AAT or ACCA

[BlastedPimples]

I'd like to start retraining.

I am educated up to masters level but not in finance. No experience at all.

I've been looking at the courses run by First Intuition.

I can't decide whether to start with the very basic AAT level and then eventually progress to ACCA - you can get some exemptions for ACCA exams with Level 4 AAT - or just plunge into ACCA.

MY main concern right now is time. I am determined and focused but perhaps the sheer amount of time required for ACCA at this stage in my life isn't quite right.

Any insights much appreciated.

I think your first step needs to be deciding whether you want to go into practice or industry. Most firms within practice are completely different to the big 4/top 10 corporate world so don't let tales of the crazy hours etc put you off. I'm in a medium sized firm, and get lots of support for studying and great progression opportunities whilst still having a great work life balance. But it's definitely worth looking into industry too to weigh up whether you would prefer a finance role/CIMA instead.

Absolutely. CIMA is now a joint organisation with AICPA (The American Institute of CPAs). There are 698,000 members worldwide in 188 countries and territories according to the website.

If you want internationally recognised you definitely want ACCA over ACA though, they are virtually the same exams (I'm actually using some of a colleagues ACA notes for my current ACCA exam as they are better than what I've been given!) but as you say ACCA is better internationally.

Not sure where you are based OP, but given you have no experience, I'd look to go in as an Accounts Assistant in a medium size company, and get them to sponsor you for ACCA. Accounts Assistant is an entry level role where you could be doing anything from coding and entering invoices, to preparing VAT returns for a more senior member of staff to review.

In London you'd be looking at a starting salary of £25-35k, plus on the job training. Study support would be thrown in by the company, and they usually make you pay it back if you leave partway through the qualification. I think you need a certain number of hours practical experience to qualify, which could take 3-4 years, but once done you could then search for management accounts type roles which would pay in the region of £40-60k.

@Morph22010 I think you're absolutely right and that any finance qualification without experience is useless. I'm also qualified to Masters level in something completely unrelated and all that happens is people think I'm too ambitious and going to want a huge salary and not stay long

So how intellectually demanding is ACCA?

Or CIMA?

I'm worried I just won't 'get it'.

ACA and ACCA are equivalent qualifications. There's benefits to each, but neither are a higher level than the other

CIPFA accountant here with 30 years experience of recruiting and training staff at all levels.

There is absolutely no point in starting on professional exams (CIPFA, CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW) without some relevant work experience and an idea of what sector you want to work in (practice, industry, public sector etc). It might be worth starting the beginning levels of AAT as a way of improving your chances of getting your first job. But as other people have said it's very much the norm in accountancy to train people in post, at all levels. So I would focus your efforts on a job search and find out what you want to do. There are other finance sub specialisms that involve different quals (e.g. treasury or procurement) and you might find you want to go in that direction.

In terms of getting that first job, the best thing you can do IMO is work on your Excel skills, as spreadsheets are likely to feature heavily in any area of work and are often a weakness for junior staff.

Good Luck!

Accounting is just a systematic process with clear rules for what to do at each stage. At the early stages all you need to do is follow the rules and everything will be fine.

There is a conceptual core to it that you would need to understand later on but, trust me, one day the penny will drop and you will suddenly "get" it.

@ItsMintUpNorth it was a lot tbh! I did all bar 1 ACA exam, I meant to re-sit it but 'life happened' I was able to keep working away and progressing my career and put it on the back burner. 7 years later finally said I better finish it, but I have timed out of ACA. So transferred to ACCA and have 4 to do 😫. This is my first exam since 2017 and I have never done one without a pen/ paper

@BlastedPimples They are all going to be intellectually demanding. I am finding ACCA more flexible and they have exams 4 times a year and you can do as many or as few as you like.

But really a job in accountancy first is the best way to go. Mid size firm that are looking to take on trainees or a company that is looking for entry level.

The pay might be a lot less than you are used to but as you pass exams it should get better

ACA, ACCA and CIMA are all masters level qualifications. But the stages build you up gradually, more like an integrated masters degree course would be.

ACCA markets itself on being global, but that doesn't mean that other countries don't have their own country-specific qualifications you'd need to practice there (eg US). So if you're interested in the international nature of the qualification for a specific goal or destination, check that first.

I had no qualifications or accounting experience when I started my training contract. It's normal.

I qualified as a grad with EY, we had a mum in our class, she was great.

I would personally recommend starting at a small firm who will pay for ACCA though, it is honestly far better getting on the job training.

i’m the lowest paid in my team in the finance function of a tech firm - I perform a reporting role - I am paid £120k a year (29) and the guy who has been there longest but my level (“flat structure”) had never qualified as a CPA (US originally) but worked for a few years at EY. He’s just going back to silicone valley with plenty of offers and still no qualification, lol.

