What is the point in passing AAT?
Comments
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you sound just like a uni grad that spent 3 years on spending tax payers money to think you are better than those that had the sense to go out, get work, start from the bottom and study at the same time. just because you studyied doesn't automatically grant you a passage t a high up well paid job. infact, people like that dont know how it is in the real world. experience counts a lot to employers.
i am aware i had noexperience when i first started out and my employer doesnt require me to have a qualification but i do it to go with my experience, not instead of it
At last someone with a bit of savvy your welcome to join my team anytime well said
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Experienceyou sound just like a uni grad that spent 3 years on spending tax payers money to think you are better than those that had the sense to go out, get work, start from the bottom and study at the same time. just because you studyied doesn't automatically grant you a passage t a high up well paid job. infact, people like that dont know how it is in the real world. experience counts a lot to employers.
i am aware i had noexperience when i first started out and my employer doesnt require me to have a qualification but i do it to go with my experience, not instead of it
Hi,
the advantage of a qualification must not be understated and you need experience in a workplace to put your learning into context.
Having both gives you a massive advantage.
For example, my understanding of accountancy has increased greatly by doing the AAT couse.
I funded the whole course myself.
Regards
Richard0 -
I’ve been following this discussion over the last few days and I have to say that it has given me a laugh.
I’m an AAT member, part CIMA qualified with 8 years in accounting and work as a Management Accountant, so what I’m about to say holds a lot a substance.
First off, as funny as some of the posts are, I’m disappointed with the pettiness that is coming from some people that are meant to be this country’s accountants of the future. With that attitude, I personally would not want to employ a person like that to work on my team so I think some people need to grow up if they expect to be taken seriously as accountants.
Back to the discussion at hand, I can honestly say that the AAT qualification has got me to the level that I am at today and at the age of 24, that’s quite an achievement. In the past (before I finished AAT level 4), I already had a good few years experience in ledger work but no agency would put me forward for accounting roles because I wasn’t AAT qualified. As soon as I was AAT qualified, they all wanted to know.
I must admit though that a person who has completed AAT without any experience is going to find it very difficult to get employment at the moment as competition is high and businesses are looking for experienced staff to help pull them through the recession. A lot of firms have also scrapped internal training programs as funds are better spent elsewhere at present.
My advice to people who have no experience and have passed AAT should consider the following options:
• AAT gives 1st year exemption from an accounting degree at university. While employment opportunities are slim at present, your chances will be greater in two years when we should be out of a recession – hopefully. This also opens up graduate training programs at large companies.
• CIMA and ACCA allow you to study with them without being in employment, unfortunately ICAEW do not. On average, it will take 2 to 4 years to complete a chartered qualification and again, by then the recession should be over. This should secure you a position in accounting giving you five years to secure three years worth of experience for membership. Please note that this route will involve you paying for the qualification which could cost anywhere between £2k and £15k depending on how you choose to study.
• Approach a number of accounting practices who I am sure would have no issue with training an AAT qualified. The disadvantage being that they would pay you a salary anywhere between £7k and £12k.
• Look for temporary positions through agencies in both accounting and admin as this is a good way to rack up experience which will eventually gain you a permanent position somewhere.0 -
Try putting your CV on monster. I got a job interview next week for an Assistant Accountant job after I put mine on first day of the month!0
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I’ve been following this discussion over the last few days and I have to say that it has given me a laugh.
I’m an AAT member, part CIMA qualified with 8 years in accounting and work as a Management Accountant, so what I’m about to say holds a lot a substance.
First off, as funny as some of the posts are, I’m disappointed with the pettiness that is coming from some people that are meant to be this country’s accountants of the future. With that attitude, I personally would not want to employ a person like that to work on my team so I think some people need to grow up if they expect to be taken seriously as accountants.
Back to the discussion at hand, I can honestly say that the AAT qualification has got me to the level that I am at today and at the age of 24, that’s quite an achievement. In the past (before I finished AAT level 4), I already had a good few years experience in ledger work but no agency would put me forward for accounting roles because I wasn’t AAT qualified. As soon as I was AAT qualified, they all wanted to know.
I must admit though that a person who has completed AAT without any experience is going to find it very difficult to get employment at the moment as competition is high and businesses are looking for experienced staff to help pull them through the recession. A lot of firms have also scrapped internal training programs as funds are better spent elsewhere at present.
