AAT or Accounting Degree

[John_2888]

I'm looking for some advice regarding my current situation. I have currently been studying the professional certificate in Accounting at open university, I was planning on counting this towards a BSc Open degree at open university as I have previously completed 120 credits at level 4 and the professional certificate would count towards 60 credits at level 5. The certificate will give me exemptions from ACCA papers F1,F2 and F3.

I have recently learnt that I could get into second year of an Accounting and Finance degree with this certificate. So I'm now deciding what would be my best course of action. I could take AAT at level 3 and then level 4 while continuing on with the Open university degree part time, this would take 3 years by the time I complete both the AAT level 3 and 4 and the Open university degree or I could just go straight into second year of an Accounting and Finance degree, this would take me 2 years to complete and at the end I would have an Accounting and Finance degree.

What would you advice as the best course of action?

 

[Scalloway]

It depends what you want to do when you are finished. AAT is excellent if you want to work in accounting.

 

[John_2888]

Hey Scalloway,

I would preferably be looking at working in some kind of Accounting role. So just trying to decide which would be the preferable route for this, either the AAT and the Open university BSc Open degree or an Accounting and Finance degree.

 

[Chart Accountancy]

If you are seriously considering a career in accounting, I would recommend to go with ACCA. If you continue with AAT career opportunities are limited.

 

[John_2888]

Thanks for your advice, I have also been also looking at doing ACCA. How limiting would AAT be for career options? The only problem with doing ACCA is I would have to pay for this myself and could not afford tuition so would have to self teach it.

 

[Scalloway]

You can use the AAT as a stepping stone for the ACCA.

http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/qualifications/accountancy-career/aat-acca.html

 

[John_2888]

Hey scallyway,

After I have completed the Professional certificate in Accounting at Open University this September I think I could get the same exemptions from ACCA as what the AAT would give, so I could start at paper F4 ACCA. But I wont have enough funds to pay for tuition so I would have to self teach ACCA myself and I'm not sure if this is something that would be possible.

 

[Chart Accountancy]

It is possible to self-study ACCA. Th exams are not easy and you will have to invest lots of time. When you reach the final level, you may consider a tuition course and many employers provide support. AAT will give you a good start in accounting and it is much easier to complete. It is limited in terms of how far you can go in the accounting with AAT.

 

[John_2888]

Ok thanks for the advice, so AAT and the Open university route would probably be the best course of action and then to also look into studying the ACCA rather than the Accounting and Finance degree route?

 

[Philip Hoyle]

What do you hope to achieve in the long run? An accountancy degree doesn't make you an accountant. Nor does passing the exams for either AAT nor ACCA. You need relevant work experience either way. The qualification is only half the story and your ability to get a decent job at the end of it will be severely limited if you don't have relevant work experience - you'll find yourself applying for relatively low-level roles.

 

[John_2888]

I think I would ideally be looking for better career prospects than my current position, I currently have limited work experience. As mentioned in my post I have almost completed the Professional Certificate in Accounting and also half way through a BSc Open degree, so I'm looking for the best way forward to achieve better prospects in the goal of securing a reasonable Job in the future and what the recommended routes to achieving this would be.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

.... How limiting would AAT be for career options? ......

It's not, it's a very well respected and relevant accounting qualification both in its own right and as stepping stone to one of the Chartered body qualifications.

.... .... The only problem with doing ACCA is I would have to pay for this myself and could not afford tuition so would have to self teach it.

Its not your only problem - if you plan on becoming an accountant in practice you need relevant experience as well as the qualification to practice. Have a read of the info of the ACCA website about practising certificates.

 

[John_2888]

Thank you for you post MyAccountantOnline,

So do you think it may be a better route for me to take AAT and continue with the BSc Open degree and maybe try to get some relevant Accounting experience alongside this if I can, maybe some voluntary accounting work or maybe an entry kind of role, rather than going down the Accounting and Finance degree route?

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Thank you for you post MyAccountantOnline,

So do you think it may be a better route for me to take AAT and continue with the BSc Open degree and maybe try to get some relevant Accounting experience alongside this if I can, maybe some voluntary accounting work or maybe an entry kind of role, rather than going down the Accounting and Finance degree route?

You are very welcome John.

In my opinion it depends very much on where you'd like to work.

If you want to work in a small/medium sized accountancy practice, and maybe set up your own practice at some point, practical experience is absolutely essential, and AAT and ACCA are going to be much more relevant and useful than a degree.

 

[John_2888]

I think I would quite like to work in smaller/medium sized accountancy practise. So trying to get some practical experience alongside the AAT would be the preferable option over the Accounting and Finance degree in your opinion? Have you got any advice on how I could get some practical experience, or get my foot in the door in an accounting type role? Currently I have no work experience in Accounting at all.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I think I would quite like to work in smaller/medium sized accountancy practise. So trying to get some practical experience alongside the AAT would be the preferable option over the Accounting and Finance degree in your opinion? ....

Yes

....Have you got any advice on how I could get some practical experience, or get my foot in the door in an accounting type role? Currently I have no work experience in Accounting at all.

Its going to be hard work and you will get lots of knock backs but I'd research local firms and send them a letter, also check out local newspapers, some small firms still advertise trainee roles, I'd also try agencies.

 

[John_2888]

Thanks MyAccountantOnline for your advice. I think I am probably going to take the AAT and Open University degree route now and attempt to also get some actual practical accounting experience during my AAT studies.

I have previously attempted to get some entry type roles and applied to numerous places but hardly got any replies. hopefully, once I've completed the Professional certificate in Accounting at Open University and also started AAT, I'll have some more success in getting some kind of entry role or some voluntary experience somewhere.

 

[Moe2017]

Hi John,

I have just finished the first year at the OU towards an accountancy degree and was also lucky to get a job. I have now started working full time as an accounts assistant but finding a position without previous experience was tough. I continuously applied for jobs for a while and finally got only 2 interviews. Both for much lower salaries than I was on before (previously worked in management of care settings). What got me the job was starting my CV by explaining how my role within care management had exposed me to basic accounting and how it had sparked a real interest in me to pursue accounting as a careers hence studying towards the degree. Pull out all the stops, be prepared to compromise and come across hungry and keen and you will find a position. Its only a matter of time. The company that gave me the job are a small/medium company that is expanding. I've found the tasks very repetitive and basic but it has really improved my much needed speed and accuracy in data entry , a must have skill. Wish you the best of luck