I have in the past gained my practising certificate with the I.C.B, now lapsed (was 2009) so realise i would have to start again as far as qualifications go. I am in the process of purchasing a shop, which i will run along side my wife. I will be doing all of the bookkeeping and with that in mind I am doing some refresher training using the acca-x course, along side that i have around 20 years experience doing my own books / accounts along with around four years employed roles in accounts. I am thinking way in the future at present, as i aim to keep the shop for 10 years but, if for any reason it goes wrong and also for in around 10 years I want to semi-retire.
I am therefore thinking of taking I.C.B levels 2 and 3 this year, mainly to make sure i am really up to date with my skills, also as a sort of hobby! next year do payroll and self-assessment, followed by the year after (year 3) level 4. Now my question is, how long can you be a student member without applying for a practising certificate without having to re-sit exams? I don't know if you have a certain time limit to complete all the levels and or apply for your practising certificate, obviously i may have to re-jig my plans if i have to do it in a certain time.
I may well apply for a practising certificate in around 3 or 4 years time, allowing my wife to run the shop, whilst i do the admin and back office and also allow me to grow a bookkeeping practice slowly over the remaining period so that when the time comes i can semi retire or even go full-time. Not having to rely on this as a main income would also allow me to cherry pick to a certain extent the jobs that i would be happy to do rather than take on any jobs because i need to.
I guess i'm looking at this as a bit of an insurance in case everything goes wrong but also due being a victim of the recession a few years ago i had to abandon my pension plans and therefore will need to supplement my income in early retirement. By the way i'm 48 at the present so not past it yet.
-- Edited by newleaf on Wednesday 20th of January 2016 07:52:59 PM
If you don't intend to trade yet why not take your time and use ACCA-X to lead into a higher qualification such as the full ACCA professional qualification or if you don't fancy that then maybe AAT.
You don't actually need either of them but I'm looking at your timescale and thinking that if you went for something top drawer such as ACCA (which doesn't actually cost that much more to self teach than going with a training company for an entry level qualification) then by the time that you are approaching the end of your ten year plan you will probably also be either approaching qualification or already qualified.
You could then have your choice of transfer to any professional body that you want. i.e. if you are ACCA then bodies such as IFA, AAT, AIA, ICPA or IAB would bend over backwards to get you to join them (it would of course mean leaving the ACCA is you want to practice).
You've taken the first step with ACCA-X. Take a look at ACCA before making your mind up as to your eventual direction.
Even if you only did the first nine papers you could then take a BSc in applied accountancy with Oxford Brookes University if you wanted one (for minimal cost, you've already done the work for a degree in the first nine papers).
Just a suggestion there, hope that it's not too far off page and makes you think about additional options.
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.
Here what you are saying Shaun and in an ideal world would love to go down the AAT route, wish i had done it years ago.
However one thing that concerns me with the AAT route and becoming a member in practice is getting qualifying work signed off and taking time to attend exams, whilst most of the ICB exams are online and i don't believe I would have to demonstrate work experience (not that i'm trying to hide anything) but particularly in the early years my focus will be on my retail business as although my wife will be able to help a bit along with other part time staff i will be responsible for the day to day running of the business.
Dare I say i......If you are doing acca-x then why do you need to do ICB as well? If you are fully capable, but just need the refresher then you won't need a member in practice certificate from the ICB to be able to practice.
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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
thats pretty much where I was gong with the ACCA suggestion in that if one has ten years to spare before you want to use a qualification, why not go for the best one that you can. There's no need to keep the qualification and anyone else would be bending over backwards to try and get you to practice under their flags as quality of service reflects well on the body that you trade under. And as you say, they want you more than you need them.
The good thing about doing something like ACCA is tax and audit, bith of which are perfect for is you want to run a small practice.
"But I don't want to be an auditor" I hear you exclaim... Nor me... Most litigous area of accountancy that you can get into. However, studying it isn't so much about audit, it's all about identifying issues in accounts such as misapplication of a financial eporting standard or ethical conundrums all of which help build professional scepticism.
With tax thats just what clients ask about the most so its a good idea to have a sound foundation in it. ACCA paper P6 or ATT are both perfect for that.
__________________
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.