My advice to people who have no experience and have passed AAT should consider the following options:
• AAT gives 1st year exemption from an accounting degree at university. While employment opportunities are slim at present, your chances will be greater in two years when we should be out of a recession – hopefully. This also opens up graduate training programs at large companies.
• CIMA and ACCA allow you to study with them without being in employment, unfortunately ICAEW do not. On average, it will take 2 to 4 years to complete a chartered qualification and again, by then the recession should be over. This should secure you a position in accounting giving you five years to secure three years worth of experience for membership. Please note that this route will involve you paying for the qualification which could cost anywhere between £2k and £15k depending on how you choose to study.
• Approach a number of accounting practices who I am sure would have no issue with training an AAT qualified. The disadvantage being that they would pay you a salary anywhere between £7k and £12k.
• Look for temporary positions through agencies in both accounting and admin as this is a good way to rack up experience which will eventually gain you a permanent position somewhere.
This member is making some sensible suggestions regarding training etc. And I agree that some members are making petty comments. However, I think these comments are often not worth responding to.
Please will everyone appreciate that this is a discussion and that your positive ideas are welcome. I would appreciate if members would respond positively to these forum posts.
Regarding any sort of training, I believe a person needs to make decisions according to their individual circumstances, regarding time, money and goals etc. Sometimes financial constraints are a limiting factor in what we can achieve in the short term.
Therefore your decision to undertake further training is relevant depending on your goals and finances etc. For example, you may not wish to invest more time in training if you are already AAT qualified and instead invest time into gaining experience.
You may also decide that your age is a factor in making your personal decisions.
The AAT technician qualification is not a ‘dumbed down’ qualification. If you refer to the AAT website of past exam papers, you will see evidence of this.
AAT students without experience are a very useful asset to any employer as generally speaking they are much easier to train and already understand most of the accounting concepts necessary for the job. They can often be trained within a shorter length of time.
As an example of how financial constraints can affect others, I have voluntarily part funded 2 AAT students at my local college. One is a single mother and the other a young man who, due to financial disadvantage and unemployment, were unable to afford the fees necessary to undertake the course. Both students had already studied for 2 years to reach the final year, therefore a financial setback at that stage would have had a significant and damaging impact on their future job prospects.
Any comments regarding what I have said here are welcome.0 -
you sound just like a uni grad that spent 3 years on spending tax payers money to think you are better than those that had the sense to go out, get work, start from the bottom and study at the same time. just because you studyied doesn't automatically grant you a passage t a high up well paid job. infact, people like that dont know how it is in the real world. experience counts a lot to employers.
i am aware i had noexperience when i first started out and my employer doesnt require me to have a qualification but i do it to go with my experience, not instead of it
Ah yes, the classic anti-graduate bigotry. Nice use of straw man tactics insinuating that I think I'm 'better than people' and think I have a 'passage to a well paid job'. Well done. You've refuted an argument that I haven't even made.
Do you not think it is sensible to be asking questions about a qualification that will cost me a lot of money? I think I am perfectly vindicated in my curiosity about the value of the AAT qualification and the description of its graduates as 'qualified accounting technicians'. I've received a lot of insults on here, but which statements I have made that are actually invalid, I have no idea. I am inclined to believe a lot of the negativity is inspired by prejudice similar to yours.0 -
Thanks a lot Don Juan. That's a very insightful post. The best thing I have going for me is I'm very flexible in terms of being able to gain experience if it becomes available. I am currently volunteering in a very basic office role and would relish the opportunity to do unpaid account work.
Thanks again to Richard K for his advice.0 -
The AAT technician qualification is not a ‘dumbed down’ qualification. If you refer to the AAT website of past exam papers, you will see evidence of this.
AAT students without experience are a very useful asset to any employer as generally speaking they are much easier to train and already understand most of the accounting concepts necessary for the job. They can often be trained within a shorter length of time.
Just read your latest post again Richard. Thanks a lot for the advice. It's really insightful and encouraging, particularly what I've quoted above.0 -
I’ve been following this discussion over the last few days and I have to say that it has given me a laugh.
I’m an AAT member, part CIMA qualified with 8 years in accounting and work as a Management Accountant, so what I’m about to say holds a lot a substance.
