Optional Units!?!?!?

mrderek88

Hi there,

Im struggling with what optional units to choose for Level 4. I firstly though of Business Tax and External Auditing but my tutor told me that she's never had anyone choose to do Auditing - has anyone done this? Is it difficult? She recommended if I was to do Business Tax, to do Personal Tax alongside it. Any help would be great!!

Thanks

Clarekaye

I am glad someone else asked this question, my tutor also pretty much told me which two to take, has anyone taken the others....how do you know which one to choose!

James Patterson

Hi both,

I'd go for either what seems most relevant to you, and which you'd want to know about for the future...or alternatively whats the easiest.

So, if you think that external auditing would be valuable and worth learning its a viable option. I'm doing Personal Tax and have passed Credit management (which i think is the other optional paper).

Credit management is easy to learn and its quite interesting to me, personal tax is a bit harder to remember everything, due to alot of rates and other information.

Can't say much for BTX or EA, but hope this helps

emuratty

I've chosen to do 3 optional units - credit management, personal tax and business tax. My college didn't offer auditing as they said they didn't have enough people who wanted to do it.

I did personal tax first and I'm just waiting for my results. There's a lot to remember and its certainly not an easy choice.

I'm off to do the credit management exam this morning, hopefully will go ok. Much easier option. There's quite a bit to learn about contract law and related terminology, and you need to know your ratios (from financial performance). Seems to be the less difficult of the options.

I'm approaching the end of studying business tax, lots to remember and I think it's the hardest of the 3 options I have done, doing personal tax first definitely helps with this one.

good luck with whichever you choose

Nps

I think it depends on what you intend to do afterwards, or what modules are most relevant to your role.

If you are doing Business Tax, then I would always suggest doing Personal Tax with it as there is such a lot of shared content (but do Personal Tax first as Business Tax is harder and a bit of prior knowledge will make it less daunting). If you plan to go on to ATT or one of the chartered qualifications, then I would say the tax options are a good bet (I did the ACCA tax paper a few weeks after finishing AAT and was only able to do this so quickly as the AAT tax units had given me a good grounding). I found tax very interesting and was probably my favourite subject.

Obviously I didn't do the other two optional modules so can't speak from experience but I've heard they are the easier 2. So if you just need to pass AAT and don't need the knowledge of those modules, just go for the easier ones.

However, if your job relates to any of the optional modules, then go for those.

If you do go on to further chartered qualifications, you'll end up covering it all anyway. I've just done my ACCA audit paper and did some of the AAT practice assessments just to see what was covered in the AAT audit module. My impression was that it seemed a fairly good module (considering it is audit which is a bit of a dry subject to learn) and it would have given me a good base to start further audit studies from.

I've never looked in to the credit management paper, but as of yet, I've not come across anything which makes em think I've missed out by not doing it.

eek

I have taken Auditing and credit management and to be perfectly honest it is a waste of time. You cant actually do anything with the auditing module as in you still have to complete further auditing exams to be qualified to be able to do it so it really is a topic that you only choose if you wish to go into Auditing.
It does not involve any calculations at all and is very similar to the ethics exam and it is all theory so if words are not your strong point I would advise totally against this.

There is always a "boring" module that you study at each level and for me this was definitely the one.

mrderek88

Hi everyone

Thanks for your thoughts. I think, as Eek said, the auditiing module only sounds benficial if you chose to go into Auditing which I wont be doing as I work in a Manufacturing company so I was planning to go on do CIMA next.

The Auditing was merely a thought as when we have our auditors in, I wanted to get a better understanding of what they are doing. I think I'll change my mind to the two tax units. A few people have said, including my tutor, that they both have a lot of shared content so the exams could be sat relatively close together (if I put in the hours for them!) so I think that's what Ill plan.

Got my budgeting books yesterday so its all go now...

Thanks again guys!!

D

coojee

Students traditionally perform badly in the external auditing paper unless they actually work in external audit. It's a bit like trying to teach someone to walk without them actually using their legs - try explaining it in words, it doesn't work.
I wouldn't advise anyone who doesn't do audits to do the EA paper.

MarieNoelle

I took Ptax, Btax and External auditing. I really liked the tax modules but as it has been said before I found EXA a bit dry. A bit similar to ICAS in part so I wished I had studied it before doing the project.

JackieW

I am doing the level audit topic now I have taken the exam twice already and failed I am finding it so hard and it is a very boring subject a lot of read and remember is involved and there is nothing you can apply it to afterwards. it is not an enjoyable subject! that's just my personal view. hope that helps.

Jo Clark

I'd choose the two tax papers and then any additional optional papers if you feel you want to do more

Kinglee89

has anyone done all 4?

im doing PTX BTX and CMG. if your not planing to continue to study Auditing then i dont see much use for, you cant do external audits with just the AAT.