Rob, (Robh) was ATT and always recommended it as THE qualification that people should gain.

Certainly considering clients views that accountants are just about tax and compliance that would fall in nicely with Robs appraisal.

Personal view is that ATT is highly respected and a great stepping stone towards becoming a chartered Tax advisor if you decided to go that route. If not it's just a really good qualification to have under your belt and definitely one of the more useful ones for the real world.

Be warned though, tax is hard. One gets lulled in with personal tax / payroll / etc. and then you find that the courses are full of the dark side of the subject matter such as Taxation of Trusts.

Good luck with the course. Don't forget to keep us all informed of your experiences.

kind regards,

Shaun.

p.s. congrats of completion of AAT. From the look of the new syllabus looks as though you got it just in time before the qualification gets dumbed down at level IV in September.

They're restructuring the qualification again, but that's in a year time I think. For this year, they're cutting half of the financial standards required for Financial Statement module. I'm not sure about the other exams.

Shaun your 'rant' is like a breath of fresh air!!! Please do send your thoughts to AAT! I sent my rant on the day of the announcement. I have quite a reputation for speaking my mind and I feel I'm the only one sometimes!

I don't know what it is about qualifications over the last few years but they seem to be constantly moulded to customer 'demands' and to achieve good results.

I.e many are easier!

Sonya

I think that the AAT need Michael Gove in charge of their qualifications Neil!

I think that the approach that you adopted of studying ACCA to pass AAT was the perfect approach in the if you want a puppy start out by asking for a horse vein. The only fear there being that those doing the marking don't realise that your answers are more correct than the ones that you were supposed to give according to their marking sheet.

Looking at the updated syllabus for FNST (nope, not telling you where I got it from) I think that you are being very generous at suggesting that 2/3rds of the previous qualification remain.

In all seriousness I think that the updated syllabus will create a situation where AAT post September 2012 will cease to be a sought after qualification by employers who will instead opt for students who have gone down the FIA or full ACCA routes.

Traditionally chartered practices have pretended to know nothing of the CAT qualification due to the history there between AAT being the product of ICAEW / CIMA etc. Where CAT was the ACCA's response to not playing ball with the rest of the kids in the playground (so they went and got their own ball).

Well, CIMA have left the party and chartered practices no longer have the dominance on the high street that they once did so combined with AAT being left with a loaded revolver and looking at their feet I think that in the future we may see FIA (CAT#2 the revenge of) replacing AAT as the qualification of choice by employers which will push AAT into the ICB / IAB territory as great for self employment but not very good if you are after employment.

Then those with the AAT qualification are faced with the issue of where do they put themselves if their qualification has only taught them a small part of what they need to know to offer their services to the SME market? Do they then realign themselves as bookkeepers rather than accountant.

The question that employers now really need to ask themselves is that there are 260,000 ACCA students (plus 110,000 members) out there. Many desperate to enhance their experience on the back of a qualification that requires study of all of the financial reporting standards... So why after these changes would they be looking at AAT students?

There is a lot of personal opinion in the above. In reality there will I assume be no immediate issue for anyone holding or working towards the AAT qualification. But I do feel that the AAT in true lemming fashion are running merrily towards the edge of a cliff with the way that they are taking the qualification.

And here was me thinking that I was all ranted out!

Shaun.

It won't happen that fast Neil.

unlike training companies employers don't really stay abreast of changes in the Syllabus so the dumbing down of the qualification will take time to filter though.

Decisions made now will take five years plus to be fully felt in the market place so there are no worries in relation to your qualification.... And anyway, when my evil empire expands Northwards your down as first to come across to the dark side although I fear I may end up fighting with Tim to see who gets to employ you (not saying whether you go to the winner or loser there though, lol).

Anyway, by the time that the issues with the AAT qualification become real you'll be ACCA anyway (You know that you will, stop fighting against your destiny young padawan).

Shaun.

p.s. love the bucket of boobies analogy.

What, accountants pay tax!!!!!

Doesn't that mean that they're not doing it right! (joke...ish)

Nope, not fed up at all. Its always great to have quality discussion on the site.

Glad that we're on the same wavelength Sonya.... 15 mins to do a 1.5 hour exam... Wish the ACCA set them with those sort of ratios. Not simpler exams but would be nice to actually have the time to finish a paper once in a while.

Probably get lynched by other stuents but I've asked in the past that the professional level exams be moved up to 4 hours and even at that it would still be time pressured.

Always great to hear things from the trainers perspective.

kind regards,

Shaun.

Self development is something that comes easy to me, i was just looking at some photographs of me from twenty years ago.........My, How i've grown.

Don Tax wrote:

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Some daft employers out there can't see star candidate when they interview one.

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The number of people that I've interviewed for others who have absolutely no get and an go but think that I owe them the job because they condescended to turn up for the interview is ridiculous.

Then people like Neil who study ACCA level materials to pass AAT get passed over at interview... Go figure.

If I were in a position to employ him now I would have no qualms about it and would be quite happy to tell others that... Oops, actually I just did. Neil, just print this and take it to the interviews

p.s. This is be nice to Neil day. You only get it once a year. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Spamkebab wrote:

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I think the fact that i look more like a petty career criminal than an ambitious student "Accountant/Bookkeeper" goes against me lol.
And many Accountants look like Mafia bosses. Hey, new nickname, Don Kebab

But, hey you guys, you say the sweetest things................

Invoice is in the post

Neil.


P.S. off out now to shove my little print out in peoples faces.

P.P.S. Just read the table of contents for F1 on Amazon, I want me mam.

If you go down that path you know all the right people for advice Neil. Also, you might want to do them in the order F3, F2, F1, F4 as an easier move from your existing learning from AAT accross to the dark side.

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