"But I don't want to be an auditor" I hear you exclaim... Nor me... Most litigous area of accountancy that you can get into. However, studying it isn't so much about audit, it's all about identifying issues in accounts such as misapplication of a financial eporting standard or ethical conundrums all of which help build professional scepticism.I have a pal doing ACA alongside work.....has to do a stint in audit to obviously make him a more rounded, good Accountant. He certainly doesn't want to be stuck doing it, he says he has learnt a lot, but omg it's boring!! All learning is good!!
With tax thats just what clients ask about the most so its a good idea to have a sound foundation in it. ACCA paper P6 or ATT are both perfect for that.I still think of that public perception.....ask anyone out there not in this industry and they all think all Accountants know all the is to know about tax and will give such advice without having to be asked!!! How wrong they are!!! Unless of course, they have the right training, but the public have no idea of what all the letters mean.
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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
at the higher levels you would be surprised how interesting audit studies are.
In the exam you will be presented with a scenario, usually 2 to 3 pages including basic (thats ACCA basic!) financial information and you need to write a report based on the issues of perhaps them using incorrect financial reporting standards or incorrectly applying the right one's, window dressing, misstatements, misinformation, over optimistic forecasts and projections, etc. One that comes up a lot is where one is doing a due dilligence on the purchase of a business ensuring that what someone believes that they are buying is what they are actually buying... Basically loads of things that your long career developing professional scepticism in corporate has been perfect training for.
I think that its the one paper that really brings everything together as you will not pass it unless you know all of the standards (Accounting, Audit, Ethics and even some tax regulation) plus a great deal of common sense and business acumen. i.e. you need to be able to look at the question and quickly think "I know what you're up to ya wee miscreant!".
There's a reason that advanced audit is that last paper in that it really enforces your knowledge base by bringing absolutely everything together in one paper... Plus you only have three hours to write a lot on four questions each of which in the real world would take more than three hours each. Time is what beats more people than lack of knowledge with that paper (P7) but thats also its strength in that to get past the final hurdle you need to be able to explain from memory absolutely anything and you don't have the time to waffle (no, we are not putting a timer on the length of time I am allowed for each post on here!).
I think that at that level ACCA beats ACA in one respect in that as mentioned above ACCA people must know everything from memory where ACA people are allowed to take their books into the exam hall with them. However, one still has to know where to look in the book and theirs are just as time pressured so its only a minor advantage ACCA there.
Trust me, you would love audit exams even if like me you wouldn't go near audit with a barge pole (Litigious nightmare or ethical dilema's).
You are completely right about tax. The general public truly believe that all accountants are tax experts and that they can ask any question which we will know the answer to immediately. As such everyone who wants to work as an accountant needs to have a good understanding of the tax system. Thats not saying that one needs to know it all but there is a core knowledge expectation that one needs to be able to wield with confidence and I think that can only come from seriously complex higher end studies.... Which still don't prepare you 100% for questions in the real world but the main thing is that you develop a sense that something is wrong long before you realise why it is and you learn the best places to look for the answers.
No matter who one eventually practices under, the professional body whose exams you pass is what makes you the accountant / bookkeeper you eventually become.
Have I sold you on coming over to the dark side yet Jo?...... We have cookies..... Maybe I should have led with that
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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.
You shouldve led with 'we have chocolate', then I wouldve agreed to anything!!!!!
Ive been on the dark side for years.
Oh you aint gonna let me forget that ACCA thing are you.....wouldnt mind but the last 3-4 months Ive not been able to pick up a bloomin textbook, never mind think about audit exams!!! ACIB was bad enough - in one of them I went a blank after the first 15 minutes, sat there for 2 1/2 hours and then only had the last 15 minutes to answer all the questions - I did everything in bullet points, clearly got the point across that I knew my stuff and so passed. I dont think I would get away with that one for ACCA would I?!!!
Wonder if I could bribe the examiner with cake?!!
__________________
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
You realise that people will read that and think that you mean AICB don't you ya lil Chartered Banker.
We HAD chocolate.... Refer to Avatar!
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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.
SOD ORFFFFFFFF......AICB....I DONT THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not that I have anything against ANYONE who has it, just before you all jump on me). Strictly ACIB peeps.
I watched avatar with one eye shut...no idea what that means, except to say - if you HAD cholocate and didnt share then you can double sod orffffff.
Im off to sulk in a corner!!!!!!!!!
__________________
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
No, not Avatar, the Avatar... the fat cat storing something in its cheeks to the left of the post. Tut, it's not funny when I have to explain it!
Pretty sure that the name of that pic was "what canary?".
__________________
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.
