Carlow Girl looking to do IATI / CAT / ACCA

carolinei

Hi everyone,

I have spent the last 2 days reading and reading and reading the posts and have one or two questions that I need answered, if possible

I was about to do the IATI Accountancy Technicians Course in Carlow IT starting next week.

I have been working in Accounts for the last 4 years and have been doing the VAT/PRSI/PAYE/ P30 /P30L's AP, AC, Reconciliation and bringing to Trial balance etc, using Tas.. BUT.....

I now want to get a qualification to prove I am qualified to do what I do. I work in industry and love working in Accounts and want to continue in accounts, but am overwhelmed with what I can do study wise

I can take a small reduction, to say 25K, as I have the mortgage, car, kids etc and my husband is a househusband, but am wondering, would it be a good idea to go into practice and train that way to get all the exposure, and if so, do I have to send CV's out to all the accountancy firms etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I need to make a decision in the next week, to hedge my bets should I enrol for the ACCA for the exams next June and then try to get a job in practice ?

With Regards

Caroline

sawilson2003

If you are happy where you are I would stay there. Check with the company you are with maybe they would be happy to help you out with course fees, study leave etc.

I qualified through Industry and to be honest I dont know how much working in practice will actually help with the exams (compred to working in Industry) .. the one subject that it did affect was auditing.. some of the other poster's here may be able to share their thoughts.

If there is a Qualified ACA working in your company he/she could get the company registered as a firm training in industy and do your contract that way. Your other option is as you have stated ACCA or IATI (or CIMA, AAT). Your choices basically depend on how long you want to study for, accounting technician will take 2 years the others in all likely hood will take 4. Obviously the benefits at the end are greater for the Accountant quailifications.

Hope that helps a bit

carolinei

Hi,

No I work in a really small company and there is no qualified ACA. We do the books and then give them to the accountants when we finish.

It is a very busy company, and very well run, but very small and I have been informed that if I do any studying it will be off my own bat !, so I don't feel too optimistic about Study Leave etc.

I don't mind being stuck in contract for 3.5 years with the ACA if I knew it was worth it in the end if the company I was with was a good company. Thats why I'm wondering should I send my CV's now ?

Regards

Caroline

bored and tired

I would stay in industry if at all possible, I had to move to industry as the salary i was on was terrible in practice.
I started with CAT, I did lectures for the first exams in Dec and BPP home study courses from June onwards as i wasnt able to go to lectures with a new born!! Those were fun times!!:)

Also i got help from my companys accountants over the phone. I got to know the girl doing our accounts and if I had any questions she would answer them or look it up and get back to me on it. The accountants also signed off on my training as there wasnt anyone qualified in the company to do it,
We had a bespoke comp package, and i used the helpline alot as training wasnt provided by my comp, I got to know them well also, and when i was doing an exam on IT, i used to ring them if there was something i didnt understand. Most people will be only too happy to offer 10 mins of advice, and thats all youll need every now and again once you get into the hang of studying and have your routine sorted. I cant recommend BPP enough, for me there books were the most straight forward, easy to digest, and had real progression on topics,

I think ACCA used to give exemptions to some CAT exams if you had honurs Accounting LC. so that might be of some help in deciding which course to follow, Also ACCA ofter a longer time to study and pass exams, which allows for any thing that may happen in the future. I would be lost if i decided to go with anyone else as i had a car crash 2 years ago and wasnt able to study or sit any exams until now, Im almost half way through the ACCA exams, and the grounding i got in CAT was really usefull in starting the professional exams.

Best of luck,

OP, your work experience sounds really good.

I taught IATI last year, and none of my students would have been doing anything as relevant or detailed as what you are doing.

Best of luck, I reckon you'll fly through them

carolinei

Hi,

Thanks for vote of confidence. My next question is, should I just go and bite the bullet and do the full ACCA or do the CAT and then get the exemption and do the ACCA ?

Thanks for all your help ?

Rgds

Caroline

steelbar

Be careful if you are intending to attend lectures in Carlow IT, i spent a yr there doing CPA, went to Griffith last yr even though i live in Carlow town, big difference.
The main on being that Carlow are aiming to get you 50%, where Griffith(and BPP I'd say) want you to get 100%

If I was starting again I would do ACCA, do the exams at your pace (within the 10 years!)

bored and tired

carolinei wrote: »

should I just go and bite the bullet and do the full ACCA or do the CAT and then get the exemption and do the ACCA ?

