Looking to retrain: calling all accountants!

MikeyMacbeth

Hi Meds12,

I'm sort of doing the same thing at the moment : I'm currently doing the Open University B190 Introduction to Bookkeeping and accounting course and thinking pursuing AAT accreditation. As I have a background in programming which lead to developing management information reporting I expect it'll be the management accounts path I'll be going down - from what you say I imagine that'd be the way for you too.

Best of luck whichever route you take!

Mike

meds12_2

MikeyMacbeth wrote: »

Hi Meds12,

I'm sort of doing the same thing at the moment : I'm currently doing the Open University B190 Introduction to Bookkeeping and accounting course and thinking pursuing AAT accreditation. As I have a background in programming which lead to developing management information reporting I expect it'll be the management accounts path I'll be going down - from what you say I imagine that'd be the way for you too.

Best of luck whichever route you take!

Mike

Thanks, good luck to you too! My Dad had a postgrad degree in computing and then went on to work in accounting too (went the CIMA route). He is now FD in the Chinese branch of a very large and well-known multinational company. I remember him working very hard at his exams when I was young, although he seems to have quite an easy life now - he is always shocked when I show him all the paperwork I do for my teaching each week.

MikeyMacbeth

Quick addendum to my previous post - quite a few of my fellow students on the course forum have been recommending "Book-keeping and accounts" 7th edition by Frank Wood and Sheila Robson - I'm skint at the mo so have had to rely on the course materials so can't speak for it myself but it does seem to have got a lot of positive feedback from those that have bought it as a good introductory primer into the world of accounting and bookkeeping - perhaps it might be worth you picking up a copy and seeing if suits you before signing up to a course.

I've found the course a lot harder than I had anticipated initially, I think due to the fact that although accounting principles are (of course!) internally logical and consistent, some of the basic concepts can seem counter-intuitive. For example : to increase the value of asset accounts in the ledger such as the Bank account you debit the account and to decrease the value you would credit the account - I think this presents most people with a bit of a mental hurdle from what would seem obvious i.e. that the word "credit" seems to imply an increase - don't be put off by this BTW ! it's just a question of working your way through it and learning the conventions and after I bit I found it all starting to make sense and become more second nature...

Once again good luck with your studies!

jessicamb

MikeyMacbeth wrote: »

Hi Meds12,

I'm sort of doing the same thing at the moment : I'm currently doing the Open University B190 Introduction to Bookkeeping and accounting course and thinking pursuing AAT accreditation. As I have a background in programming which lead to developing management information reporting I expect it'll be the management accounts path I'll be going down - from what you say I imagine that'd be the way for you too.

Best of luck whichever route you take!

Mike

OU have a certificate in accounting that you can take after B190 that should get you some credits against ACCA/CIMA. I'm not familiar with the OU course or AAT but it might be a quicker route to qualification.

jessicamb

MikeyMacbeth wrote: »

Quick addendum to my previous post - quite a few of my fellow students on the course forum have been recommending "Book-keeping and accounts" 7th edition by Frank Wood and Sheila Robson - I'm skint at the mo so have had to rely on the course materials so can't speak for it myself but it does seem to have got a lot of positive feedback from those that have bought it as a good introductory primer into the world of accounting and bookkeeping - perhaps it might be worth you picking up a copy and seeing if suits you before signing up to a course.

I've found the course a lot harder than I had anticipated initially, I think due to the fact that although accounting principles are (of course!) internally logical and consistent, some of the basic concepts can seem counter-intuitive. For example : to increase the value of asset accounts in the ledger such as the Bank account you debit the account and to decrease the value you would credit the account - I think this presents most people with a bit of a mental hurdle from what would seem obvious i.e. that the word "credit" seems to imply an increase - don't be put off by this BTW ! it's just a question of working your way through it and learning the conventions and after I bit I found it all starting to make sense and become more second nature...

Once again good luck with your studies!

When I was learning double entry book keeping we were given a simple rule - I dont know if they still teach it but the principle stands:

assets + expenses = capital + liabilities + sales.

Then on the left hand side of the equation you Dr to increase and Cr to decrease, then on the other side Cr to increase and Dr to decrease.

MikeyMacbeth

jessicamb wrote: »

When I was learning double entry book keeping we were given a simple rule - I dont know if they still teach it but the principle stands:

assets + expenses = capital + liabilities + sales.

