Att

mc25

Hi all,

Just wondering how many of you out there studied AAT then decided to do ATT. Did this help you in your career especially those who are MIP. Aslo from your experience will studying ATT be good enough to cover issued you encounter while working in MIP or could you say you will need to study CTA as well. Lastly for those who have done it via distance learning how easy or hard was it?

Thanks

andrewtdk

I’m not the ideal person to reply as I’m still only studying ATT however I thought I’d put in my two cents. I think that unless you have a lot of experience to go with your AAT qualification ATT is a very good idea because the units are in much more detail than the AAT tax units. Some parts of the ATT do seem very advanced so I would imagine it would be sufficient to help your average MIP however I’m sure someone else will be able to give you a better view on this.

I also think the compulsory professional administration and ethics unit is a very good idea because it gives you a very good idea of how you should go about business re professional conduct etc.

I’m doing my studying with Tolley tax training via distance learning and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as they have great study manuals and give you practise exams to help you prepare. Distance learning can be very hard with ATT as I felt it was a step up from AAT, I found business tax easy yet on the ATT paper business tax higher skills I only just scraped through with a 57% pass rate so it does demand a lot of your time but feel it will be well worth it in the long run.

jilt

Hi mc25, I can't really answer your question yet but just have unit 10 to finish, am half way through it then I've done AAT and am doing ATT next. Am studying myself at home and hoping to sit first exam in November. If you work in tax then yes it's a good course to do, just depends what you do and what you want to be doing in the future.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Edit - andrew beat me to it and his was a much better post, about from Tolleys, who I have no experience of, I agree with what he said.

Monsoon

mc25 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering how many of you out there studied AAT then decided to do ATT. Did this help you in your career especially those who are MIP. Aslo from your experience will studying ATT be good enough to cover issued you encounter while working in MIP or could you say you will need to study CTA as well. Lastly for those who have done it via distance learning how easy or hard was it?

Thanks

I enrolled with ATT soon after getting my MIP licence. I felt that AAT wasn't nearly in depth enough. I think ATT would be fine on its own, though obviously CTA would be nice. It really depends what you want to do as a MIP. If you just want to be a general practitioner then CTA isn't really needed.

Anyway, 2 years later and I haven't had as much time to study ATT as I would have liked and have had some health problems so it's on the back burner. I'm learning what I need through experience and reference books and the need for ATT really isn't as great now as it was 2 years ago. I do still want to complete it though.

I'm literally just doing it from the text books, no distance learning or college. This is because I know most of it through my work, and because tax just makes sense to me.

It is a very big step up from AAT tax modules.

Gem7321

I'm enroling on an ATT course to sit exams in May but haven't yet decided whether to do distance learning or taught lectures. I would prefer taught lectures but I'm trying to work out the benefit of spending £300 more per paper.

I have been looking at some past papers http://www.att.org.uk/index.pl?section=16&n=200 and think I should be able to do it by distance learning.

My learning provider recommends only sitting one exam at a time meaning I wouldn't be finished until May 2012 but they have agreed that I can do Higher Business Tax and Ethics in one sitting. Do you guys think this is doable via distance learning bearing in mind I have a full time job and a 1 y/o?

Thanks

andrewtdk

I did personal tax and business tax higher skills at the same time and Im glad i did because there is overlap between the two units which saves time. If you found AAT relativly easy you should be fine taking 2 at a time however if you may not be able to devote much time to it it may be worth just doing one to make sure you pass instead of taking 2 and possibly failing them.

Rachel

I would love to do ATT but can't really afford it both money and time.

mc25

Thanks

Thank you all for your replies, sorry haven't had time to log into the forum the whole day have been busy. After reading all your posts I think i will definately apply for it. I had already contact Tolley Training and I was going to try and sit for Personal tax (paper 1) and Business Taxation (paper 2) together i.e register now then sit for both in May 2011, but when I spoke to them at Tolley they recommended I take paper 1 and paper 7 practice administration and ethics, those who have gone this far, how did you find it and which papers could you suggest doing together.
Once again, thank you all for your replies.

andrewtdk

Have you done business tax at AAT if so you you will get an exemption from unit 2. I cant talk about the other training providers but if you are using tolleys i would do unit 2 and 3 together because when i did unit 3 the study material comes together with the study material for unit 2 so you have to study both so it makes sense to sit both exams at the same time. That is of course if you decide to take higher business tax because there are exams with higher pass rates that are presumably easier to pass.

Hopefully someone who has sat different exams and has finished the qualification will be able to give you more advice on the best units to take together.

Good luck with whichever units you decide to take

mc25

thanks

Andrew,

Thanks for your reply, so i might do paper 1 &7 together then do paper 2&3 together. I have just had a look and you could purchase paper 2&3 together which like you said makes sense if you studied them together.

