Optional Units

System
System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
edited June 18 in AAT student discussion
Hi,

I am just at the stage where I am going to complete the Intermediate stage and go onto the Technician level. I'm needing some advice on the optional units (Operating a Cash Managment & Credit Control System, Implementing Audit Procedures, Preparing Business Taxaation Computations & Preparing Personal Taxation Computations). Since I work in Accounts, the Tax & Audit Units are looking quite scary/daunting right now.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the easiest ones are, what they entail and which ones would be most beneficial to me?

Any recommendations would be great!

Thanks!

mi|kshake~

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    hi milkshake

    i am studying for diploma level at the moment and I have chosen to do buisness tax and auditing. I have not started on auditing yet but I am not finding the business tax too bad and I don't work with tax either so you should be fine. Just so you know OCMC is not part of the optional units and is compulsory. I did this at my advnaced certificate lever though which was handy along with prefession ethics
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    I think milkshake may be doing the NVQ route which means that cash management is an optional unit
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units
    bluewednesday wrote:
    I think milkshake may be doing the NVQ route which means that cash management is an optional unit

    Ah ok, sorry milkshake didn't realise!

    Thanks bluewednesday :)
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    Milkshake wrote
    Since I work in Accounts, the Tax & Audit Units are looking quite scary/daunting right now.
    What area of accounts do you work in? And how much choice does your college give you - you may have to fit in with their timetabling to a certain extent. Where do you see yourself working in the future? Sorry to ask so many questions to answer yours!

    If you are in a practice then probably the tax options and audit would be the right ones for you. As for which of them are the easiest? None of them is the quickest answer! They all require hard work -I think most would agree that it is quite a jump up from Int to Tech.

    Best of luck in whatever you decide



  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    I'm working at an accountant's and do sole traders/parrnerships/VAT/pay wages so haven't had any experience with Audit or Tax yet...

    mi|kshake~
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    Don't worry about not having any experience in doing tax and audit before you do the course - most people when I did it had none and we all past PTC first time. We had a very good tutor who made us work hard! We all took PTC - it fitted in with the college timetable and our tutor thought it would be interesting for us - afterall we all pay tax :cry:

    Sorry I had forgotten in my last post that you only need to do 2 of the 4. When I was trying to decide, I worked in industry but wanted to get into a practice so was advised to take both the tax options. They will be the most useful to you and your employer. Some people take PTC first and then BTC - which is the way I did it and I'm glad I did. There is a lot to learn - what's included, what's not, when to pay, the different schedules (types) of income (which have changed since I did it), Benefit in Kind and that's just PTC.

    I'm sure you will be ok. After all, when you started work I bet producing a set of accounts was daunting or even a VAT return!

    Good luck and if you get stuck on anything they is usually plenty of help on here.

    Jan
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    From a purely logistic view, CMCC may be a good choice. Firstly, it's a skills test assessment so saves having to fit five exams in the year. Secondly, it covers some of the same ground as DFS (ratios) and PCR (budgets). I found it quite interesting and useful too.

    I didn't find Technician that much harder that Intermediate on a purely intellectual basis (well, maybe aspects of standard costing) it's just the extra workload that can be challenging. My class had only one person fail an exam in the year and she passed the resit - we had a good tutor too!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    Thanks for the tips guys!

    So I think I'll choose my 2 out of the two tax ones and CMCC.
    From a purely logistic view, CMCC may be a good choice. Firstly, it's a skills test assessment so saves having to fit five exams in the year. Secondly, it covers some of the same ground as DFS (ratios) and PCR (budgets). I found it quite interesting and useful too.

    ^I like the idea of starting something familiar to ease me in.

    I'm glad you say it's not totally difficult as I was expecting quite a big jump from Intermediate to Technician. The jump between Foundation and Intermediate wasn't too bad!

    Thanks again!

    mi|kshake~
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    Hi Milkshake

    Im taking BTC and CMCC and so far neither seems too bad and before I started these I had no previous knowledge of either but if you just wanted to take the easier route CMCC and Auditing are both skills tests and not exams but ive been told that Auditing is rather boring.

    Hope this helps :D

    Kate
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Optional Units

    Yep, auditing is very boring! You just read out of a book and answer wordy questions. Nothing 'difficult' about it as long as use your common sense, IMO.

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