Where next after AAT?

Brownie3

I'm sure this has been asked by many a student, so apologies if this is a duplicated thread.

I've only 2 units remaining to be completed, Unit 19/15, so I will be finished come Easter next year.

Where do I go from here? I'm not really sure what the differences are between CIMA, ACCA etc, how long it takes, where to study it, how much it costs, work load etc.

Any help, no matter how basic you think your response is, would be a great help.

Many thanks in advance.

Mark.

Bookworm55

YMMV, IMHO and other acronyms as disclaimers...

what the differences are between CIMA, ACCA etc

Minimal at best. CIMA is geared towards those working as accountants in commerce/industry, ICAEW/ICAS for those working in accounting firms, and ACCA makes an effort to cover as wide an area as possible. But even then those are tendencies not hard and fast rules.

how long it takes

2-5 years, with three being considered normal. But it's better to think of it in terms of number of exams (and exam sittings) than academic years.

where to study it

Loads of places. Your employer may have a preferred provider. If not, many local colleges do various courses, and there's BPP and FTC Kaplan are the big name training providers.

how much it costs

Lots. If I don't get a job with study support soon (many employers will pay staff training costs), I'm going to have to find about £2500 for the two CIMA exams I plan on sitting in May 2010. There are cheaper options, however.

Andypandy

Don't forget the AAT2ACA fast track !

Brownie3

Enlighten me? read something about that yesterday on the ACA website

messedup89

reasearch and lots of it. I started looking at acca/cima extc when i started AAT. I've been set on acca for a year now. Registered with them. 1 exam and 1 skills test to go!