Thanks

jilt

I started making notes for ATT paper 3 and was just going to study at home from text books. I'm now thinking it would be wise to buy a DL course and do it properly. I've been using the BPP study text and the ATT essential law and accounts for taxation techs, haven't made many notes yet to be honest.

What are other people's views on DL v studying alone from books? We're all different in ourstudy methods I know, I could do without spending the £200+ per paper but think it's maybe worth it in the long run.

Monsoon

jilt wrote: »

I started making notes for ATT paper 3 and was just going to study at home from text books. I'm now thinking it would be wise to buy a DL course and do it properly. I've been using the BPP study text and the ATT essential law and accounts for taxation techs, haven't made many notes yet to be honest.

What are other people's views on DL v studying alone from books? We're all different in ourstudy methods I know, I could do without spending the £200+ per paper but think it's maybe worth it in the long run.

Very good question and I don't know.
The text book I have is the TQT one (which is a collaboration between BPP and FTC I think) and it's very good. When I was working from that I didn't feel I needed any additional tuition. If I don't have the time/health/inclination to study from the book, I don't feel that forking out an extra £200 is going to change that, as it's essentially the same thing. If I'm detemined to do it then I will do it without the distance learning, I think.

I just seem to be lacking that determination at the moment! I do feel I ought to aim for doing an exam next May though.

Can I just say, you get reduced AAT subs for being a student of a further qualification. Just so you know!

jilt

Monsoon wrote: »

Very good question and I don't know.
The text book I have is the TQT one (which is a collaboration between BPP and FTC I think) and it's very good. When I was working from that I didn't feel I needed any additional tuition. If I don't have the time/health/inclination to study from the book, I don't feel that forking out an extra £200 is going to change that, as it's essentially the same thing. If I'm detemined to do it then I will do it without the distance learning, I think.

I just seem to be lacking that determination at the moment! I do feel I ought to aim for doing an exam next May though.

Can I just say, you get reduced AAT subs for being a student of a further qualification. Just so you know!

Thanks Monsoon, and yes I did know about the reduced fees but thanks for pointing it out.

I paid for DL courses for AAT, I used it for level 3, used there timetable and sent in assignments and practice exams for marking, but for level 4 I hardly contacted them. Most involvement I've had has been recently in getting on with unit 10.

The thing I've found with ATT is chopping and changng from the BPP book and the law and accounts books for tax techs from ATT. It's also whether or not I have the correct study text for this year. There is a section in the BPP book that lists what order you should study in but am worried that its not the best method. Text books seem to differ in the order they cover things. I found this with my osborne and BPP Mac books and didn't know where was best to start. Suppose I'm just lazy and need someone to write me a timetable to follow!

Ah just checked on amazon and it's the TQT book I have, think I have the FA 2009 edition.

Was hoping to do P3 Nov and P1 and P7 in May do you think that's too ambitious? I did but then thought I did MAC in 6 weeks flat, but saying that I've already forgotten a lot cos I have no interest in using it again.

andrewtdk

Have you already signed up with the ATT for student membership Jilt? if not you may not be able to sit an exam in November because i think you have to be a member for 6 months before they allow you to sit an exam.

Do you get any practise questions in the text books? if so it cant be too different from distance learning so it may well be worth saving the money.

It may be worth having a quick look in the text book to decide if you think 10 weeks is enough for unit 3 because i wouldnt base the decision on having done business tax at AAT because i never got below 90% on practise exams for that so thought unit 3 would be relativly simple but i got a bit of a shock and it took more studying than id planned. Although if you can do a unit in 6 weeks your obviously a quick learner. Also one thing to remember is you need to enroll for the November exams by 31 August.

So the reduced fees apply if you study ATT monsoon? i thought they just applied to acca etc, i guess i should have had a proper look

jilt

Hi Andrew, yes I am registered with ATT, I registered last year, long story, deferred some AAT exams cos of family problems.

Think 10 weeks maybe isn't long enough, I'll check the syllabus again. Also I want to do CTA after ATT and it states you need 4 certificates at ATT to be elligible to study it. I'm therefore wondering if they don't accept an exemption. I quite fancied doing the VAT mudule at ATT so maybe I should be sensible and do 2 in May and 2 in Nov 2011. I'll contact CIOT to check if I actually need to study 4.

Dipak Thanki

How many years is the ATT course and do you get any extra exemptions from ACCA?

jilt

Dipak Thanki wrote: »

How many years is the ATT course and do you get any extra exemptions from ACCA?

Just depends how many units you take at each exam sitting, exams May and November and you need 4 units, however if you've done business tax at AAT you can apply for an exempetion of ATT paper 2 business tax and just do 3 units.

