Methods of CPD
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andrewtdk
Registered Posts: 150 Dedicated contributor 🦉
Now ive finished studying i need to do more CPD and wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations. I know there is a CPD section of the forum but i dont know how many people look at it so i thought i would post here. Also sorry if there is a similar post ive missed but the search function doesnt seem to recognise a three letter search.
Ive seen the tax club mensioned a few times and wondered if this is any good? also can anyone direct me to their website as there are a couple and i would like to check ive got the correct one.
Has anyone here subscribed to Taxtv as this sounds good as you get a 12 month subscription for £100 although im sure ive seen the same name associated with both and 2 lots of the same information would obviously be pointless.
Anyone have any other suggestions? im also looking for a good course provider as i need to do 15 hours structured cpd per year for the ATT but am a bit price conscious as im likely to be paying for it myself. Im a fan of Tolleys but at £525 plus vat there seminars do seem expensive.
Cheers
Andrew
Ive seen the tax club mensioned a few times and wondered if this is any good? also can anyone direct me to their website as there are a couple and i would like to check ive got the correct one.
Has anyone here subscribed to Taxtv as this sounds good as you get a 12 month subscription for £100 although im sure ive seen the same name associated with both and 2 lots of the same information would obviously be pointless.
Anyone have any other suggestions? im also looking for a good course provider as i need to do 15 hours structured cpd per year for the ATT but am a bit price conscious as im likely to be paying for it myself. Im a fan of Tolleys but at £525 plus vat there seminars do seem expensive.
Cheers
Andrew
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Comments
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I find the podcasts in the CPD section really good. Lots on tax & plenty of updates. I attend branch CPD events as well.
I have not attended any AAT Mastercourses but they are around £125 per day I think - a bit cheaper than £525.0 -
Also have a look at Mercia, their courses are good and are quite reasonably priced too0
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Cheers for the replies, i keep forgeting about the podcasts and branch events but i think ill be attending one soon to see what they are like.
I hadnt seen Mercia before but they do seem to be a reasonable price and have courses all over so i will be definatly looking into them. The only problem so far is when i click on thier courses it either says suitable for people who have been in accounts only a few months or suitable for senior partners but ill keep looking.0 -
If you register and get their course brochure they do CPD courses which are the ones you are after, things like accounting standards updates, finance act updates, the sort of ones we need year in year out0
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What counts as 'structured CPD'?
As AAT we don't have to do a set number of hours but as I plan on being ATT in 12 months time I'll have to change my CPD to take this into account.
Does it have to be at seminars or can you say "I spent 2 hours reading xxxx"?
I'm a member of the Tax Club:
http://www.mytaxclub.co.uk/
You get the PTP monthly tax update sheets (same as you get for their quarterly seminars) for £100 and this alone makes it worth it for me as a lot of the stuff in then isn't relevant for me as a 'small' practitioner and therefore the seminars aren't always relevant and they are more expensive. Plus I have to get up early!!
I haven't looked at what else I get. The calculators that they advertise cost extra I believe.0 -
Structured cpd is
Attending seminars and discussion meetings etc, preparation of lectures, writing articles.
It also says "All learning media provided they involve interaction with others (including group research listening to audio tapes; viewing tax videos and tax-specific television programmes; using video discs and computer-based training packages)"
Im not sure if they mean listening to podcasts and watching videos counts as structured cpd or if this only counts if you are watching them with other people and then discussing them, what does everyone else think?
With the tax club do you get podcasts or are they just printouts? because if podcasts count taxtv may be the better option.
I prefer the aat's way of cpd as I dont think i fully thought about the impact of the ATT's aproach to cpd while i was studying and am only now thinking about the costs involved. 15 hours of seminars would cost close to £500 plus vat and with my subscription fees of £300 per year this is quite a lot of money. I think i will definetly be making the most of AAT's branch events0 -
I didn't realise that ATT required 15 hours of structured CPD so thanks for bringing that to my attention Andrew. Looks like I'd better start giving this some serious thought.
Hey I've just realised you're in Sheffield, observant aren't I? lol Me too, did you sit your ATT exams in Leeds?0 -
Dont forget about the 30 hours unstructured cpd per year on top of the 15 hours structured.
Yes i went to Leeds to sit my exams, is that where you are planning on doing yours?
My first set of exams were great as you could see the venue from the train station but the second time they had moved the venue to the Leeds united ground which was a bit of a nightmare getting a taxi back to the train station after the exams so hopefully they will have moved it back if you are sitting the exams in leeds0 -
:ohmy: 45 hours in total. Well I suppose that can count towards AAT as well. Wait don't tell me they'll come up with something else they want in addition. Ah well as I said earlier we will soign up for these things.
Yes I think I'll be going to Leeds as I think it's the nearest venue. I hope it's moved back to where it was for your first exams.
How long did you study for admin and ethics, I read somewhere (it was here or facebook) that it's a doddle but am not sure about that.0 -
I studied practice admin and ethics on its own and studied for about 3 and a half months. It certainly wasnt a doddle for me, i found it much harder than the personal tax unit. I havent seen the pass figures for quite some time but from what i can remember the pass rate for unit 7 wasnt any higher than the others.