First off, as funny as some of the posts are, I’m disappointed with the pettiness that is coming from some people that are meant to be this country’s accountants of the future. With that attitude, I personally would not want to employ a person like that to work on my team so I think some people need to grow up if they expect to be taken seriously as accountants.
Back to the discussion at hand, I can honestly say that the AAT qualification has got me to the level that I am at today and at the age of 24, that’s quite an achievement. In the past (before I finished AAT level 4), I already had a good few years experience in ledger work but no agency would put me forward for accounting roles because I wasn’t AAT qualified. As soon as I was AAT qualified, they all wanted to know.
I must admit though that a person who has completed AAT without any experience is going to find it very difficult to get employment at the moment as competition is high and businesses are looking for experienced staff to help pull them through the recession. A lot of firms have also scrapped internal training programs as funds are better spent elsewhere at present.
My advice to people who have no experience and have passed AAT should consider the following options:
• AAT gives 1st year exemption from an accounting degree at university. While employment opportunities are slim at present, your chances will be greater in two years when we should be out of a recession – hopefully. This also opens up graduate training programs at large companies.
• CIMA and ACCA allow you to study with them without being in employment, unfortunately ICAEW do not. On average, it will take 2 to 4 years to complete a chartered qualification and again, by then the recession should be over. This should secure you a position in accounting giving you five years to secure three years worth of experience for membership. Please note that this route will involve you paying for the qualification which could cost anywhere between £2k and £15k depending on how you choose to study.
• Approach a number of accounting practices who I am sure would have no issue with training an AAT qualified. The disadvantage being that they would pay you a salary anywhere between £7k and £12k.
• Look for temporary positions through agencies in both accounting and admin as this is a good way to rack up experience which will eventually gain you a permanent position somewhere.Thanks a lot Don Juan. That's a very insightful post. The best thing I have going for me is I'm very flexible in terms of being able to gain experience if it becomes available. I am currently volunteering in a very basic office role and would relish the opportunity to do unpaid account work.
Thanks again to Richard K for his advice.
Please note that a qualified AAT level accountant with experience can expect a salary of £25K +. I appreciate that the current economic climate makes finding work and a high level of pay more difficult for everyone.
Also, for those who think that ACA or ACCA will is a much more advanced level of study than the AAT, it is not.
There are also many AAT members who become MIP's (members in practice) and earn far more than some Chartered and Certified accountants.
With ACA and ACCA the subject matter has only a slightly wider scope than the AAT. This is why the ACA offer so many credits for prior learning if you take the 'AAT to ACA fast track route'.
The principles and rules of accounting remain the same whatever the qualification.
Please do not be mislead by posts which suggest that there is a large knowledge gap between the AAT qualification and ACA /ACCA qualifications. For example, the ACCA paper on personal taxation has only slightly wider in scope that the AAT paper.
Using the "AAT2ACA" (AAT to ACA) fast track route it will take you 2 years to complete the outstanding ACA qualifications. The ACA will give you "credits for prior learning" depending on the AAT exams you have taken. If you go to the ACA website you can see the details of the fast track route.
http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/159113/icaew_ga/en/Qualifications/Train_for_the_ACA/Entry_routes/AAT_ACA_Fast_Track
So when you pass your AAT exams you are just 2 years away from becoming an ACA accountant provided you can find employment with a workplace that is authorised by the institute (ICAEW) to train you.
You can subscribe to the AAT2ACA bi-monthly newsletter by emailing jane.sly@icaew.com
I hope this post is a positive help to those looking to study with the AAT0 -
Another great post Richard. I sent you a private message btw.0
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• AAT gives 1st year exemption from an accounting degree at university. While employment opportunities are slim at present, your chances will be greater in two years when we should be out of a recession – hopefully. This also opens up graduate training programs at large companies.
Can I just say that I did this and I'm not convinced it was a good idea. For one thing, I'd have really appreciated doing a first year so I had time to get involved in stuff (clubs, societies etc) rather than having to catch up with university-level study. Or having done it part-time work/part time study.
On the other hand, I did graduate in the middle of a recession so that didn't help. Remember that because of the way the university application system works I had to apply in autumn/winter 2006 to start in Autumn 2007.0 -
Hi,
the advantage of a qualification must not be understated and you need experience in a workplace to put your learning into context.
Having both gives you a massive advantage.
For example, my understanding of accountancy has increased greatly by doing the AAT couse.