Sorry no idea abot ACCA exemptions

jow774

Im interested in doing ATT but havent got BTC, does anyone know if you can do BTC if you are a member? As its cheaper to do AAT BTC than ATT Business Tax?

taskey

i have just phoned them and i cannot sit any of the exams over here in germany - bummer

mc25

Thanks

Thanks all for your replies, Monsoon, your are a God send I didn't know you get reduced fees as that was my main worry not taking up more clients + paying for the exams and paying the full fee on AAT. Filled the forms today so hopefully I will hear from them soon. Anyone wants a study buddy, i think i will be signing for paper 1 & 7 to do the exams in May 2011

jilt

mc25 wrote: »

Thanks all for your replies, Monsoon, your are a God send I didn't know you get reduced fees as that was my main worry not taking up more clients + paying for the exams and paying the full fee on AAT. Filled the forms today so hopefully I will hear from them soon. Anyone wants a study buddy, i think i will be signing for paper 1 & 7 to do the exams in May 2011

Yep I may join you, I may be doing the same.

Nick

tolley tax training

I sat ATT paper 3 on its own after an exemption from paper 2. You need to look through the whole of paper 2 in doing paper 3 and it comes in the same package as paper 3 if you go via tolley tax training.
I would recommend the tolley online DL course, you get audio-visual lectures to accompany the study package with a massive question bank for revision. I'm now doing papers 1 & 7 together and they are complementary, especially for income tax admin, new fines & penalties etc. If you are in practice then some will be familiar, but it is a massive step up from AAT and very time-consuming! (I have just finished another study session..). Go with Tolleys, get to a lecture if you can, Simon Groom is an excellent teacher.

No exemptions from ACCA btw!

You have to sit and pass 4 papers to be eligible for CTA exams, but you can transfer your membership over at no cost.

Regards
Nick

PS, you can get the tolley's tax legislation handbooks at a massive discount on registration

mc25

Yellow and orange legislation

I have just been going through the information tolley sent me, and I have noticed somewhere they have mentioned about the yellow and orange legislation + Tolley tax do I need this books when studying ATT (or when doing paper 1 & 7). Only i originally new it was going to cost me about £400 for both papers now if Iadd these other books its going over £500 OMG... just hope alll this will be worth it.

Nick

if you can afford it...

You can get the resource off the internet just as easy, but you can take the books into the exams with you. Saying that, I passed paper 3 with my brain and a calculator (amazing...).

Trouble is, the tax law is constantly changing, my 2008-09 set is now out of date and I rarely use it. HMRC6 on residence and domicile (in paper 1 syllabus) isn't is there! Still, if you can afford it, do get them. It is worth reading through some of the legislation to get an idea on how the tax law is constructed, and which acts relate to which tax. You can pick and choose your reference material, and you will always have it there if you need it and your broadband is playing up...

Regards
Nick

JodieR

I'm a bit out of date with the qualification now as I did my exams in 2002, but I found it to be an excellent qualification and in my first year or so of self-employment my ATT course-notes were something of a bible for me.
I agree with Nick about the yellow & orange books - although not essential you should get hold of some if you can. What I did (back in the good old days where I actually had time to do such things) was as I went through my studies i made a note on a separate paper of anything I thought I might need to look up in the exams, and then devoted a day to finding out what I needed to look up in the reference to find the answer - for example, when looking for the rules on farming losses I knew that in the index that would be under 'farming' and not 'losses'. it was much easier to remember a list of words to look up than all the information they pointed to and it really paid off in the exam where time is so limited.

mc25

Thanks

Once again big thumbs up to all of you for your replies. I am ordering the yellow/orange books I have seen i get a discount too for them if am registered with tolley. I really want to do this as I feel it will help me so wish me luck.

Thanks

jilt

Nick wrote: »

You have to sit and pass 4 papers to be eligible for CTA exams, but you can transfer your membership over at no cost.

Thanks for that Nick I thought that would be the case, I quite fancy doing VAT anyway so 4 won't be a problem.

Monsoon

I got the Yellow Books off ebay second hand for my BTAP paper, they were about £70 or so.

It's bloomin' expensive to do ATT but it's a good qualification once you've got it.

I think it's about £75 to get exemption from BTAP having done BTC with the AAT, slightly cheaper than the exam...!!

jow774

Oh yes, I forgot you needed to pay exemption fees! So its probably not worth doing BTC at AAT anyways.

noodles

After reading these posts I have decided to enrol at ATT, I have 2 exams in December at AAT and then I plan to sit personal tax in May with ATT. I didnt realise that you have to be a member for so many months before you can sign up to take an exam, thank you for posting otherwise I would never have known until it was too late.

Nick

jow774 wrote: »

Oh yes, I forgot you needed to pay exemption fees! So its probably not worth doing BTC at AAT anyways.

It is definately worth doing both tax papers at AAT if you have the option and are thinking about ATT studies. There is some overlap in both PTC & BTC, and that is a great advantage as the ATT is hard, and there is a lot of it. Any advantage you can give yourself is worth taking!

And yes, £75.00 is the credit fee for this year for paper 2 I have just paid it..

Regards
Nick