I think some people will find it easy because theres not as much to it as some of the other papers but for me im much better with figures than remembering filing dates and the law that was invloved etc so will have found it harder than some people0 -
I tried a past paper for the Ethics paper last night - hideous. Obviously there are some things I just don't know, and would need to study, and some things were easy (like teh dates when you have to file a tax return), but the written questions I find very hard. Explain Duty of Care. Erm... it's obvious, you do things right and look after your clients because you're in a position of trust. I can't explain more than that! I'm definitely doing that module in Nov, having done VAT and P Tax in May.0
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It would just be so easy if work didn't keep getting in the way!!0
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I tried a past paper for the Ethics paper last night - hideous. Obviously there are some things I just don't know, and would need to study, and some things were easy (like teh dates when you have to file a tax return), but the written questions I find very hard. Explain Duty of Care. Erm... it's obvious, you do things right and look after your clients because you're in a position of trust. I can't explain more than that! I'm definitely doing that module in Nov, having done VAT and P Tax in May.
Just do ACCA or whatever, counts as CPD
Speaking of which, I just completed the ethics module for them. Makes sure we're all good accountants0 -
Just do ACCA or whatever, counts as CPD
Speaking of which, I just completed the ethics module for them. Makes sure we're all good accountants
I can't do ACCA, I'm an AAT MIP, I'm not jacking in my business just to be chartered
The ethics modules are good - I see AAT now has one, they didn't when I did it. I get it in practice but my brain just struggles with that type of thing in exams. Hey ho!0 -
Oh yeah I'd forgot about that. Still a stupid rule from ACCA which should have some sort of workaround.
Yeah. I remember getting all indignant about it a few years ago but I'm not bothered now. I can quite happily do without it, ATT will do me plenty in terms of extra knowledge. I'm never going to need a lot of the stuff that's in the chartered quals anyway, it's way above what I need or want to work in
98% of clients don't care what my qualifications are anyway!0 -
I'm never going to need a lot of the stuff that's in the chartered quals anyway, it's way above what I need or want to work in
I agree, I have AAT and very close to ACCA. But I'd only encourage new staff to do AAT as its very relevant. It just gives you that good grounding that most accountancy jobs need.0 -
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You could do it!
Whether you'd want or need to, and lose a big chunk of your life for doing so is another thing!
I'd have to be a different version of me, I think. Health issues make me utterly unemployable, thus I have to work for myself, meaning I'm an AAT MIP and thus, see above!
I actually don't think I could do it. I've seen all the threads on here about how hard it is. I wouldn't want to face it...0 -
I gave up the ATT letters after my name due to the high membership fees and the CPD they require. Is it still the case that 50% of the 45 hours has to be directly related to tax? I did it for 2 years and then figured it wasn't worth the cost or hassle. Not one client asked why I no longer had the logo on my letters or the letters after my name!
I still stand by the qualification being excellent though - well worth doing it.0 -
I gave up the ATT letters after my name due to the high membership fees and the CPD they require. Is it still the case that 50% of the 45 hours has to be directly related to tax? I did it for 2 years and then figured it wasn't worth the cost or hassle. Not one client asked why I no longer had the logo on my letters or the letters after my name!
I still stand by the qualification being excellent though - well worth doing it.
That's interesting you say that. I was just thinking myself the other day if it's really worth me paying £300 a year once I've passed the exams just for some extra letters when in reality it's not really going to gain me much in terms of clients caring. I started ATT for the CPD and general knowledge improvement - as you say, well worth doing.
Though if I decide not to take the letters before I even sit the exams, it's a slippery slope to studying and not taking the exams, and then to just not studying So for now, I intend to have 3 more letters after my name. For now! 0 -
Though if I decide not to take the letters before I even sit the exams, it's a slippery slope to studying and not taking the exams, and then to just not studying So for now, I intend to have 3 more letters after my name. For now!
Oh but doesn't sound good!!! You could enjoy learning without the exam looming up.
£300 per year for ATT membership is quite steep!0 -
I did the ATT course years ago, but never went through with all the exams. The learning experience was good though.0
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Hmmmm you're all putting me off ATT now We're on a cost cutting exercise in our house at the moemnt and I'm now wondering if it's all worth it :001_unsure:0
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Hmmmm you're all putting me off ATT now We're on a cost cutting exercise in our house at the moemnt and I'm now wondering if it's all worth it :001_unsure:
The study definitely is, there's no argument on that front. When I started out as a MIP I realised the tax modules at AAT really only give a basic grounding and really aren't enough, hence enrolling on ATT.
I'm going to put in for the exams just for personal satisfaction, I've started so I'll finish.0 -
The ATT isnt £300 alone, to be honest im not sure exactly how much it is. If you join early in the year the cost is around £190 inclusive of a £40 joining fee but im not sure how much it is after that, i think its around £160ish so with AAT at around £122 it all adds up.
In the ATT fee you get a tax advisor journal, tolleys annual tax guide, hardmans tax rates and tax cards and a mouse mat and tax rate guide (which i was the most excited about lol) so if you buy any of these anyway i suppose you could say its slightly cheaper than £160.
With the cost and all the cpd i agree it may not always seem worth it but i think ill be keeping the 3 letters for a while, providing they approve my membership application!0 -
Thanks Andrew, that's good to know.The ATT isnt £300 alone, to be honest im not sure exactly how much it is. If you join early in the year the cost is around £190 inclusive of a £40 joining fee but im not sure how much it is after that, i think its around £160ish so with AAT at around £122 it all adds up.
In the ATT fee you get a tax advisor journal, tolleys annual tax guide, hardmans tax rates and tax cards and a mouse mat and tax rate guide (which i was the most excited about lol) so if you buy any of these anyway i suppose you could say its slightly cheaper than £160.
With the cost and all the cpd i agree it may not always seem worth it but i think ill be keeping the 3 letters for a while, providing they approve my membership application!
I'm going to pass the exams first, and then see what they are offering for my money! 0
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