AAT Diploma

m_k_dons

Hi,

I know the AAT has been covered a bit before but I cannot find an answer to my question.

Who is the cheapest learning provider to do the AAT Diploma with?

I currently work in a non accountancy related job but have a big interest in accountancy. I have a degree in Physics so I am more than confident I can take on the AAT Diploma in my spare time and do well.

AAT have told me that I have to be registered with someone to learn and not just teach myself from textbooks so am trying to find the best comprimise between cost and quality.

Thanks,
Julian.

Nile

Hello m_k_dons

I'll move your thread to the 'Employment and Jobseeking' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

CIS

The OU do a certificate in accounting which is very good and gets you up to around the same level as the AAT technician course.- see course B680 at https://www.open.ac.uk.

m_k_dons

Thanks, I should have mentioned that I looked at that course. Although it would be a very good thing to do it in one year I cannot afford the £2k+ cost of it.

Oh and thanks Nile for moving it, sorry.

Got2change

Check out your local FE College (if you haven't already) - mine ran it 2 evenings per week - can't remember cost - about £400/year I think (+ AAT registration and exam fees).
You may get it free/subsidised - less likely if you already have a dregree though - depending on home circumstances/income. The Course Leader was very helpful in my case.
Good luck.
x

m_k_dons

Thanks but Bristol City College don't do the Diploma course and at Filton it is £600+.

I think Kaplan £400 + AAT fees is the best I'll get.

Bismarck

and you're able to go straight into doing the Technician level?

Fuchsia_a

If you want to change fields into working in accountancy, you may be better off going straight onto a chartered course as it'll get you further in terms of career and salary prospects, and a lot of employers are happy taking on graduates from unrelated fields.

If you do want to do the AAT, the cheapest way to do it is either at a college or to work for someone who will sponsor you. Failing that, there are various colleges and commercial providers who run it as a home study qualification, but all you can expect from them is badly edited books and hardly any support for more money than it'd cost you through a college where you'd get dedicated tutors.

I used FTC Kaplan for home study for a couple of units, and it was hellishly hard to do the coursework that way as I had nobody to just pop in and ask whether my work was acceptable and whether I'd filled out the forms correctly. There were numerous errors in their books, and the computing unit was out of date. I know someone else who studied with BPP and had roughly the same experience. If you do it as home study, expect to have to buy better books than those that come with the course.

Have you considered the NVQ route? It's possible to take it if you aren't working in accounting by taking skills tests instead of submitting work-based coursework, and if you have a college that runs that rather than the diploma, it might be cheaper and will almost certainly give you greater learning support.

My college, on the edge of London, charges about £750ish per year, which includes all books and exam fees. The government has been axing funding for adult education classes like NVQs, so it'll probably be quite a lot wherever you do it.

Also, if people aren't enough help on here, you may want to try asking on the AAT forums, or browse the posts on there.

therealdessie

You need to assess which course is right for you - AAT is great but becoming somewhat specialist and I don't see many job adverts asking for AAT anymore. Check the recruitment sites and see what people are asking for - more often ACCA and CIMA are requirements.

CIMA can be done via home study very easily using the materials from BPP - but buy them second-hand on eBay unless you are in fact made of money. The advantage of CIMA is that in addition to technical skills it will give you practical management application and a more "rounded" view of the accounting process. There are five base exams, which require a subscription to CIMA at around £90 per annum and £50 per exam sitting - the exams are CBA (Computer Based Assessment) and so you can take them any time you like. Finishing the base can take as a little as a year, depending on how quickly you pick up the source material - I would advise using the official study text and the iPass/iLearn CD-ROMs alongside to properly hammer it home.