Studying AAT for free?

theblessedone

LittleVoice wrote: »

Right. So you don't have a full Level 2 qualification. That should make it easier to get help.

[You mentioned not having been to college but 'A' levels from school can also reduce the options available.]

Thanks.

But who can I contact? I would prefer to study the course in my own time, like a home study course. Would that be feasible? Or is my only option local colleges?

Cridds

You can study the course how you like - obviously the more courses you go on, the more expensive the qualification becomes.

I'm not 100% sure of your case in question as I bypassed AAT to go onto CIMA after my degree. What I would recommend is that if you don't have any A Levels and you haven't worked in a "bread and butter" accounting environment before then doing AAT first is a very worthwhile thing to do.

There would be nothing worse than going straight into CIMA and getting swamped with the workload as it's fairly intense.

Do you work in a large organisation - is there the opportunity to transfer to a more accounting based department? I worked in credit control and obtained CIMA funding so it's more than likely your employer is being a bit of a tight ar*e, although I made the transfer to a trainee accountants role fairly quickly afterward.

barrywhittakerbmw

theblessedone wrote: »

Thanks.

But who can I contact? I would prefer to study the course in my own time, like a home study course. Would that be feasible? Or is my only option local colleges?

As someone previously mentioned in this post, studying AAT will give you course exemptions in ACCA or CIMA. And, I think you are right, it makes sense to do AAT basic level courses before going ahead for either ACCA or CIMA or other high level courses. I enrolled for AAT some time ago to gain better knowledge about accounting, and it is definitely helping.

About contacting: I have enrolled with Home Learning College for my AAT course. Supposedly, they are the best in the industry and have more than 60% market share. I personally liked the fact that they were quite upfront about the course, fees, and the exams. I would have liked it better if they could have given me a discount Come to think of it, I never asked for a discount! I should probably do that while enrolling for my next course. Anyway, the point is, there are options available like BPP, Eagle, Premier Training, Home Learning etc. PM me if you are interested in studying at Home Learning. I will put you through a counselor there (the one who advised me on my course) who will be able to guide you with the process. Cheers!

barrywhittakerbmw

LadyMissA wrote: »

Actually if you want to be a Management Accountant it's better to do CIMA

Nothing better than CIMA for management accountancy. I know a few people who have really benefited and grown in their job after completing their CIMA certifications.

Kynthia

Both Kaplan and BPP are training providers that teach AAT along with other smaller providers such as Acorn and First Intuition. Look closely at what they offer for the money. They all mostly do online and distance learning as well as classes.

Distance learning is where they send you books and course notes and homework to do. They mark it and give you support and feedback, contact phone number and email for assistance. There are two types of online courses, both you get the same as the distance learning but one has pre-recorded lectures that you can watch at your convenience and others where they are live online lectures where you can participate and ask questions. Also you can do it without a training provider, just buy the books, study at home and then register for exams. This is very difficult for most people especially if you don't have experience or others who can explain things to you.

CIMA do give exemptions for having studied the AAT. However this only saves you from completing the certificate level. So you could spend three years or more studying the AAT and only save six months to a year of CIMA study. Yet the AAT is a reputable qualification in it's own right, gives you a really good grounding in accountancy and you can wait to study CIMA when you are working in finance with a supportive employer.