CIMA/AAT question

[SarahL2012]

Entry to the big 4 is competitive and you might be better with one of the smaller firms if you want to specialise in Tax. Any particular reason why tax?

If you do apply to smaller firms then you need to make sure you understand what is on offer as part of their training programme. Whichever exams you choose to do it is tough studying alongside a full time job so try and find one that will pay for exam courses and some study leave as well.

[BjornMorg]

You don't need to be a maths genius to be a B.A.
Logical thinking and a questioning mindset are more important.

[SarahL2012]

You don't need to be a maths genius to be a B.A.
Logical thinking and a questioning mindset are more important.

The same applies to accountancy! The maths geniuses tend to become actuaries.

[Zero Liability]

Right, I was under the impression that BAs benefit from a knowledge of statistics, which is why I asked. I was unclear on what level of numeracy a management accountant would need, but it sounds like it's more or less the same as what practice roles require.

So you did o level maths many years ago, then became a 'Programmer or tester freelancer' and now you think accountancy seems a simple option and giving it a bash.? - or do you also have an accountancy background in your current role.? - This will help with our advice

Also when you say 'on offer from the big four' Is that an actual offer to you?

Not quite, I had intended to go into accountancy beforehand and previously got all the way to the Partner stage with EY for audit but failed at that point. I have worked within banking rather than IT roles, and I am currently in a banking contracting role. I don't think accountancy is 'simple' so much as it is lucrative if you become chartered, and suited to my strengths, and also a good vocation for going freelance again later on. Regarding my accountancy experience, I have basically had some exposure to it through my Masters, and regarding my mathematical competence, beyond GCSE, I have done basic econometrics courses as well as finance modules, but this was 3 years ago. So I would need to practise it a bit for anything more advanced than GCSE stuff.

When I say "on offer" I mean in terms of the perks of their grad programmes. If I had an offer from them I wouldn't even be asking the question.

Basically, I am looking for a qualification to give me a good grounding in accounts and also enhance my employability in the event that I don't get accepted on one of the grad programmes, as well as enhance my chances for getting onto a grad scheme and ensure I am back up to scratch with the level of numeracy required. From the answers here it does seem like the AAT is most conducive to that end.

Entry to the big 4 is competitive and you might be better with one of the smaller firms if you want to specialise in Tax. Any particular reason why tax?

If you do apply to smaller firms then you need to make sure you understand what is on offer as part of their training programme. Whichever exams you choose to do it is tough studying alongside a full time job so try and find one that will pay for exam courses and some study leave as well.

Yes, entry to the Big 4 is very competitive, even for the regional offices. This is what put me off applying for audit roles with firms below the top 7, as there won't be nearly as much exposure to FTSE 100 clients outside these firms. The reason I was leaning towards tax is that it seems to have a more even workflow than audit, and also because it gives you a thorough understanding of how the tax system works, but I take note of your comments that you will gain broader exposure to a bigger variety of firms with audit than tax, and I would assume you would gain better client exposure, since you are interfacing with them at their offices, which would be a very good launching pad for a career in industry after. I will probably focus on the larger firms for audit and tax with the mid tiers.

As you say it isn't easy to study for these qualification and work, so this should go some way further to proving I can hack it.

Anyway, thanks for all the comments, I think I have a clearer idea now of which qualification to go for in the interim.

[Zero Liability]

Am I correct in thinking this sort of course would be put down as capital, as it is not related to my current engagement? As opposed e.g. to an Excel refresher course, which would be.

[SarahL2012]

Am I correct in thinking this sort of course would be put down as capital, as it is not related to my current engagement? As opposed e.g. to an Excel refresher course, which would be.

Yup. If you decided to retrain as an accountant then you can put the costs through your limited company, but you won't get tax relief on them.

[kevpuk]

I have always found ACCA blurb in my CV background pretty handy - I took the courses way back in permie~land, as employer sponsored, and completed almost all of Level 2 papers (in those days, there was Level 1, Level 2 and then Level 3 which was more or less advanced versions of Level 2).
So, IANAA but have found the ACCA grounding et al. very useful both in professional terms and getting in front of Clients