Re: Which accounting qualification would suit?
Can I piggyback on this thread, too? I've been doing lots of searches on the site for 'accounting technician', 'ACCA', 'IATI', etc. and have gotten an idea of what's involved in each, but I'm still a bit uncertain as to which to opt for this September/October when evening courses start up. If I outline what I've been doing work-wise, maybe someone'd be able to offer advice.
Basically: was in an admin job for years, part of which involved making credit control calls for certain accounts. Did full credit control calls for the company debtor ledger for six months when a colleague went out on maternity leave, so got a bit of a feel for the bigger picture and noticed I liked this area of accounts, although I'd previously had myself down as being rubbish at it from book-keeping in school: don't think I'm too good when it feels very 'abstract', whereas when it's stuff I'm dealing with every day and can remember and recognise (e.g., invoices), I connect things much better. So what I enjoyed in that job and a more recent one have been very basic things - credit control calls, supplier and debtor reconciliations, cash allocation, cash receipts - and I'd now really like to take it further. I've never got near to doing reports, looking at cashflow, bank reconciliations, journals, etc. So questions:
-How high a level of responsibility does the accounting technician course prepare you for (if that's not too much of a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question)?
-What sort of 'blanks' does it fill in (for anyone, like me, who's done some work within accounts but never actually studied the subject)?
-Am I right in thinking that, given what I've enjoyed doing, it'd be best to think of accounting courses that are geared towards industry? For example, I've read people's posts on here in which they advise that CIMA - thinking long-term - is not the best route if you're this way inclined. I'm genuinely clueless as to what management accounting would even involve. But I'd also like to allow for the fact that, after study, I might find myself leaning towards an area that I'd never expected myself to like. Which leads to...
-In terms of flexibility - not going too early down a route which ties you to one area of accounting - is there a certain qualification it's best to stay away from? Are some of the qualifications not really useful for working in a particular area?
-If you start off as an accounting technician, is it more difficult to work up to a higher qualification from IATI versus ACCA (I'm thinking of exemptions...)? Can you get any exemptions as an accounting technician if you decide to go the CPA route?
-If you want your qualification to be recognised internationally, is the IATI really an inferior choice?
-Somebody told me lately that if you get your IATI accounting technician qualification, you actually HAVE a qualification, whereas if you do your two years study for the ACCA equivalent, you still have to do another year before you can call yourself an accouting technician. Eh...? Is that the work experience they're talking about maybe?
-Same person told me that you have to register with the IATI in July, to do the exams next year. Given most courses don't enroll until Sept/Oct, and most open days aren't until August, is this inaccurate? I've looked through the IATI website and they seem to be indicating that you have until much later in the year to register with them...
Big thanks to anyone who can help with one or more of the above.
Can I piggyback on this thread, too? I've been doing lots of searches on the site for 'accounting technician', 'ACCA', 'IATI', etc. and have gotten an idea of what's involved in each, but I'm still a bit uncertain as to which to opt for this September/October when evening courses start up. If I outline what I've been doing work-wise, maybe someone'd be able to offer advice.
Basically: was in an admin job for years, part of which involved making credit control calls for certain accounts. Did full credit control calls for the company debtor ledger for six months when a colleague went out on maternity leave, so got a bit of a feel for the bigger picture and noticed I liked this area of accounts, although I'd previously had myself down as being rubbish at it from book-keeping in school: don't think I'm too good when it feels very 'abstract', whereas when it's stuff I'm dealing with every day and can remember and recognise (e.g., invoices), I connect things much better. So what I enjoyed in that job and a more recent one have been very basic things - credit control calls, supplier and debtor reconciliations, cash allocation, cash receipts - and I'd now really like to take it further. I've never got near to doing reports, looking at cashflow, bank reconciliations, journals, etc. So questions:
-How high a level of responsibility does the accounting technician course prepare you for (if that's not too much of a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question)?
-What sort of 'blanks' does it fill in (for anyone, like me, who's done some work within accounts but never actually studied the subject)?
-Am I right in thinking that, given what I've enjoyed doing, it'd be best to think of accounting courses that are geared towards industry? For example, I've read people's posts on here in which they advise that CIMA - thinking long-term - is not the best route if you're this way inclined. I'm genuinely clueless as to what management accounting would even involve. But I'd also like to allow for the fact that, after study, I might find myself leaning towards an area that I'd never expected myself to like. Which leads to...
-In terms of flexibility - not going too early down a route which ties you to one area of accounting - is there a certain qualification it's best to stay away from? Are some of the qualifications not really useful for working in a particular area?
-If you start off as an accounting technician, is it more difficult to work up to a higher qualification from IATI versus ACCA (I'm thinking of exemptions...)? Can you get any exemptions as an accounting technician if you decide to go the CPA route?
-If you want your qualification to be recognised internationally, is the IATI really an inferior choice?
-Somebody told me lately that if you get your IATI accounting technician qualification, you actually HAVE a qualification, whereas if you do your two years study for the ACCA equivalent, you still have to do another year before you can call yourself an accouting technician. Eh...? Is that the work experience they're talking about maybe?
-Same person told me that you have to register with the IATI in July, to do the exams next year. Given most courses don't enroll until Sept/Oct, and most open days aren't until August, is this inaccurate? I've looked through the IATI website and they seem to be indicating that you have until much later in the year to register with them...
Big thanks to anyone who can help with one or more of the above.