I funded the whole course myself.
Regards
Richard
Thats a point I was going to make; that your understanding of accountancy increases by doing AAT!
I think AAT is better than chartered courses for teaching the basic core accountancy skills.0 -
Also, for those who think that ACA or ACCA will is a much more advanced level of study than the AAT, it is not.
Please do not be mislead by posts which suggest that there is a large knowledge gap between the AAT qualification and ACA /ACCA qualifications. For example, the ACCA paper on personal taxation has only slightly wider in scope that the AAT paper.
I'm sorry but ACA or ACCA is a much more advanced level of study than AAT. I am not belittling the AAT qualification as I still use it and pay membership but to say that ACA is not more advanced is unrealistic!
I agree the ACCA paper on taxation is slightly wider in scope than both AAT papers (and I mean both papers BTC and PTC) but there is also a higher level taxation paper that goes beyond. Even that paper doesn't touch the level reached by CTA students.
I am proud to be an AAT member, I have used it to develop my career and would recommend it to anyone. If anyone thinks there is no point to it then they shouldn't be doing it - however experience is necessary too to get on.0 -
I think there's point in it. Was just wondering whether I should wait till I get my foot in the door before moving on to Technician Level. I started Technician Level yesterday though, so just going to keep going. It was more a question than a statement.0
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Bluewednesday wrote: »I'm sorry but ACA or ACCA is a much more advanced level of study than AAT. I am not belittling the AAT qualification as I still use it and pay membership but to say that ACA is not more advanced is unrealistic!
I agree the ACCA paper on taxation is slightly wider in scope than both AAT papers (and I mean both papers BTC and PTC) but there is also a higher level taxation paper that goes beyond. Even that paper doesn't touch the level reached by CTA students.
I am proud to be an AAT member, I have used it to develop my career and would recommend it to anyone. If anyone thinks there is no point to it then they shouldn't be doing it - however experience is necessary too to get on.
Hi Bluewednesday,
Please appreciate that you have taken what I have said out of context. This is known as a "Straw Man" argument as previously stated by onother member.
I have seen ACCA exam papers and I know people taking the exams who have been AAT students. What I was saying is that the "Knowledge gap" between AAT and ACCA is not big. I know this is is the case.
For example. The knowledge gap for the personal and business taxation papers is small. Please appreciate that these particular units form the bedrock of an accountants taxation knowledge. The ACCA covers a larger scope with some of their exams such as law and legislation etc.
This is not a "hit" at ACCA members but encouragement for AAT students to study and then spend a further 2 years to attain ACA status.
Do you therefore agree that the AAT fast track routes to ACCA or ACA are worthwhile and the level of study and knowledge gap is not as great as you are claiming??
Please can you offer some encouraging advice for those taking the AAT qualification as a route into ACA or ACCA later.
I hope this clarifies my standpoint.0 -
Hi Bluewednesday,
Please appreciate that you have taken what I have said out of context. This is known as a "Straw Man" argument as previously stated by onother member.
I have seen ACCA exam papers and I know people taking the exams who have been AAT students. What I was saying is that the "Knowledge gap" between AAT and ACCA is not big. I know this is is the case.
I don't think I understand what you meant either. Neither can I see how Bluewednesday misrepresented your earlier post.
Are you saying that although the ACCA/ACA etc papers cover more material than AAT papers, the concepts they cover are not necessarily any more difficult to understand or remember?0 -
Hi All,
I'm not sure I would necessarily agree that the knowledge gap between AAT papers and ACCA papers is 'not that great'. I teach DFS on a freelance basis, which of course is AAT's final level financial reporting paper and if you contrast DFS to ACCA's final level financial reporting paper, being P2, the knowledge gap between the two is quite significant. Indeed, many standards examinable at P2 stage aren't examinable at DFS level, such as all the financial instrument standards (IFRS 7, IAS 32 and IAS 39). But all things are relative - you cannot expect an AAT student to deal with complex financial instruments and disposals of foreign subsidiaries and expect the same from a level 3 ACCA finalist.
Having done both AAT and ACCA (though several years ago for AAT) myself I am of the opinion that there is quite a leap between the two but both AAT and ACCA qualifications will stand anyone in good stead for a successful career - even having AAT on its own. AAT is valued immensely by employers!
