in any way as it was published in May last year?

-- Edited by XRaidx on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:07:57 PM

-- Edited by XRaidx on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:22:41 PM

Thanks Shaun, ive been on the AAT website and I have noticed that the Bookkeeping course has changed, cant find what has changed but I see it has.

Could you point me in the right direction in terms of how to get started with my self study?

How do I know what books to buy, do I register with AAT first, then when I'm ready to sit the exams I just book myself in?

Also as the course has changed, does anyone know what I am exempt from in the accounting lv2 qualification as i would like to get that qualification too?

Thanks guys

Ok I'm going to play devil's advocate here and risk putting my head into the lion's mouth!

When 'one' purchases services from a professional provider of those services they are purchasing their years of experience, advice, guidance and professional support...... You can cut your own hair, you can cook your own food, you can service and repair your own car if you buy a book, businesses can do their own bookkeeping and complete their own tax returns following HMRC guidance. But sometimes it pays and sometimes it's nice to pay a professional to help us on our journey.

I pay lots of professionals to do work I can do myself but it's a pleasure to have that helping hand to help me along my journey. I see it as an investment in my health, happiness, time, money, and peace of mind!

Now I can hear the owls in my garden which is a sure sign I should be in bed!

Sonya

OK, gauntlet accepted. lol

I cut my own hair, make the families food, sew the clothes, cut the lawn, clean the house, decorate it... all jobs that I could outsource but just feel that I care more about the results than someone that I am paying to do the work for me.

I used to service my own car but with modern cars whilst there are some things that you can do the manufacturers make it virtually impossible to do everything... So a bit like AAT in some respects.

Did I learn to service the car from a mechanic... No... The answers are cunningly hidden all in books.

Now if your arguement was based upon the opportunity cost of one's time in that we could be doing something more profitable whilst doing those tasks then that would make sense.

Training though is not something that can be deferred to someone else so the question there is what is one's learning style.

Some people can sity down with a book, read it and understand it.

Others lack motivation and if left with a book will like as not go off and do absolutely anything except except read the book (Even I have days like that).

Others do not understand the book and need a helping hand.

I am sure that all training companies have people who sign up for a course, get the books and then you don't hear from them again until the exams. For that group what was the point in the expense of a training company when all that they have used is the books?

Conversely there are those who think of tutors as study buddies and really want to get more than their moneys worth from the course. If training companies had too many of those then they would need to increase their prices which would make them uncompetitive.

My view is that if people are able to start from the books and pass the exams then that is possibly a better route for some but the making of a complete disaster for others and everything really should be concentrated on the individual rather than assuming that all people learn in the same way.

If that were true then either BPP or Kaplan would go to the wall as the learning styles of their texts are very different and people will either feel comfortable with one or the other (BPP uses dscussion where Kaplan uses a more hands on read it then try yourself approach. Neither approach is right for everyone).

Training companies are an important part of the process of ensuring the quality of financial professionals out there but they are not the right choice for everyone in all instances. On this site there are times that I have advised going to various training companies and times that I have said which books to read (generally where people have prior experience).

Now that you've read to hear you are probably thinking that I'm anti training company which if you are thinking that go back and read the above again.

My arguement is that everyone is different and what it right for one may be totally wrong for another.

The poster asked about books, I've led with the David Cox book. Nicks an advocate of Woods and Sangster.

Actually, on the books front I'll just post another answer to the poster.

Talk later,

Shaun.

p.s. your always good for a fun discussion Sonya. lovin it.

I'd self study Lv2 as it wasnt difficult when I was doing it before.

The reason I would rather self study is because I'm a busy guy and having to go to a college two evening a week is too much on top of my other commitments. With self study I can truly do thing in my own time and on whatever day and time i choose.