Then on the left hand side of the equation you Dr to increase and Cr to decrease, then on the other side Cr to increase and Dr to decrease.

The main formulation of the equation first introduced on the OU course is Assets - Liabilities = Capital + (Income-Expenses), but I like yours better for the reason you give - somewhat helpfully (NOT!) they don't seem to point that out in the course materials... which is missing a somewhat easier way to "get" the concepts IMHO..

MikeyMacbeth

jessicamb wrote: »

OU have a certificate in accounting that you can take after B190 that should get you some credits against ACCA/CIMA. I'm not familiar with the OU course or AAT but it might be a quicker route to qualification.

I think it'll be the AAT route when I can afford it as that way I'd have more chance to gain the relevant work experience, although it may be better to do the OU certificate first to gain a bigger jump on ACCA/CIMA (not going to decide which route to go there just yet until I've gained a bit more experience)

However herein lies the rub as I've recently swelled the ranks of the unemployed a couple of months ago

So, what do you think my chances are of getting a bog standard purchase ledger, data entry, foot-in-the-door accounts admin type role with just the OU qualification? (gives some exemption towards AAT level 2 from what I gather), prior experience in accounts is nil , however I did work for a 120m turnover FMCG company as a buyer so am pretty familiar with the way business operates (esp. from the purchase ledger side!) until they went pear shaped 18 months ago - wearing my other hat as a web programmer I also wrote a lot of the MI intranet tools for them. Since then I made a brief unsuccessful foray into the field of web development full time.

I'm not bothered about being on low (within reason) salary initially as I am trying to think more long term and aim for a more satisfying career eventually (if such a radical change is possible at 41!).

The catch of course comes where I can't afford the course/exam fees whilst I'm unemployed and the savings have fizzled out (I started the OU course before my last job went Kaput) I'm basically faced with the dilemma of trying for a web dev job which I won't enjoy much (although should be fairly well renumerated) or taking the first thing that comes along to pay the bills and leveriging some qualifications part time out of the money from it but leaves me mental energy left for distance learning - grrrr!

I'm reasonably confident I should pass the OU course this month - on the computer marked assignments so far seem to be hitting 80-90%. The course itself, although harder than I anticipated, seems to cover the basics fairly well (although what would I know!) - it's a 12 week distance learning course with an option to extend to 24 weeks if the final (& only marked) assignment is not submitted on the 1st deadline.

MikeyMacbeth

Been doing a bit of googling this morning regarding getting Appreticeships in accounting - hope the below links may be useful to someone:-

• from the government site on Apprenticeships : http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/AdultLearning/TrainingAndWorkplaceLearning/DG_4001327
• from apprenticeships.org (apprenticeship whilst qualifying for AAT NVQ route) : http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Types-of-Apprenticeships/Business-Administration-and-Law/Accounting.aspx

Might be worth considering for those looking for entry level postitions in accounting whilst studying.

Summary of previous threads in the MSE forums related to switching to an accounting career:-

• "AAT Help" - discussion relating to the AAT qualification route and funding thereof: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2521051
• "Accountancy jobs - what's yours?" - this is a cracking thread well worth reading through in it's entirety discussing the various routes into accountancy with some excellent advice from some qualified accountants : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2406529
• "Should I sign up for a Sage computerised bookkeeping course & payroll course with HLC" - for those looking at training in accountancy for self employment or Sage training: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2566151

Apologies to those who've previously posted the above links - just thought it might be helpful to consolidate them.

DKLS

Have you considered using your degree and experience as either an E-learning designer, or IAPT practitioner (huge recruitment drive on this one at the mo)

I only say this as I am accountant by original trade but it bored me to tears. Useful experience for me but definitely not for me.
The only accountant I know who loves it, works for the film industry he is extremely well paid and the perks are jaw dropping.

Any

Mikey - percisely because those mental hurdles I think that getting the basics in person (ie attending course not just reading) makes the understanding far easier.

For ledger clerk I never required any qualification with accounting background, though of course it helps. I've ever only requested admin background, hard work, willing to learn and telephone manners.

Most of the ledgers are nowadays done by programs and nearly every company I've ever worked at has different one so it's all about training on the specific program anyway.