Best wishes
Steve0 -
Bookworm55 wrote: »I don't think I understand what you meant either. Neither can I see how Bluewednesday misrepresented your earlier post.
Are you saying that although the ACCA/ACA etc papers cover more material than AAT papers, the concepts they cover are not necessarily any more difficult to understand or remember?
Hi,
Please appreciate that I won't get drawn into these sort of discussions about he said this and she said that. Other than to say that the knowledge gap between AAT and ACCA is not a big gap.
To clarify this point NVQ level 3 will get you 160 UCAS points. Technician Level is NVQ Level 4. Please refer to this chart to see where the an NVQ4 is placed amongst other qualifications ..............
http://www.aimhigher.ac.uk/essex/resources/Qual%20break%20down%20doc.pdf
It's pretty high and equal to stage 3 of an honours degree and higher than a Higher National Diploma (HNC) and one level away from ACCA.
NVQ Level 5 is the highest NVQ level and equal to that of a Doctorate.
Therefore ACCA is attainable by most if not all AAT students as the equivalent qualification to ACCA is NVQ level 5.
Does this clarify where that AAT Technician qualification sits compared to other qualifications?
Regards0 -
Not really.
To clarify, both myself and Peugeot have completed AAT and ACCA so I believe we speak with a little experience.
The jump is quite high between the 2 qualifications but certainly not insurmountable. Whilst I was studying I regularly found the AAT students were much better prepared and coped better with the ACCA papers - I have said this many times before. This was the general opinion of the tutors as well.
I think we shall have to respectively disagree with each other on this one!0 -
Bluewednesday wrote: »Not really.
To clarify, both myself and Peugeot have completed AAT and ACCA. The jump is quite high between the 2 qualifications but certainly not insurmountable. Whilst I was studying I regularly found the AAT students were much better prepared and coped better with the ACCA papers - I have said this many times before. This was the general opinion of the tutors as well.
I think we shall have to respectively disagree with each other on this one!
Hi,
thank you for your reply. Ultimately I respect your point of view.
However, I am a personally a firm believer that the majority of ATT members can pass ACCA or ACA without a problem.
I think we have to be careful not to overstate or understate the level of these qualifications, as new members and students can be put off by this.
ACCA is equal to NVQ Level 5, the next level up from AAT Technician (NVQ4) and not several levels up. This is also the case with ACA.
I will look out for your posts in future.
Regards0 -
Well said? What did you like most? The anti-graduate bigotry or the 'you people don't know how the world works' dogma?
No the person happened to voice on the subject a view that i agreed with if you have a problem with that well am afraid that is your problem. Trust me i do know how the world works and am not an "anti-gradute bigotry" as i do hope in the future to gain a full degree.
the way you have come across with the chip on your shoulder seems to me you yourself need to learn how the world works.
Oh and by the way thats twice you have used "The anti-graduate bigotry or the 'you people don't know how the world works' dogma?" quote0 -
No the person happened to voice on the subject a view that i agreed with if you have a problem with that well am afraid that is your problem. Trust me i do know how the world works and am not an "anti-gradute bigotry" as i do hope in the future to gain a full degree.
the way you have come across with the chip on your shoulder seems to me you yourself need to learn how the world works.
Oh and by the way thats twice you have used "The anti-graduate bigotry or the 'you people don't know how the world works' dogma?" quote
Sorry, I didn't actually intend to call you anything. I was referring to Primble's 'anti-graduate bigotry' and her ''you people don't know how the world works' dogma'. I shouldn't really have responded directly to you. I was just a bit miffed that Primble was getting applauded for being a bit shallow.
To be fair, I only repeated the phrase 'anti-graduate bigotry' and I was using it to describe the exact same thing on both occasions. The dogma thing I used once.0 -
I am a self-employed bookkeeper, but only recently passed through to Technician level. But I do understand what you all mean. Business for all is hard to gain at the moment.
The other week I was curious about what was out there... I thought I would just have a look at what was on offer with many of the so called specialist accountancy agencies together with those advertised on JobCentre Plus' website. I began by putting "AAT" in search criteria of all of them. Virtually all of the searches with the many agencies etc returned absolutely nothing! Can you believe it? And, we are to believe that employers value the qualification? Not until I input "accounts" or "bookkeeper" did I get anything returned on the search and all wanted a multitude of experience. One, advertised as an "accounts asssitant" wanted all experience that may have been gained by an accountant; such as full reconciliations of all ledgers and nominals,VAT,management accounting, year-end, sage, payroll, excel; You name it, the list of desired experience was endless and all for a mediocre salary too!
