Becoming a MIP

Pixie1

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, so I apologise if I am asking questions that have already been asked....

I qualified with AAT many years ago and I am part way through my CIMA studies. I work in industry and am getting rather board of doing the same old thing! I have always fancied the idea of working in practice however I feel choosing the CIMA route doesn't really give me the opportunity to do this, as it would be a large pay drop and most places want at least three years practice experience.

I have been considering maybe doing some work from home in my spare time to get some experience and build on my confidence. Is this doable? Have any of you got any advice where to start?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

stefanboro

Hi There,

I too am becoming an MIP.

My route has been with ACCA and I have worked in both practice and industry.

I am currently working in industry but have maintained and have grown my own private practice client base.

Working bit by bit from home is definately doable but you must carefully assess your current set of skills.

For example, the compliance requirements for sole traders is massively less then for companies and if you have no experience in producing CT600's and company secretarial returns then don't touch this until you are able.

Frankly I don't think I would have been able to manage both compliance and value added tax planning without being exposed to practice accounting and been shown what to do. Thus, a mentor or gaining some experience in this area would be massively advantegeous.

Good luck.

jamesm96

stefanboro wrote: »

Frankly I don't think I would have been able to manage both compliance and value added tax planning without being exposed to practice accounting and been shown what to do. Thus, a mentor or gaining some experience in this area would be massively advantegeous.

Good luck.

Yeah I'd agree with that. Practice experience is great as you're surrounded by very experienced people which is a quick and effective way to learn things which you'd otherwise struggle to get to grips with on your own.

TreadStone

I would certainly say it's doable, difficult, but doable.

Do you know anyone who actually works in practice you could seek advice from ? Either someone local or someone you studied AAT with that's still in contact and working in practice ? If not, it may prove problematic.

The transition from industry to practice (and I imagine vice versa) will always throw up some problems and take time to adapt. Having others you can bounce off is far better than flicking through text books, web pages etc and I always think you absorb information better - that's just me though.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Pixie1

Hi,

Thanks for your replys guys. At the moment I am considering my options.

I'm not really in contact with anyone from my AAT days as its so long ago. Could have a hunt around to see if I still have anyone's details. I think it's going to be rather difficult to find practice experience whilst working in industry full time. Has anyone else ever done this?

I already do my partners Vat returns and bits and bobs to help with his accounts, but as I currently have no software etc I have never felt confident enough to take the next step. So we send the final bits to an accountant. Although I know it's something I could do. My partner also has lots of friends in the trade who could offer me work on their accounts.

So would I need to register as an MIP if I only did a few bits to gain experience? Or could I do this without registering.

Any further advise would be greatly appreciated. As I say at the moment I am just gathering the info and then I will consider my options.

Many Thanks

Pixie1

Any further advise guys?

Thanks

SLM

To my knowledge if you are undertaking any accounts work on a self employed basis you have to register as an MIP and go through AAT's various procedures. I think the AAT then decide based on your experience/qualifications what accounting duties you can carry out.

My best advice would be to only start where you are comfortable anyway and build slowly from there. Perhaps start with general book keeping and VAT, preparing books for submission to the accountants, then work your way up?

Also don't view your CIMA studies negatively - if practice is what you are looking to do long term this will be very advantageous as you will be able to offer much more in depth work and will have the knowledge and qualification behind this.

Good Luck

jamesm96

SLM wrote: »

To my knowledge if you are undertaking any accounts work on a self employed basis you have to register as an MIP and go through AAT's various procedures. I think the AAT then decide based on your experience/qualifications what accounting duties you can carry out.

Yeah that's right. In fact, when you apply to join the MIP scheme you select the areas for which you would like to be licenced and you then need to provide evidence of your work experience or qualification in each of those areas.

Pixie1

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replys, much appreciated!

I should have added that I did have MAAT status originally when I finished my AAT studies, not sure if this helps or not? I remember filling out a work experience log then.

Ok so looks like the best thing to do is start off doing the bits Im comfortable with and build from there? Do you think I will pick up on things along the way? Im just worried as never worked in practice always industry?

Oh no, sorry if the CIMA comment came across negative it certainly wasn't intended that way. I am proud to be doing it just feel it goes against me at this stage, if I wanted to get into a practice. It also looks like most practices unless they want apprentices actually ask for prior practice experience, so just feel I will not get in that way?

Once again thanks for all your help and advice so far, any further advise would be greatly appreciated.