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.

@BlastedPimples with ACCA, you will be a qualified accountant. And can apply for jobs as such.

AAT, you will be an accounts technician. This isn't a qualified accountant. You will have an accounting qualification, but you will not be a qualified accountant.

AAT has progressive levels starting at a very low level. It was initially designed for 16 year old school leavers who weren't taking A Levels. I don't recommend it for someone at your level because it is very formulaic in its approach and I think you would find it slow and tedious.

ACCA starts in a similar way but moves on quicker. It would be a much better learning experience for you as the pace is better suited to someone with a higher level of education.

As @WillYouPutYourCoatOn explains, AAT is a bookkeeping qualification. To qualify as a professional accountant you have to do ACCA (or ACA) as well.

Or CIMA, or CIPFA.

Sorry it's so complicated OP. Honestly, don't worry about the different quals, concentrate on your job search. Accounting qualifications are purely vocational and only make sense in relation to the job you are training for.

It depends on what kind of job you are aiming for and timescales, both for qualifying and for length of time pre retirement.

Whilst AAT is a "technician" level qualification, it is perfectly fine if you intend to "practice" as a small business (yearly accounts, VAT returns, payroll, book-keeping etc) and simple personal tax returns as a self employed accountant and is generally recognised by lenders etc who require "certified" accounts and tax returns for mortgages etc. So if you were wanting to go into practice, doing small business accounts/tax returns, etc., then AAT may well be a good option. You'd just have to research their rules about what experience they require, as well as which exams/exam route you'd need to take. AAT is also good for finance jobs in, say, councils, hospitals, universities etc. Back to thinking about setting up your own small practice, it does give more retirement options, i.e. slow wind down over many years, lots of "one man" accountants continue working with small numbers of clients well beyond state retirement age as they can pick and choose which clients to continue working with, and do gradual wind down alongside other retirement hobbies, etc.

CIMA is more for management accounting within a firm, i.e. costings, systems, stock pricings, weekly/monthly accounts, departmental accounts, etc., so is pretty specialised. Maybe not too easy getting into that kind of thing as a mature/older trainee as it's often pretty cutting edge stuff, i.e. integrating different computerised systems of stock control, production management, sales order processing, etc., so excellent IT skills needed.

ACA and ACCA are more general and cover everything really. You could go into practice (although stringent requirements on approved experience having to be supervised and signed off by a practising certificate holder so you'd struggle if you weren't working in an approved training firm). But also just as easily you could go into management accounting, etc. It just takes a lot more time, the exams are harder, and you really need to be gaining working experience at the same time, so you'd be looking for training contracts with, generally, the larger accountancy practices.

CIMA/ACA/ACCA will take a lot longer, so if you're already in the twilight of your working life, you may have very few years after qualifying to actually benefit from it.

I do think you need to work backwards from your intended retirement plans.

Thanks very much @taxguru

I don't think I will ever be able to retire! Just coming out of a divorce where all the family money has disappeared, you see.

Do you think it's bonkers for me to try at 53 to train as accountant? I hear of many people retraining in all kinds of fields in their 50s and even later. Also that the accounting industry is facing a recruitment crisis?

I don't think it's bonkers at all.

Accountancy is not an all or nothing profession, once you find your sector there will be roles at all levels; accounts assistant, accounting technician, part qualified or all the way. And you can pace your rate of progression.

@BlastedPimples there are somethings that'd be bonkers to change to at 50 but accountancy isn't one of those.

I don't think you will ever be at the top level in a Big 4 firm - Partner. But 99% of us don't reach that level - or want to!

There are a lot of door that accountancy can open. There are a lot of very random careers in accountancy, the vast majority people only end up in by accident. E.G. aircraft leasing. There is a huge scale of what sort of responsibility you would like to take on, and of course the salary is reflected by that.

Getting a job in accountancy really is the 1st step though. And I think your age will stand to you in other ways. A good bit of accountancy can be strategic thinking/ business/ advice things that in my early 20s I didn't have the life experience to know as much about.

@BlastedPimples ... Never too old - I started at 48 and a bit and now at 53 am going for my last professional exam next week ( yuck !!) and I took a year out........

@BlastedPimples I did AAT via the apprenticeship route and it took 2.5 years. You could definitely do it much quicker if not restricted by the apprenticeship timeframes.

I had exemptions for the Applied Knowledge ACCA papers and found the Applied Skills papers straightforward. The Strategic papers are longer written answers and this is what I struggle with. I got quite a high score on my Advanced Taxation paper but failed Advanced Audit (quite badly, only 40% 😬) and Strategic Business Reporting (a few marks below pass mark). Just scraped the other one I forget what it’s called!

@BlastedPimples I did ACCA with no accounting knowledge.

I sat in my first lesson (went to work for dad's firm, they put you through college, couple of days a month, then home learning whilst you worked) and couldn't even debit and credit. I was 18, had only been at the firm about 6 weeks and done little other than make coffees. I could skip AAT because of my a level points.

I came home in tears, thinking wtf is this sorcery, I have no idea what everyone is doing. Roll forward another 6 weeks and I was fully up to speed. The basics are, well, pretty basic. The first year isn't too bad at all.

Year 2 is a bit of a step up. Finals are a pig. It's doable, you might not pass everything first try, but you simple resit.

AAT is a long time to waste (not waste but you know what I mean) just to get onto ACCA, even with the initial year exemption. You can do some accounting roles with AAT, but to get anywhere really on the salary scale you'd need to have AAT then spend years "qualifying by experience" usually within the same firm. And you don't have lots of years if you're starting from scratch now.