Also, I did a history degree and didn’t even know what the ACA was on my first day. I was a deer in headlights in college.
luckily I’m good at exams (and bullshitting through interviews apparently)

It isn’t demanding at all. Just forgo all your logic and normal way of thinking and learn what it tells you, follow the formula.

It becomes more nuanced when you interpret standards, as an example, or if you’re doing complex work (share based comp calcs etc, moving between one country’s GAAP to another) But you’d get experience in this.

Audit is quite possibly the easiest job in finance I’ve ever done, it’s very “monkey see, monkey do” and the “bean counter” philosophy works, but it’s amazing to understand different businesses.

I would never go near public sector, I hated it and money is never that amazing. Sticking to a private company, especially in a field that interests you (I did technology and comms) is best, but there’s real estate, oil & gas, etc

@BlastedPimples Age 49 I registered for my first ACCA as I had no exemptions. Will be taking exam 13 next week ......
ACCA means you will be a certified and chartered accountant that is recognised globally......

My friend did maths at uni and said acca was quite tough. I was trying to decide between the two and she advised me to do aat as you get certificates for the different levels whereas with acca you have to complete the whole thing

Also I started in credit control with only a gnvq in business and that was 20 years ago. I now work in cash apps and am going to start doing a course

On paper perhaps. In the real world not at all.

As an ACCA qualified accountant, and 20yrs experience both practice and industry, with a Dad who owned a very large accountancy firm, it goes:

ACA (seen as elite level)
ACCA (next best level, but it's no ACA)
CIMA (you couldn't do ACCA so did the easy option, when I took my exams, the CIMA students were allowed to take their textbooks and notes into the exam! ACCA can do practice and industry, CIMA only good for industry)
AAT (essentially GCSE accountancy, entry level, you are not an accountant if you've passed AAT)

Don't suppose you're in Scotland OP?

@WillYouPutYourCoatOn all the ACA advanced level papers are open book aren't they?

In answer to your question about difficulty though OP I think this thread just demonstrates that it completely depends on the individual.

I am not afraid to admit ACCA has been hard for me, the first 6 papers took a lot of time studying but were a level I was relatively comfortable with but I have started to struggle with the advanced papers, mainly due to the sheer amount of content (the advanced tax study text is 1700 pages for example). At the end of the day you are getting a Masters level qualification whilst working so it's meant to be tough, I only know a handful of people who have found it 'ok'. I just try to remind myself that thousands of people manage it every year so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to.

It's definitely a change going to CBE's! I recommend using the ACCA practice platform as much as possible because it is exactly how the exam will look

Only because people like you perpetuate silly mythologies.

It's the same as RG vs OU snobbery. It's just marketing and exclusion by RG/ICAEW to create the illusion of prestige.

ACCA was formed by 8 founders in 1904 to open up the profession and admitted its first woman to membership in 1909.

The ICAEW was formed in the 1800s, protested that it would be embarrassing to admit women as members in 1895, was asked by Churchill to admit women in 1909 but continued to drag its heels until 1918.

Its elitism is based on deliberately excluding talented people from the profession, it's not about quality.

It's a shame to see someone with 20 years' experience perpetuating such harmful prejudices.

I did AAT and found it really easy, the structure has changed now though so might be more demanding? My plan was to do ACA as the firm I worked for was very traditional and looked down on ACCA rolls eyes
I left there after I finished my L4 and the new, larger firm preferred ACCA so I started that and sailed through it until my professional papers. I have 2 left to sit until I’m qualified but kids have got in the way, it’s my goal for this year to get them done.
The whole ACA vs ACCA argument is very dated so I wouldn’t worry about that unless you want to apply to a firm where all partners are nearing retirement.

@folkjournals well said 👏 I started typing a more Ind with response myself but deleted it as I couldn't put it quite so well!

Also makes me laugh as the profession as a whole is crying out for qualified people, absolutely no firms I know of are going to nitpick over ACA/ACCA.

I think, as others have said, that you need to figure out what you want to do and that will drive the qualification you should select.

For example, if you wanted to help sole traders/ small businesses with their monthly management accounts/ bookkeeping then AAT should give you the skills you need to do that and ACCA would be overkill. If, on the other hand, you want to work for an accountancy practice, then you’re likely to come across more complex scenarios and ACCA is likely to be more beneficial.

I’ve always seen CIMA as well regarded but it’s geared towards people working in-house only.