Foundation to Intermediate

System
System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
edited June 18 in AAT student discussion
Hi everyone

I've just passed foundation and will be starting intermediate on 27th. I'm really looking forward to it because this stage will be much more relevant to my work that foundation was. But, I've had a look at the past papers and some work books and things and it looks like a really big step up from foundation.

Is it quite hard to make the jump?

Gem

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Most of it follows on quite logically - I think that the biggest jump is from intermediate to technician - just take it slowly....

    Claudia
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hello Gem,

    There are three subjects in Intermediate - FRA and ECR - financial accounting and cost accounting respectively plus PRR - preparing reports and returns i.e. Vat and report writing.

    Since you have already done Foundation, you won't have to do the projects, though there is still a portfolio to do. Those going straight in at Intermediate have to do everything!

    FRA follows on from PLB foundation so much of it will be familiar at first, though you will learn new stuff such as drawing up an extended trial balance, profit and loss account and balance sheet plus depreciation, accruals and prepayments and partnership accounts etc.

    ECR will be completely new however and you may struggle at first to understand what the Hell it is all about! I really enjoyed ECR despite the initial confusion!

    It is a big leap from Foundation, but taking it slowly, trying to absorb as much as you can while making the effort (many don't!) plus proper revision should see you through the exams at the course end.

    Robert
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    As I've said elsewhere (many times), I found parts of FRA pretty tough at first - took me a while to get my head round depreciation. Revisiting some of this stuff in preparation for DFS, however, I've found it pretty much OK.

    ECR on the other hand I found quite straightforward and I enjoyed it too. Perhaps because I run a business the key concepts were familiar. Even though I've never done any formal cost accounting you can't run a business without being aware of your costs and break-even point. It's not everone's cuppa though, even the tutor who we had for Foundation said he hated costing.

    I think the main difference from Foundation is that you really need to make sure you understand what you're doing. You can pretty much get through Foundation just knowing how to do things, at Intermediate knowing why you're doing them is one of the keys to being successful.

    As Robert said, you'll need to put in the hours at home, but in reality if you've already done units 21,22,and 23 there's not really much more than at Foundation. Fewer skills tests to do as well.

    Chris

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    So basically... study hard :P That's what everyone told me at Foundation too. I'm really looking forward to it. When I first started at work they gave me the option to start straight at Intermediate rather then go through Foundation - I decided to do Foundation on the assumption I would get a really good understanding of everything I do at work. Turned out Foundation was practically completely pointless to me :!: I can't wait to get back to college and get my brain into gear again... I sound so sad :shock:

    Thanks everyone

    Gem
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hi Guys!
    I have been offered to go straight into the advanced intermediate; as i had some of the accounting stuff covered in my foundation degree in business managment. i did not want to wast any more time and made my decison to go into second year,however looking into some of the pass paper, made me feel :shock: . i hope i have made the right decison, any comments would really help.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Make sure you know all about double entry book-keeping! without working knowledge of double entry, you may find it a struggle!
    Hope this helps
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Agreed. If your knowledge of double entry is sound and you can do an initial trial balance, then you won't find going in at intermediate too much of a struggle.

    Amazingly, in our intermediate year, one guy couldn't do double entry! How he managed to slip past the supoosedly strict criteria of the tutors we'll never know, but he still managed to pass both his FRA and ECR exams. Which kind of makes a mockery of all those who spent a year - including me - doing foundation really...

    Having said that, those of us who did do foundation were generally quicker off the marks at intermediate than those who hadn't, as the knowledge and discipline of learning was still fresh in our minds plus we were used to the AAT peculiarities...
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hello to all!

    It is my first half day release today doing intermediate. I am both excited and anxious, as I'm sure others are to!

    I really enjoyed foundation, it was really interesting - sad I sound, I know! (once I grasped the double entry and journals etc).:lol:

    Hopefully this year will be just as interesting.

    Good luck to all new intermediate studiers, I'm sure that I will be on here regularly asking for some help!

    Bex :D
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hi Guys!
    Thank you so much Bigmuffed and blobbyh for your comments,made me fell rather well. Frankly speaking book keeping is one of my strength, since i am quite comfortable with the main book keeping formula; for every DR there must be CR and vers versa. no problem either with drawing the initial trail balance. I gree with blobbyh i was rather :shock: when i saw the AAT pass paper as, they were shrouded with peculiarities; i guss is more complected. thank you again and i pretty sure i wil be here again soon asking for you help, good luck for all of you, cheers.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hiya! thanks for the help,anyway i am qouite nervous and lost the confident i have had. I attempted the past paper for the IA (foundation level) find it many diffculty to understand the control account etc. However, iam qouite comfortable with the book keeping principles in general;but i dont have the detail knowledge that i might woud have, if i would consider the foundation level first. shall i consider the foundation level??????? would it be rather ok to skip it. i need to settle in within the next 48 hrs! any davice!

    Isam :oops:
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    If you're really not that confident I would do foundation, unless you can attend an intensive book-keeping course for a day or two on the side? That's what my colleague did. She went straight to intermediate but found it really difficult to grasp double entry so the firm sent her on a course then she was ok.

    Hope everything goes ok

    Gem
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hello Isam,

    When you say you're familiar with other book keeping principles in general, what exactly do you mean? Can you do the basic T accounts for sales and purchase accounts, VAT account etc? How about accruals and prepayments, depreciation, sale/exchange of assets or the trial balances, initial and/or extended?