ACA I wouldn't attempt and unless you're really shooting for the top which is incredibly competitive, don't bother. ACCA is doable. If you don't want to work in an accounts practice and would prefer a financial position within somewhere like a builders, or a pr agency, then CIMA will do, it's easier. However with CIMA you won't work in an accountancy practice. ACCA you can do practice or industry. I find industry much more fun and less stress, easier and higher paid.

AAT as pp says, really is for bookkeeping and not much above that, despite a few protests on those thread, you'll see many others confirming this. There may be exceptions. I know most accountants (and their employers) would smile inwardly at someone with AAT calling themselves an accountant because of their qualification. They wouldn't get an interview for a role asking for a qualified accountant.

@WillYouPutYourCoatOn

AAT as pp says, really is for bookkeeping and not much above that, despite a few protests on those thread, you'll see many others confirming this. There may be exceptions. I know most accountants (and their employers) would smile inwardly at someone with AAT calling themselves an accountant because of their qualification. They wouldn't get an interview for a role asking for a qualified accountant.

Not really true. There are lots of accounting practices run by AATs and most banks/lenders/landlords accept accounts/tax returns signed off by AAT members for loans, mortgages, leases, etc. AAT is usually one of their "accepted" professionals.

Also lots of AATs in "company accountant", or "finance manager" roles. One of the girls I trained around 30 years to AAT in the practice where I was an audit manager went onto work as a finance officer in a sportswear firm and then onto being a senior finance manager in our local University! She never took it further than AAT but it clearly didn't hinder her career.

I also noticed our local League 1 football club were advertising for an accountant to run their finances (management accounting, treasury management, and managing their small team of finance assistants) and in the qualification section of the advert, they stated AAT or above!

You mean, exactly as I said lol. The only way you'll get anywhere with AAT is if you spend years and years gaining experience because the qualification alone counts for very little. OP doesn't have 30yrs.

And yes, the local football team, the WI, the local pool team will all need nothing higher than AAT to look after their books.

There'll always be stories of "my mate" who has obviously done fabulously well on the lowest accounting qualification possible. Meanwhile, if you want to get a well paid job in accountancy, starting age 50, you need to get qualified.

I did ACA straight from a non finance degree. 3 years experience and 15 exams later I was qualified.

Good luck for AAA today!

I am.currently doing CIMA via my employer, I have a small child and a full time job, it's a struggle especially to get my head around studying again!!
I have however worked in project finance for years so had some exemptions.
As others have said, have a look at the type of employers you would like to work for and see what they would advise

I would suggest you to take the AAT route as it starts from the basic level and then the knowledge level expands, ACCA will be a big jump for you. with tha being said half way thru your AAT u will be earning enough to pay all your bills, I myself am taking the AAT route for ACCA and am 3 exams away from my MAAT status

Kind of simply: ACA is chartered, ACCA is certified, CIMA is Management. They are different.

@WillYouPutYourCoatOn is right about ACA, but it doesn't make a difference for OP who could easily get a decent level accounting job with ACCA, which will probably lend itself better to your circumstances. Don't waste your time on AAT, it's very basic, and you'll need to do ACCA to be a fully qualified accountant anyway.

ACA is what the vast majority of CFO's in elite jobs (FTSE 250) have, but getting to that level takes 20 years, so I'm assuming this isn't the end goal for OP, who would be 73 by that point!

I'm far from your stereotypical ACA, but have managed to do very well out of it in my career, though I started on this path the year after university.

Good luck with your studies OP!

I'd say your work experience is more important that which of those qualifications are "better", and all are "chartered" bodies.

All three are broadly equivalent. CIMA is more for people working in industry/commerce as it's weighted more to management accounting, but still includes most of the other stuff. ACA is more geared to practice generally (most members will have trained in practice), so is weighted more to audit and tax and less management accounting. ACCA is more middle ground - more management accounting than ACA, but less than CIMA, more tax than CIMA but less than ACA, etc.

Most jobs wouldn't specify one over an other and most say ACA/ACCA/CIMA, but as I say, it's the work experience that will clinch the deal. A big 4 firm of accountants would prefer a ACA over a CIMA (But in reality usually only promote from within anyway). An industrial employer would probably prefer CIMA for a management accounting-heavy job, or a ACA/ACCA if they wanted an in house tax expert (although they're probably prefer CIOT for a tax heavy role) or internal auditor (where they may prefer a CIPFA). The later two are additional "chartered" bodies, one specialising in tax, the other in public sector finance which is heavy on internal audit!

A lot depends on what environment the trainee is working in during their training,

There are loads of finance assistant jobs where they do fund at least some levels of AAT. I'd say it's better to do that one if no finance experience whatsoever, it's the one employers will offer if your entry level. You can do ACCA or ICAEW when you're more experienced if you want to.
Apprenticeships in finance might be a good route? They're not just for young people, but for people switching careers.

If you want an in to the industry and a qualification that will give you an easy way to learn from the bottom up then try the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers. You can get through the level 2&3 in a year studying around a job.

This also gets you exemptions with ACCA & AAT. The pass rate is 85% on every paper which is alot higher than other organisations so it's not easy.

I don't agree with @taxguru. I don't think they are equivalent at all. All well respected. Distinct differences.

As I said, they teach/examine slightly different topics, but the actual qualification/standard of education is the same and equivalent. Hence why most jobs specify "ACA/ACCA/CIMA" as preferred educational standard, and then select according to length and breadth of experience.

what did you decide in the end op?

I have enrolled with EDX as they have online introductory courses in bookkeeping that act as a foundation course for starting ACCA.

I also have an interview with an organisation in two weeks that has some financial elements in the role.

I just need to keep plodding on and hope that I am capable enough to do this.