How to get to where I'd like to be?!

Ellabobbin

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone can give me some much needed advice and direction.

I qualified and achieved MAAT in August this year and presently work part time as a Finance Manager in schools. I've been approached by a friend of a friend to do some bookkeeping for them (would be minimal and so I can apply for an exemption to MIP) but it has prompted me to think about what was always my longer term plan of becoming a MIP.

The question is how can I achieve this, at present I think I would probably only be able to get MIP licences to do bookkeeping and vat returns - I do know how to produce final accounts for sole traders but my knowledge is from college and not practical use. Do I ask local accountants if I can gain the practical experience through them?

Finally, I don't feel ready to finish studying. There are School Business Manager qualifications that I can do, but these would go beyond accounting and it's the number crunching that I love and I'm not particularly interested in developing my property management knowledge!! I think I will struggle with work experience for CIMA annd so I am thinking of ATT as something to stand me in good stead for the future??

Any comments gratefully received :-)

TreadStone

Hi there,

In your situation I would definately contact as many local firms of accountants as possible with a view to gaining more "hands-on" experience. Obviously bookkeeping only fulfils a proportion of an MIP's work and you will ideally need to gain experience in other areas in order to achieve your goal of obtaining an MIP licence (which is changing in acceptance criteria anyway).

As far as further study goes, I would certainly recommend the ATT. This qualification will cover a large percentge of the tax knowledge required in order to handle most small businesses and individuals' tax affairs that you would encounter.

I hope this helps.

Ellabobbin

Thank you Treadstone.

I will start writing to local accountants this weekend and hopefully someone will have something for me :-)

Have started looking at the ATT, I did business tax as one of my optional papers in level 4 AAT so will gain an exemption for that. Also did the personal tax and so although I won't get an exemption I do have a level of knowledge to work from. What other papers would you suggest for ATT?

sloshed

Hi

Hope my advice is of some use. For the ATT qualification you need to sit a detailed knowledge paper which is one of the following

Business Compliance
Advanced Business Tax
VAT
IHT Trusts and Estates

I have actually sat the first two papers which varying success. Passed Business Compliance and failed Advanced Business Tax by 2 marks.

Which paper to sit is really what sort of clients you are aiming for! If you envisage doing basic VAT work and Payroll, P11D's etc go for Business Compliance, if you envisage having Companies with overseas groups then Advanced Business Tax is the answer.

Cannot say about the last two as have not sat them.

I would recommend doing ATT as it gives you far more tax knowledge than AAT

Hope this helps.

Ellabobbin

I have now found some work in practice with a MIP and I'm loving it, has confirmed this is what I'd like to do in the longer term.

I'm now about to choose my modules for the ATT and it's so confusing - I'd really like to do more than 3 of the modules!! So, based an other members experience, what would be the most effective third paper for someone who anticipates doing work for either sole traders or small ltd companies - Business compliance, Corporate taxation or VAT....

Also where would you start? I'm thinking of buying correspondence courses for 2 of the modules. I do have AAT Business taxation but having read other threads I think I will either study for this but take the exception or maybe even study and take an unnecessary exam. (I know a bit wierd, but I like to make sure I am actually competent and do a good job, exams don't worry me overly)..

As ever any comments gratefully received - I love reading the forum it is so informative x

Dean

Ellabobbin wrote: »

I have now found some work in practice with a MIP and I'm loving it, has confirmed this is what I'd like to do in the longer term.

I'm now about to choose my modules for the ATT and it's so confusing - I'd really like to do more than 3 of the modules!! So, based an other members experience, what would be the most effective third paper for someone who anticipates doing work for either sole traders or small ltd companies - Business compliance, Corporate taxation or VAT....

Also where would you start? I'm thinking of buying correspondence courses for 2 of the modules. I do have AAT Business taxation but having read other threads I think I will either study for this but take the exception or maybe even study and take an unnecessary exam. (I know a bit wierd, but I like to make sure I am actually competent and do a good job, exams don't worry me overly)..

As ever any comments gratefully received - I love reading the forum it is so informative x

You only get the exemption if you hold both personal tax and business tax at AAT level.

I would say get the qualification as quick as possible - by that I mean there's no need to sit or study the extra paper. Once qualified you can then decided where to go from there. If you still feel you want to do the extra paper then by all means do it or alternatively, do the CIOT exams!

Oh and I'd go with the corporation tax paper - I think this is what was the old paper 3 being the higher skills?

Regards

Dean

Ellabobbin

Thank you Dean,

I have both personal and business tax, so no problems there. Right now I love my AAT tutor for insisting we did both!!

Dean

Ellabobbin wrote: »

Thank you Dean,

I have both personal and business tax, so no problems there. Right now I love my AAT tutor for insisting we did both!!

If you want to take an 'extra' paper I wouldn't take the exemption.

Regards

Dean

Ellabobbin

Just one last question!!

Has anyone taken 2 ATT papers in a single sitting or have you staggered them and taken 1 every 6 months?

Dean

Ellabobbin wrote: »

Just one last question!!

Has anyone taken 2 ATT papers in a single sitting or have you staggered them and taken 1 every 6 months?

I did papers 2 & 3 together. The other two on there own.

Regards

Dean

LynWest

Hi i've kind of joined this thread late, i would definately write to accountants locallly, i did and i didn't have much luck with the large practices but i did get contacted by a sole practitioner who although wcouldn't help me at the time, gave me some invaluable advise and said that they would keep my letter for the future, they have since been in touch and i help out when his workload gets way too much for him. I also got contacted by an accountant again a sole practitioner who not only gave me work and still does but also helps me out on training issues too.

I am looking after the 31st Jan to register with ATT too as this does seem the best option. I also joined a local free networking group ( watch out for expensive meeting and membership cost ones) and this has been great for me too and boosted my confidence.

Unfortunately apart from that i cannot offer much more help but wish you lots of luck with getting where you want to get! Enjoy the journery

Monsoon

If you've got the time to study then you can do more than one ATT paper at once. I think if you're in the mindset of AAT study and have put the time in on that, then if you can keep up the same level of study, then 2 ATT papers is do-able.

I did them one at a time because I'm too busy to spend much time studying.

Good luck!

Ellabobbin

Thank you,

I'm aiming for November 2012 exam sitting, purely because my job is mad between March and mid May, and so I think 2 is achievable by November.

So.... broached the subject with one of my bosses and she has agreed to pay for the correspondence course, though the exam fees etc are all mine. I do consider this a bonus though, as strictly speaking the tax qualification has little to do with my day job and I'm doing it purely to help when I have enough experience working in practice to become an MIP :-)

My form is completed and hopefully the first 2 sets of books will be with me soon, strangely excited at the prospect of hitting the books and studying again!!

JodieR

Good luck! When I did the ATT qualification (in 2002) I got married at the end of June so didn't open a book until mid July and passed both the personal tax and business tax exams in November. totally do-able although it sure didn't feel like it when i was drowning in books in october!!

Ellabobbin

Not so patiently waiting for my student registration of ATT to be approved so that I can confidently enrol for 2 modules......

My family are going to hate me!! I promised a year off studying after my level 4 and here I am less than 6 months later ready to throw myself in again!!!

Thank you to everyone for their advice :-)