I think if your main motivation has been to start on the road to a qualification, then get the CAT's behind you, you will be qualified in probably 2years, As you said yourself, you want to be qualified to do the job your doing,
Once you have a qualification behind you, you can then start off the ACCA's with a detailed background into theory of accountancy, and you are structured and have a study technique and routine which will definately stand to you.

best of luck

Kinetic^

Hi Caroline,

If you've been working in accounts for 4 years then you know what you're doing. I honestly think you'd be wasted on doing the IATI/CAT course as you will know quite a bit of it already and you may feel bored during the classes. There will obviously be some of it that you have not covered but a fair bit of that would be covered early on in either ACA/ACCA.

As you have financial commitments (kids being the main one), I'd say go the ACCA route. I really can't see you getting 25k if you moved to practice either (even with your experience)so I'd stay where you are in industry. The ACCAs are a lot more flexible and will allow you take your time but also earn some dollar bills along the way in industry.

Any more questions. then fire away.

Celticwarrior

On the salary if moving into practice, if you got one of the big 4 you'd probably get 23-25k for the first year, with a salary increase up to around 31 the following year, so it'd be a year of penny pinching and after that you'd have a bit more flexibility. In fact, some of the big 4 will even give you a starting off bonus of 1k so that'd be a help as well.

The only thing i'd say to you about moving into practice is there will be extended periods of the year wherby you will be doing long long hours.

Kinetic^

Celticwarrior wrote: »

On the salary if moving into practice, if you got one of the big 4 you'd probably get 23-25k for the first year.

This would be the salary in a Dublin based Big 4 firm. It would not be as high in one of the other cities in Ireland.

Celticwarrior wrote: »

The only thing i'd say to you about moving into practice is there will be extended periods of the year wherby you will be doing long long hours.

Definately agree with this!!

Celticwarrior

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celticwarrior View Post
On the salary if moving into practice, if you got one of the big 4 you'd probably get 23-25k for the first year.
This would be the salary in a Dublin based Big 4 firm. It would not be as high in one of the other cities in Ireland.

Yup, sorry you're right. I read through the thread too quickly. You won't come near to that 23-25k starting off outside Dublin in a non-big 4 firm. Therefore, industry has to be the only way to go.

You do sound like you've shedloads of knowledge and experience, and a good solid qualification and you will have a very good CV with qualifications and plenty of relevant experience.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celticwarrior View Post
The only thing i'd say to you about moving into practice is there will be extended periods of the year wherby you will be doing long long hours.
Definately agree with this!!

Yup, there's no point glossing it up. There will be weeks on end where you can be doing 60/70+ hours in the week. Where you can forget about any plans you made, and you will have to work the weekend. The only thing is, all that overtime you can claim back in pay at some stage, so it's a handy nest egg. Not that it makes it worth it!

carolinei

Ok, Think I might have made a decision, thought I would bounce if off you guys.

Met with the IATI in CIT last night and with the CPA. Asked the CPA what exemptions I would get if I did the IATI and they said Formation 1 and tax in Formation 2, so I would still have 3 years to do in the CPA,

So wouldn't I just be better doing the CPA.

The reason I didn't want to do distance learning is I need structure and to know every week for x amount of weeks twice a week I have this and I have to go. Otherwise I would get stressed.

So, think I will go with the CPA, as my current employer's accountant can sign off on the trainging / experience for me.

Any final suggestions before I sign the dotted line and spend some money.

Is Carlow a good place to do the CPA or would anyone who has done it have any other recommendations ?

Rgds

Caroline

Kinetic^

carolinei wrote: »

Ok, Think I might have made a decision, thought I would bounce if off you guys.

Met with the IATI in CIT last night and with the CPA. Asked the CPA what exemptions I would get if I did the IATI and they said Formation 1 and tax in Formation 2, so I would still have 3 years to do in the CPA,

So wouldn't I just be better doing the CPA.

The reason I didn't want to do distance learning is I need structure and to know every week for x amount of weeks twice a week I have this and I have to go. Otherwise I would get stressed.

So, think I will go with the CPA, as my current employer's accountant can sign off on the trainging / experience for me.

Any final suggestions before I sign the dotted line and spend some money.

Is Carlow a good place to do the CPA or would anyone who has done it have any other recommendations ?

Rgds

Caroline

Hi Caroline,

It's good that you went and spoke to someone about your options. I understand what you're saying about doing CPA with the exemptions.

but

If you jumped directly into ACCA you'd have 14 exams to do. The exams are every 6 months. So if you sat 2 every 6 months and passed first time, you could be qualified in 3.5 years and that's bypassing the IATI course that you could do in 2 years.

I really don't see the point in you doing the IATI course, it really would be a tad basic for you. If you do go ahead with what you're saying it could be 5 years total(2 for IATI & 3 for CPA).