    The following link is from the Osborne website regarding the ETB and it's role in the P&L and Balance sheet. Is any of this familiar to you; http://www.osbornebooks.co.uk/pdf/frat_04.pdf

    Forgive me for speaking plainly, but it's just that if you're really not too confident in control accounts and double entry, then you may be better doing foundation first. Seeing as these are the cornerstones of pretty much of the FRA side of things, as the chief assessors always state in their reports, you will almost certainly struggle if you are weak on these. I think it's fair to say that while control and T accounts are covered again at Intermediate, it is only briefly, and it's generally expected that all students should already be familiar with how to do them.

    You may be able to do an intensive course to brush up before starting intermediate, but only you can assess how good your primary knowledge is.

    Good luck anyway,

    Robert
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Yeah I'm looking forward to it aswell. I'm carring on through an apprenticeship so hopefully I'll find this year more relevant to my work, unlike Foundation! Perhaps I might understand what people are asking of me rather than they think I should know coz I've done a year! They've not a clue!!

    Good luck everyone, I'm sure we'll all be chattin soon!! x
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hi Folks!
    Thank you so much for your comments; it does reall help geting me through the decsion making process. Robert i appreciate your plain langugage, it make sense to know what are we talking about;thank y. What i meant exactly is i can create the appropirate ledger accounts for each transaction, extract the initial trail balance only, no idea whatsoever about the extended one, no idea what do you mean by the T accounts???. some knowlege regarding the adjestment;accurals,prepayment,
    no idea though bout the exchange of the assts. Reading your comments, and visting the link you provided,made me think harder; the warst case senairo it costing me another year of my life.
    considering your both comments guys, i need to think carfully; though most likely unfortunatly it would be to go to foundation first. thank you again for all of you help and hopfully i can get your help on the founfation level forum,cheers.

    Isam
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Just so you know, depreciation didnt come up once when i was doing foundation - depreciation is intermediate. and fixed assets only came in once or twice, you only need to know what they are, you dont have to know the technicalities.

    Good luck on making your decision

    Gem
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Oh, and the extended trial balance didnt come up either, all you have to do at foundation is the initial trial balance, you do the extended trial balance at intermediate
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hey Isam, don't write yourself off quite yet! I speak plainly because I think people are sometimes a little too polite on these boards and it could lead you into making the wrong decision!

    However, if you can do the initial trial balance then you must surely also be able to do the individual T accounts i.e. all the small accounts such as rent account, VAT account, sales etc that feed into the ITB?!!

    If you can do that part, then you should be okay at Intermediate. You will cover accruals, prepayments, adjustments, the ETB and exchange and sale of assets in Intermediate anyway as these are too complicated for Foundation - which is really for people who have little or no accounting knowledge at all.

    One person on my Intermediate course didn't know what T accounts were either as he somehow managed to slip through the supposedly strict admission criteria. However, he borrowed some Foundation books and just did a little extra reading. He passed both ECR and FRA. You'd also be surprised by just how many people on intermediate who hadn't studied Foundation, didn't know what control accounts were either! But most of us passed, something like 85-90%!

    It is a little late in the day to be asking for this kind of advice, but I would suggest you start at intermediate and do the extra catch up work where needed!

    Good luck!

    Robert

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    I'd be careful saying 'Foundation - which is really for people who have little or no accounting knowledge at all.' When I first read that I interpreted it as being a put-down for those doing foundation

    Just a thought :wink:
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Good grief! I think that's a perfect description for what the Foundation level is all about. I didn't intend for it to be a put down at all - I too did Foundation myself - but nor am I apologising to over sensitive people for reading too much into something.

    I think one of the problems with a lot of these boards at times is people being too polite or overly optimistic instead of being realistic. We have one guy over on the Foundation board thinking he's gonna be an accountant in three years time! I mean, good luck to him, but I also think a reality check should be in order too somewhere!!!

    I guess maybe I've spent too long on the caustic boards at IMDB over the years! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

    Robert
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    If you're referring to me in particular it was just a thought :wink:

    And most people involved in this topic have told Isam that if he's not confident he should start with Foundation, but at the end of the day it is his decision.

    And as for the Accountant in 3 years business in foundation thats plain stupidity, everybody (should) know that you're not an 'accountant' by name until you've done the relevant qualification. AAT just makes you technician. Most people are aware of this.

    Maybe you should be more subtle? :P

    Gem
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hi Folks!
    Once again I really appreciate your comments,help and thought on this topic. Your clarification, Robert and Gem have been partcuilar helpfull. Beside I have done today last minute search and visited few AAt apporoved centres; most of them have different apoinon. However,after todays'reasarch and considering your both comments, I would go for the intermediate level;with two days intensve refreshing course for the book keeping and it is anyway part of the packge. The accounting knowledge i have had was rather good, but not into the same details. Now it is clear what is the T account, thank y Robert for the clarity; yes I have no problem in preparing those accounts. Anyway guys sorry for giving you this headech,thank y so much for all your help; looking forward to starting the intermediate on Monday. cheers and see y again on this forum

    Isam
    :)
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Good for you.

    And if you do have any problems theres plenty of people on here who can help :)

    Good luck

    Gem
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hi Gem!
    Thank you so much and I will certainly be here again asking for your help,cheers.

    Isam :)
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 πŸ€– Admin πŸ€–
    Re:Foundation to Intermediate

    Hello Gem,

    No I wasn't being personal about you, however, I still do think that people are a little too polite on here at times, and some posts are "over-kind" instead of speaking the truth, which doiesn't really help the person in need. Unfortunately, I work in an abrasive accounting environment where flowery phrases and eloquence are NOT normally in demand! LOL!

    Looks like Isam may have made the right choice but he did leave it a little late to start asking. I wish him well.

    Yeah, I thought the accountant in zero to three years topic was a little silly too, but it did get some sycophantic and misguided responses, which instead of being realistsic, just stoked the "pipe dream" a little more! Harsh words I know, but I can't think of better ones right now, sorry!

    Robert

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