Qualification question

[Nicola1985]

Hi

I'm 24 years old and have been giving some serious thought to working towards becoming an accountant. I've had a read of various websites including posts on here so I have a general idea of what qualifications I would need to possess (ACCA / AAT). However, I never took A Levels so have no stepping stone to start a degree. I would therefore like to ask people's advice on the best way to proceed. I know BTEC and International Baccalaureate qualifications are A-Level equivalents so this is an option but is there a better way? Does the AAT qualification count as an entry requirement as I know you can do this without previous qualifications?

Any help would be much appreciated :)

[mikky_uk]

there is also the CAT qualification administered by ACCA which would give you a good all round understanding of accounting.

once all the exams and relevant experience have been passed/satisfied, you will become a certified accounting techinician and can the progress onto the ACCA exams.

Your CAT qualification will provide you with exemption from some ACCA exams.

I am sure there will be someone who will be able to provide you with more detailed information.

Regards
Mickey
M. Ghanni Bookkeeping Services

[Jenni384]

I would recommend AAT over CAT as it's more widely recognised as a qualification in its own right and gives you the same (or similar) exemptions to ACCA as their CAT. I think it's probably more widely taught at colleges too.

Note that AAT is an accountancy qualification in its own right, and you don't have to progress onto one of the chartered qualifications (e.g. ACCA, ICAEW) to be an accountant, but it all depends what you think you want to do with your accountancy career.

[RobertGowans]

Hi Nicola,

I'm not an accountant but I know where 90,000 hang out.

To get some more viewpoints try asking your question on accountingWeb's Any Answers:

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/anyanswers/all

Hope this helps,

Robert

[RobertGowans]

Sorry for the double entry - a post to another thread ended up here.

[Matt Knight]

Years ago I did AAT as an entry route to ACCA as I hadn't a degree. I found the AAT 3 years plus another 4 for ACCA part time such a drag. Depends whether you want to go onto full ACCA qualification in which case I would do their new basic entry route (CAAT?) as it appears to be quicker than the AAT route.

[Zeal]

I'm no accountant... however

A couple of friends doing different degree's found out regardless of previous qualifications (A levels n what not) - as they where 25+ years old... they classified as a 'mature student' - meaning they got straight on the course subject to passing a simple test.

Might be worth waiting till your 25 :)