The ACCA qualification would be recognised as a better then CPA.


I can't speak on whether or not Carlow is a good place as I did my IATI in Griffith College Dublin.

Mr. Incognito

You could do the full AITI's and not just the tax technician courses.

Tough exams though. Three sittings of 4 but great qualification.

Info here:

http://www.taxireland.ie/education/education.aspx

Kinetic^

SetantaL wrote: »

You could do the full AITI's and not just the tax technician courses.

Tough exams though. Three sittings of 4 but great qualification.

Info here:

http://www.taxireland.ie/education/education.aspx

Completely different thing. IATI is the Institute of Accounting Technicians in/of Ireland.

carolinei

Hi All,

OK, I have bitten the bullet. I am applying to GCD to do the distance learning F2 & F3, as I am going in as a mature student, for the December exams.

When I pass I will do the F1 through distance learning and then do the F4 onwards in Naas (It is a new venue they are doing the classes in), and that makes my life a hell of a lot easier if I don't have to travel all the way into Dublin from Carlow twice a week.

I had already registered with the ACCA in March, but due to unforseen circumstances was unable to go any further with it. Now things are better, husband is supportive of the studying (that's because he doesn't have to do it ! )

Any further thoughts, suggestions ? Has anyone done these with GCD and distance learing ?

Talk with you all soon, and thanks for all the advice so far I REALLY appreciate it.

Rgds

Caroline

onehorse

Check out Clane College if you are doing CPA in that neck of the woods. Hear good things about them for CPA and IATI

Kinetic^

carolinei wrote: »

Hi All,

OK, I have bitten the bullet. I am applying to GCD to do the distance learning F2 & F3, as I am going in as a mature student, for the December exams.

When I pass I will do the F1 through distance learning and then do the F4 onwards in Naas (It is a new venue they are doing the classes in), and that makes my life a hell of a lot easier if I don't have to travel all the way into Dublin from Carlow twice a week.

I had already registered with the ACCA in March, but due to unforseen circumstances was unable to go any further with it. Now things are better, husband is supportive of the studying (that's because he doesn't have to do it ! )

Any further thoughts, suggestions ? Has anyone done these with GCD and distance learing ?

Talk with you all soon, and thanks for all the advice so far I REALLY appreciate it.

Rgds

Caroline

I seen the distance notes for IATI when I studied with GCD. They were very thorough and well laid out. Good luck with it.

carolinei

Hi,


Decision made. I have gone with the Home Study Plus from BPP for my F3 and F2 and am sitting them in November or January if I want to put if off if I'm unsure whether I will have enough time.

The cost was €300 each + the CBE exam too @ €125.00

It includes the following :

Study Text
Practice and Revision Kit
Study Programme
Course Exams
BPP Learn Online
Discussion Forum
MP3 Downloads
Tutorial Supports
Passcards
I-Pass CD Rom with CBE type based questions


Order was faxed and decision made. I am going to study to do become an ACCA.

OK, easy part done, making the decision. Hard part to come. Studying and passing my Exams.

Roll on the challenge of becoming a student again !

Woo hoo !

Thanks for all your help.

Rgds

Caroline

All the best

Kinetic^

Good luck. If you've questions on anything that you're stuck on, there's plenty of people about that will be able to help.

carolinei

carolinei wrote: »

When I pass I will do the F1 through distance learning and then do the F4 onwards in Naas (It is a new venue they are doing the classes in), and that makes my life a hell of a lot easier if I don't have to travel all the way into Dublin from Carlow twice a week.
Caroline

I'm traveling twice a week from Carlow to Dublin (BPP, F4 and F7) and I have to say it's tough going. If only i knew about new GCD center in Naas I would defo consider it... ah well next semester.

carolinei

Hi Raffles,

I only saw it on the website during the week. So I won't be up there until the June exams of next year to do the F4.

How are you finding them ? Are you working full time, how much studying are you putting in. Just trying to get a feel for the distance learning.

Rgds

Caroline

Caroline,
Yes I am working full time and for last year I was living and studying in Dublin. I did F1-F3 in one batch and then F5-F6 in second semester. I never did home studying though - i prefer to attend classes.
The first three exams are very easy and you shouldn't have any problems passing them ( they are multiple choice tests). The most important thing in my opinion is to pace yourself properly. You cant leave studying too late ( in the meaning revising the knowledge from classes), couse if you do you won't know all material at the end. If you start too early and too intensive you'll get discourage( at least i did).
Dont know if that helped, but i hope it did.
regards
raffles
ps. it's Sunday evening and I am reading the study book...