I know the AAT as an organisation have for a long time, and most recently with all the radio ads etc, been pushing their qualification and have tried really hard to advertise it's worth, but unfortunately it does not seem to have got through to the mindset of employers, especially in the North of England. There most definitely seems to be a bit of a North-South divide, as when I input a postcode of a friend who lives in Surrey, there was a far better response to "AAT" and far better salaries as well.
One of the huge problems, in my opinion, certainly with SMEs across the country is that their management simply do not realise the complexities of it all. I notice this all the time, and many of them think in a very simplistic way over accounting tasks, believing that it will be fine for "him/her from admin" to do it all, consequently ending up with their accounting data in a complete mess for the likes of me, or their accountant to sort out! Surely, it must strike a chord to them when their accountant charges £1000's, but no it does'nt seem to make any difference.
The only advise I can give is what has already been offered in abundance on this forum; keep trying with the firms of accountants, volunteer for a charity or similar organisation, even offer yourself on a work trial for free, so that a prospective employer will be able to appreciate just how good you may be! Or, go it alone, get hold of a good accounting package, such as Sage, and learn it inside out and back to front. When I first got hold of Sage I used their dummy data for a long time, leading on with familiarisation to set up ficticious companies to help me try and get to grips with it.
The overall philosophy has to be, don't give in. Keep working at it, it has to pay off in the end.0 -
pernickety wrote: »I am a self-employed bookkeeper, but only recently passed through to Technician level. But I do understand what you all mean. Business for all is hard to gain at the moment.
The other week I was curious about what was out there... I thought I would just have a look at what was on offer with many of the so called specialist accountancy agencies together with those advertised on JobCentre Plus' website. I began by putting "AAT" in search criteria of all of them. Virtually all of the searches with the many agencies etc returned absolutely nothing! Can you believe it? And, we are to believe that employers value the qualification? Not until I input "accounts" or "bookkeeper" did I get anything returned on the search and all wanted a multitude of experience. One, advertised as an "accounts asssitant" wanted all experience that may have been gained by an accountant; such as full reconciliations of all ledgers and nominals,VAT,management accounting, year-end, sage, payroll, excel; You name it, the list of desired experience was endless and all for a mediocre salary too!
I know the AAT as an organisation have for a long time, and most recently with all the radio ads etc, been pushing their qualification and have tried really hard to advertise it's worth, but unfortunately it does not seem to have got through to the mindset of employers, especially in the North of England. There most definitely seems to be a bit of a North-South divide, as when I input a postcode of a friend who lives in Surrey, there was a far better response to "AAT" and far better salaries as well.
One of the huge problems, in my opinion, certainly with SMEs across the country is that their management simply do not realise the complexities of it all. I notice this all the time, and many of them think in a very simplistic way over accounting tasks, believing that it will be fine for "him/her from admin" to do it all, consequently ending up with their accounting data in a complete mess for the likes of me, or their accountant to sort out! Surely, it must strike a chord to them when their accountant charges £1000's, but no it does'nt seem to make any difference.
The only advise I can give is what has already been offered in abundance on this forum; keep trying with the firms of accountants, volunteer for a charity or similar organisation, even offer yourself on a work trial for free, so that a prospective employer will be able to appreciate just how good you may be! Or, go it alone, get hold of a good accounting package, such as Sage, and learn it inside out and back to front. When I first got hold of Sage I used their dummy data for a long time, leading on with familiarisation to set up ficticious companies to help me try and get to grips with it.
The overall philosophy has to be, don't give in. Keep working at it, it has to pay off in the end.
Hi,
I think we would all appreciate your input in future as your advice is very positive and helpful to many people considering or part way through the AAT etc.
For those that have completed the AAT Technician level exams, you can also claim to be part ACA qualified on your C.V if you apply and pay the fee for the ACA exemptions on their website and your exemptions are approved.
I have stated in other posts that you are entitiled to up to 5 exemptions depending on the units you have studied. Please send me a private message if you are unsure about how to claim these exemptions which are known as "Credits for prior learning"0 -
pernickety wrote: »I am a self-employed bookkeeper, but only recently passed through to Technician level. But I do understand what you all mean. Business for all is hard to gain at the moment.
