degree or AAT?

regina184

My situation is i got a conditional offer from sheffield hallam univeristy for accounting and finance, and i need to take an ielts before the start of term.
im worry that i wont get the result that the uni needs. so i might need to retake again. if so, thats mean i wont go to uni this year.
so, im thinking study some courses before i apply uni in 2010, e,g, AAT or retake my alevele exams
i have done alevel accounts, so i m thinking AAT would it help in my future?
:confused1:

katielou

If you are planning on completing the AAT i think you would benifit from it as some universities allow you start on the second year of the course if you have AAT (depending on if your sit the required AAT Exams), my previous tutor wanted us to enrole onto the second year of the accounting degree once we had completed AAT, but unfortunalty we had not sat Business Tax as one of our exams so we were not eligable. Hope this helps?

regina184

i have done alevel accounts , so can i go on to NVQ Level 4, and how many exmas are there? can i sit all of them in 1 year?

katielou

Unfortunatly you will not be able to enter at level 4, you will only be able to enter at level 3. I think to do both level 3&4 4 in a year would be difficult as there would be to many exams and simultions to complete in that time.

regina184

BUT the AAT website said "Intermediate (NVQ Level 3) / AAT Level 3 Diploma for Accounting Technicians (QCF) - equivalent to A levels"

i have already done ALEVEL, how come i cant enter to level4?
how many exams in level 3 and level4??

katielou

Well when I started the AAT I also had A levels and thought it to be odd that i could only enter at level 3.

Its depends on what you choose to sit. In level 3 there is 2 exams and 3 simulations. In level 4 depending on where you study you can choose a mix of exams and simulations. I have sat 4 exams, 1 simulation and completed unit 10 project.

regina184

Now, i think im kind of not to know what to do.
i dont whether to go to uni or study AAT.
:crying:

katielou

Are you looking to do ACCA/CIMA after Uni?

welshwizard

AAT

enter level 3, complete this level and level 4 (possible paid for by a good employer)

Time taken: 2 years

ACCA:

enter after AAT with some exemptions (4 papers?) - in theory you could complete the qualification in 2 years. (possible paid for by a good employer)

Time taken: 2 years

Total time: 4 years

Alternatively, Uni for 3 years then another 2-3 on ACCA

Total time taken on this route: 5-6 years (and a huge student debt too!)

regina184

im looking to do ACCA.
so i dont know which route to choose

AAT Level 3 + level 4 then degree
or Degree first

katielou

I think if you do the degree first there would not be much doing the AAT as you will be able to enter at a higher level on ACCA.

The way i look at it is if you do the AAT then ACCA once you reach the Final papers on ACCA then they are just advanced versions of the papers already sat throughout the fundementals so i think havin knowledge of previous papers is a benefit.

regina184

sorry i dont quite get what you mean.

katielou

Sorry its my fault, i dont have a very good way of explaining things!!

if you complete the degree you can enter ACCA at the professional level.

If you complete the AAT your will enter ACCA at the fundemental level.

The professional level exams are advanced versions of the fundemental level exams, and in my opinion i think if you have sat the fundemental exams it would be an advantage as you would already have a good idea of the layout, techniques and basic critia when you get the the professional exams.

hope this is a bit clearer?

NeilH

Hi

The AAT is open entry so anyone can enter at any level they want, however, colleges running courses may require certain pre-requisits for Intermediate/Adv Cert and Technician/Diploma.

As for the AAT versus Degree before going onto ACCA, there are pro and cons to each. For example AAT could mean working and earning and at least no student debt, but a good degree opens doors if you want to go down the graduate training route and some people may prefer full time uni study to part-time FE study whilst working. A degree could get you more exemptions from ACCA than the AAT could, but you should check out what exemptions your degree will get you from ACCA as degress vary.

If you dont go to uni this year but nest year instead, then some additional accountancy study would give you a "heads up", or possibly let you start at a more advanced stage of the degree, but you'd need to check this out first.

Hope this helps.

Neil

Bookworm55

If you dont go to uni this year but nest year instead, then some additional accountancy study would give you a "heads up", or possibly let you start at a more advanced stage of the degree, but you'd need to check this out first.

I wouldn't bother with advanced standing at degree level. I did and think I missed out on a lot by not having a first year. Because you need to get stuck into the work so much I didn't have time to do much social and "extra-curricular activity" stuff.

regina184

thank you for you guys answering my question

but if i choose AAT, after level 4, what could i do? degree or ??
and how to take acca exams?

--Andrea--

Hi,

I went to university to study Accounting & Finance, at the same time I did the AAT Foundation at a nightclass (if you are under 19 you may get AAT free).

I realised quite quickly that the AAT equipped me to the job, wheras university only taught me the technical stuff.

So I left univeristy after the first year, and because I already had the AAT Foundation was able to secure myself a job as a trainee with a local accountant (earning money!).

I did the AAT Intermediate at nightclass, whilst at the same time doing AAT Technician on a day release. I also did AAT Payroll at nightclasses.

And after only two years I am MAAT. I earned a wage, and do not have a debt.

If you are young and want the experience of going to uni, then I say do it. If you want to build a career and earn dosh I say go with AAT.

(Although, I would not recommend doing Intermediate and Technician all in one if you do not have previous experience because Technician is hard!!)

I start with ACCA in September; the AAT gives me exemptions to the first 3 Fundamental units; so I start on the professional level. (The degree would have given me 2/3 exemptions on the professional level too).

In conclusions I think the AAT teaches you how to do the job, whilst the degree teaches you how to manage people who can do the job.

I feel I have a greater earning potential being able to do the job; I also do a bit of freelance bookkeeping because the AAT has given me the skills to do so.

Everyone is different, we all have different motivations. The AAT was right for me, but I also desire to have a degree, and can achieve this with the ACCA in association with Oxford Brookes University through the submission of 8500 word Research & Analysis Project (RAP).

Everything is achievable.

Good luck with your decision.

Andrea

mollyto1

Hi, what about straight to enrol to ACCA, become their student take the exams at your own pace. I know it sounds like the other way around but the little trick is this: currently upon registering to the ACCA as a student you are given the option to opt-in for their Oxford Brooks University Program which means at the end of your qualification eith ACCA you would have to do your project with the uni just like their other students and upon completion will be awarded a degree in Applied Accounting. I am going through this route currently and is something which make a lot of sense.. first I am not native in English, so for me to enrol to the uni as a standard procedure I must obtain IELTS Certificate, ACCA however accept my level of English so saved a lot of time from one side. And from the other side I am also saving on University Tuition Fees...and we are talking about quite a lot of money.. I am not saying ACCA exams and study materials are cheap, but still.. so started at the beginning of last year and hoping to finish the whole journey end of 2018.. so 3 years it will be! Let me, please mention I am a distance learning self student, running my own restaurant and have a 3 years old boy! So everything is achievable, just think wise and get yourself lots and lots of motivation either way you choose! But doing it together I think is time saver!