I am currently studying my Level 3 with ICB and my plan (all being well) once qualified is to work for myself for sole traders/small local businesses. I was wondering, once I get to this point does anyone have any advice regarding the ICB practice licence? I don't know how much this costs but is it worth the money or is better to just register with the HMRC for MLR and get my own insurance - is there anything else I would need?
isn't it one of the ICB's tie in's that if you are a member then you must practice through them and MLR is included in their practice certificate.
I think that you will find overall ICB package to be cheaper than HMRC (Think that the annual practice Certificate fee is £88 at the moment).
I'm not sure whether the ICBs insurance through Trafalgar is compulsory or you just have to prove that you have at least equivalent PII in order to obtain the practice certificate. That should be evident on the PC application form.
HTH,
Shaun.
p.s. you will also need the right software for your business (bookkeeping, payroll and don't forget Excel), a tweaked engagement letter peculiar to your own needs, MLR procedures in place (MLR is more than just being registered for it), business cards, membership of local business groups, a whiteboard and a huge desk (I often end up wall papering the floor!).
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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.
Hi - don't forget that as a practising member with ICB you have access to help lines - we have people on tap who can answer specific questions on most software packages, a legal help line for any queries about problems on clients, letters of engagement, technical assistance with bookkeeping queries - i.e. it was different on my course and how do I do this in real life, pensions, VAT etc. etc. etc.
Most of these are a phone call or email away - the help comes free as part of your membership and practice licence so well worth the money.
As I now know that you are reading this could I make a suggestion that the ICB take a leaf from the BKN book and make your own forum completely open so that non ICB members are able to read and post anywhere on your site.
For example, visitors are apparently welcome to most ICB meetings but they cannot read anything about those meetings as those area's of your forum are generally protected.
Also in many cases people of other bodies cannot post corrections to advice / responses given on your site.
Actually, you state that you have a technical team devoted to answering peoples questions. Why do they not post answers / correction to peoples questions on your forum? Would that not be a good use of their time? As they are being paid to give advice rather than ourselves who do it for free you could perhaps guarantee a one hour turn around on any query in writing to the whole world which would be a really good service to have.
Its much better to post answers for all to see than your peoples effort only being of benefit to the person who asked the question and the answer to be verbal which may quickly be part forgotten so ultimately misinterpreted
And that leads to another question from your response. The ICB qualification is sold as a more practical qualification than some of the others that are burried in accounting theory. One of your comments relates to "it was different on my course and how do I do this in real life" so would it not make sense to adjust / extend the syllabus to reflect how bookkeeping is performed in the real world?
I do appreciate of course that there are times when people will need to talk to someone as there are posts that cannot be made on open forum, however, for the bulk of cases I think that the ICB is missing a trick in not using its forum to its full potential which throws away the gift that BKN, the largest independant site for bookkeepers, gave you when you used an almost identical name for your forum (minus the hyphen).
With a bit of time, effort and a reversal on current readership restrictions the ICB forum could be a genuine competitor to BKN.
The above are just independant suggestions that I hope will help further improve the membership experience of the ICB... Where should I send the bill for my consultancy services, lol.
Hope that helps Jacquie.
kindest 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.
As I now know that you are reading this could I make a suggestion that the ICB take a leaf from the BKN book and make your own forum completely open so that non ICB members are able to read and post anywhere on your site. Just my point the other day.
For example, visitors are apparently welcome to most ICB meetings but they cannot read anything about those meetings as those area's of your forum are generally protected.
Also in many cases people of other bodies cannot post corrections to advice / responses given on your site. Very valid point, would enable us to all help each other. I dont have an issue with chunks of the actual site being private/for members only but a forum is one which could easily be open to all
Actually, you state that you have a technical team devoted to answering peoples questions. Why do they not post answers / correction to peoples questions on your forum? Would that not be a good use of their time? As they are being paid to give advice rather than ourselves who do it for free you could perhaps guarantee a one hour turn around on any query in writing to the whole world which would be a really good service to have.
Its much better to post answers for all to see than your peoples effort only being of benefit to the person who asked the question and the answer to be verbal which may quickly be part forgotten so ultimately misinterpreted Surely it would be easier for the techincal team to answer on the forum as they then should get asked the same questions again and again. Plus, as we know from this site, some people do not like to ask questions for fear of feeling a fool, even the more experienced members feel like that - its a natural human reaction, even though we endeavour not to make people feel that way with the answers. So by posting an answer, rather than just answering that one person, means that everyone's knowledge is being strengthened.
And that leads to another question from your response. The ICB qualification is sold as a more practical qualification than some of the others that are burried in accounting theory. One of your comments relates to "it was different on my course and how do I do this in real life" so would it not make sense to adjust / extend the syllabus to reflect how bookkeeping is performed in the real world? I think a few organisations could be doing this and therefore providing better training. I always tell trainees - you will learn more in a couple of months after your course, than probably 12months on it, as you get all sorts thrown at you. Mind you - could you imagine the syllabus? That said, we do have a lot of ICBers posting on here about the ICB, so I think they are missing a trick somewhere along the line.
I do appreciate of course that there are times when people will need to talk to someone as there are posts that cannot be made on open forum, however, for the bulk of cases I think that the ICB is missing a trick in not using its forum to its full potential which throws away the gift that BKN, the largest independant site for bookkeepers, gave you when you used an almost identical name for your forum (minus the hyphen).
With a bit of time, effort and a reversal on current readership restrictions the ICB forum could be a genuine competitor to BKN.
The above are just independant suggestions that I hope will help further improve the membership experience of the ICB... Where should I send the bill for my consultancy services, lol.
Hope that helps Jacquie.
kindest regards,
Shaun.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
