AAT small business finance course or similar

[bigbobj]

Does anyone do their own accounts? I use FreeAgent and have an accountant however when thinking about what they do is extracting the data from FreeAgent which I populate and complete vat and Corp tax bills.

Of course there must be a lot more in the background done by the accountant however I was thinking is there in courses like the AAT which can help understand what is required for a ltd company to complete all HMRC requirements and do the accounts yourself?

[northernladuk]

There are a few people but from posting histories it is very few. One of them I believe has decided it's not worth the hassle and is looking at coming back to the dark side.

It's not just about the book keeping, it's keeping on top of legislation, a detailed understanding of existing legislation and so on. Have you got the time or can be arsed to do all that?

I think you are going to be in for a bit of shock when you let go of FA and your accountant and are just left with a blank excel spreadsheet.

How can that be worth saving £80 quid odd a month? Well, you it isn't is it because you have to pay for the course, take quite a bit of time to study it and still haven't replaced your accountant or FA.... and the company won't be able to pay for this... or can it???

[Waldorf]

Why? Just pay a professional and concentrate on what you are best at.

[SimonMac]

Why? Just pay a professional and concentrate on what you are best at.

Because some people like to keep control of their entire company, and listening to the recent horror stories that people are having can you blame them?!

Back to the OP, I do my own books, but haven't gone on any courses etc, anything you pay to the likes of AAT you might as well pay to an actual accountant (any courses you take can't be offset against CT as they are not realted to your primary business function), getting trained is only half the battle, you will still need to keep on top of legislation.

I went to a seminar yesterday morning organised by Dynamo Accounts, it showed me there is a lot more than an accountant can offer when it comes to tax planning etc.

TL;DR

Basics - you are fine and don't need any training
Advance tax planning - go to a professional

[SimonMac]

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...nt-thread.html

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Because some people like to keep control of their entire company, and listening to the recent horror stories that people are having can you blame them?!

Back to the OP, I do my own books, but haven't gone on any courses etc, anything you pay to the likes of AAT you might as well pay to an actual accountant (any courses you take can't be offset against CT as they are not realted to your primary business function), getting trained is only half the battle, you will still need to keep on top of legislation.

I went to a seminar yesterday morning organised by Dynamo Accounts, it showed me there is a lot more than an accountant can offer when it comes to tax planning etc.

TL;DR

Basics - you are fine and don't need any training
Advance tax planning - go to a professional

I think thats a little pessimistic on deducting expenses, presuming OP is not talking about getting an AAT qual.

AIII OP was suggesting something similar to one of these:

https://www.aat.org.uk/aat-qualifica...siness-finance

which ought to be deductible for anyone in business.

Some colleges will run similar courses, although in the absence of govt money sloshing around to subsidise them, they are becoming more expensive.

[SimonMac]

I think thats a little pessimistic on deducting expenses, presuming OP is not talking about getting an AAT qual.

AIII OP was suggesting something similar to one of these:

https://www.aat.org.uk/aat-qualifica...siness-finance

which ought to be deductible for anyone in business.

Some colleges will run similar courses, although in the absence of govt money sloshing around to subsidise them, they are becoming more expensive.

I'm not pessimistic, I am northern!