Just Starting Out...

Ellabobbin

So....

I qualified nearly two years ago and have been working part time in a MIP practice in order to get some relevant work experience to be able to apply for my licence.

This has gone really well, I enjoy the work and my boss is very happy with the standard of my work, he is happy for me to keep working for him whilst also building up my own practice....

Qualification wise I have embarked on the ATT, Paper 1 passed with a distinction, remaining paper in May and then the law/ethics computerised tests over the summer. I plan to do my CTA starting next May!

Feeling confident and ready I have now downloaded the application form to apply for my own MIP licence. I have passed the Professional Ethics test and will sit Money Laundering over the next few days. However I now notice that part of the application is to give your experience of running a practice:001_unsure:

How have other people met this criteria? I could ask to get some exposure to this at work, but this will delay my application and already friend's of friends are asking if I will be accepting clients soon. I know that you can register as a MIP, which then gives you 2 years to fulfill the criteria for a licence, but what are the limitations of being a registered MIP rather than a licenced MIP....?

If anyone has any helpful suggestions I'd be really grateful....

Hepster

Hi There Ella
I found out about this recently because I'm going to be applying for an MIP licence this year as well.

I phoned the helpline for MIPs (0845 863 0788) and was told there is not much difference between being a registered member and a licenced member- you just canit use the AAT logo and you get a certificate when you are licenced. You can still practice just the same.

You need a bit more work experience to become a licenced member than to become a full member- although what more experience you need I'm alittle vague on, although if you are embarking on your own business and getting your own clients I'm sure you'll fulfil this criteria of the course of your work, if you don't have it already through your employed work.

I'm thinking of doing AAT too- how have you found it so far?

Regards

Stephen

JodieR

I don't know exactly what they're after here (I don't remember it being part of the criteria when I applied for my first licence), but I would guess that they want to check that you're aware of the admin side of running an accounting practice. Maybe write a document explaining how you'll keep track of deadlines and reminders, what you'll use to keep a database of your client's details, any policies/procedures you'll use and if you're considering employing staff a basic outline of how you would go about that and what your conditions would be.

Jodie

Ellabobbin

Many thanks Jodie, sometimes the process of starting out just seems daunting, as soon as you jump through one hoop there is another that appears from apparently nowhere!!

Hi Stephen,

I spoke today with my boss and he has kindly told me there is a CPD masterclass on 29th June in Birmingham on Practice Management, and so I will be booking my place asap.... Until then I will register as a MIP and apply for the licence after the CPD...

As for the ATT it is a real eye opener... Having passed both tax modules in AAT level 4 I mistakenly believed I had a good handle on tax, but believe me we had only brushed the very surface of what there is to know!

I have studied with Tolley's as a distance learner and I have found their literature very good and there is tutor support should you need it. There are revision courses however since I am funding my own studies I didn't book onto them and found a revision handbook and lots of practice sufficient.

I would strongly recommend the qualification for anyone wanting to provide tax advice/services as you not only gain knowledge from the course material, but also you become very comfortable with the tax legislation and how to find the information you require from them. The pass mark is lower than for AAT @ 50% but the exam more difficult!!

Good luck with your future plans :001_smile:

Hepster

ATT sounds interesting- I've just finished persoanl tax and am now on Business tax- I've found them among the most enjoyable for some reason. Never thought I'd be seriously thinking about becoming a tax specialist!

villapb

ella don,t understimate ethics and law for att.........i reckon it takes 6 months to pass them both as well as working, they reckon 60hours at least of study for law, i passed ethics and now studying law which has a change from March 2013 because of EU grrrrrrrr. Then ptax Nov 2013 and business tax and corp tax May 2014.....i had to put back due to work load.
Ps vat , payroll, ct600 active dormant, company house returns, full accounts prep, sa100 returns, cis, tax inspections, investigations, dealing with hmrc, getting clients info and payments, management accounts, dodgy clients up to no good etc etc...........you must be comfortable with, oh yeah and passwords, auth codes, activations etc etc

Ellabobbin

I have seen from the forums that the law and ethics can be tricky:001_unsure: I only work part time and so hope to devote a good chunk of time to them over the summer.... The study/work/family balance can be very hard....

How did you find the ethics?

I plan to build up my client list very slowly, I am a bit of a perfectionist and so it wouldn't suit me to feel I wasn't doing a good job.... And I have a great mentor, so with some hard work it should work out fine.

Out of interest what level of insurance do people take?

villapb

Ella i messed up Ethics first time i hadn,t studied the financial services enough and had loads of questions on it i.e. requlated sevices etc....then second attempt i got 44/60.

I find law more interesting and have being told its a short term memory test,,,,,,,its all about practise and practise.

I cant fault Tolley find them great, i watched the video on how to use the yellow and orange books, it was informative but the two guys were funny it was like a bad sky sports desk, but they tried to help lol. The vidoe was in Tolley Academy.

Tolley Academy i use..............loads of info.