The other week I was curious about what was out there... I thought I would just have a look at what was on offer with many of the so called specialist accountancy agencies together with those advertised on JobCentre Plus' website. I began by putting "AAT" in search criteria of all of them...............
Now this is a non-bigoted, objective and insightful post that genuinely does deserve applause. Thank you Pernickety for being so honest in your assessment of the AAT and the current job market and not resorting to the snobbery or the put-downs of other members who love nothing more than rubbing people's noses in it with comments like 'you're just a graduate who thinks he's better than everyone and wasted tax payers money', 'yeah, why don't you just give in if you're worried the qualification might be worthless' or 'it's not just going to fall into your lap' (I know it's not and it's condescending to insinuate otherwise).0 -
Personally most of the units at ACCA are a big leap from AAT although there are some as previosly pointed out that are only a step-up and not a leap0
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Please refer to this chart to see where the an NVQ4 is placed amongst other qualifications ...
Does this clarify where that AAT Technician qualification sits compared to other qualifications?
Unfortunately the chart doesn’t fully place an NVQ 4 amongst other qualifications as the “level” of an NVQ 4 can be different to another NVQ 4 – let me explain!
There are 8 levels to the National Qualification Framework (NQF), levels 1 to 3 are GCSE and A Level equivalent, 4, 5 and 6 are undergrad equivalents and 7 and 8 are post-grad. NVQ 1, 2 or 3 are place at levels 1 to 3 of the NQF, respectively. An NVQ 4 will be placed at either NQF 4, 5 or 6, so an NVQ 4 could be rated the same as either first, second or third year degree standard - in short not all NVQ 4's are the same level, rather the “4” designation is more of a grouping than a finite status! An NVQ 5 will be placed at NQF level 7 or 8
The AAT NVQ 4 and Diploma Level is listed on the NQF as a level 4 qualification making it equivalent to first year degree standard.
As you can now see, the gap between the final stage of AAT and a post-grad level is actually quite big overall as AAT isn’t the same as stage 3 of a degree, nor is it only one step below a Level 5 NVQ. In addition. HNC/D is place at level 5 of the NQF, so AAT isn’t higher than these either.
It’s also worth noting that the “level” of a qualification (NVQ or NFQ) doesn’t relate to the quantity or amount of study required.
Neil0 -
Hi,
For those that have completed the AAT Technician level exams, you can also claim to be part ACA qualified on your C.V if you apply and pay the fee for the ACA exemptions on their website and your exemptions are approved.
Ah, that's an interesting one. I didn't know that. Thanks for that Richard.0 -
Unfortunately the chart doesn’t fully place an NVQ 4 amongst other qualifications as the “level” of an NVQ 4 can be different to another NVQ 4 – let me explain!
There are 8 levels to the National Qualification Framework (NQF), levels 1 to 3 are GCSE and A Level equivalent, 4, 5 and 6 are undergrad equivalents and 7 and 8 are post-grad. NVQ 1, 2 or 3 are place at levels 1 to 3 of the NQF, respectively. An NVQ 4 will be placed at either NQF 4, 5 or 6, so an NVQ 4 could be rated the same as either first, second or third year degree standard - in short not all NVQ 4's are the same level, rather the “4” designation is more of a grouping than a finite status! An NVQ 5 will be placed at NQF level 7 or 8
The AAT NVQ 4 and Diploma Level is listed on the NQF as a level 4 qualification making it equivalent to first year degree standard.
As you can now see, the gap between the final stage of AAT and a post-grad level is actually quite big overall as AAT isn’t the same as stage 3 of a degree, nor is it only one step below a Level 5 NVQ. In addition. HNC/D is place at level 5 of the NQF, so AAT isn’t higher than these either.
It’s also worth noting that the “level” of a qualification (NVQ or NFQ) doesn’t relate to the quantity or amount of study required.
Neil
Hi,
I think you need to let people decide as to where the AAT sits according to their experience and this evidence.
What I am offering here is evidence, not conjecture.
The evidence shows that Technician NVQ4 is actually 1 NVQ level below ACCA which is considered equivalent to NVQ5.
Please let other people decide on the placement of the AAT qualification based on evidence as your ideas may be seen as negative to those just starting out.
Regards0
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