rationale for doing accountancy exams before doing tax?

LEH

I have been looking into tax as a career, and have heard from a few sources that most firms prefer you to take your ACCA's first and then go on for the AITI's afterwards.

Personally I have no interest in doing the accountancy exams as I'm fairly sure tax is for me and don't want to have to spend 4 years training for a qualification I don't want/need only to start another three yeards for tax.... will this be held against me? Is there a specific reason why they suggest doing it this way?

Many Thanks in advance

pigeonbutler

I presume you mean ACA's rather than ACCA's. There the ones generally preferred by large practices.

The firm I work for offer Tax graduates the choice of pursuing ACA and AITI or just AITI. (PM for details)

The reason one does ACA's first is because people with an ACA are exempt from Part 1 of the AITI exams.

The CCAinsider

A lot of the detailed tax planning needs an accounting underpinning. While AITI is a great qualification, having both ACCA and AITI is worth more than the two added together - if you know what i mean. Doing ACCA first will give you exemptions from AITI.

Superdub2

If you want to do tax and do not want to do accountancy do not do accountancy. All the largest firms have seperate tax departments and while some of the tax department staff do accountancy exams most of them dont in my experience and the firm i work for would be relatively large.

in most of the smaller firms tax is not handled seperately from the audit and as such the accountancy trainees do the tax aswell. They may not have any tax department and in this case they obviously wont take anybody on who isnt doing their accountancy exams

Mr. Incognito

There is no reason to do the accountancy. Most tax is legal. There is a bit of accountancy benefit in corporation tax but tax planning is a legal excercise not a numerical one. I have a legal background and never had to deal with any accountancy in work. (I work in a big 4 in income tax)

there are tax adjustments to accounts but tbh there is no reason why you need an accountancy qualification if you intend concentrating on tax.

Kingkong

Currently working in practice. From watching others that are in the place those who dont have an accounting background r not at a disadvantage. In fact for some reason they seem to get more of that fun advisory work!

Currently involved with the AITI and there is a big push for attracting more people like urself that want AITI as there primary qualification.