MyCIMA

Going into accountancy

Posted: Monday 21 June 2010 by geek84
Replies : 9
Keywords: career, change
Hi folks

Please forgive me if I have posted this on the wrong thread & I would be grateful if you could point out which thread I should go to -

Anyway, I graduated from university based in the Wet Midlands about 20 years ago with a BSc Combined Studies.  It was a non honours degree.  The degree was made up of modules taken from the Operational Research, Computing, and Finance sectors.

I was made redundant recently from my office administration job - which I held for more that 15 years, and now considering a career change.  I do not have much knowledge about accountancy and was thinking of doing the AAT first, and then progressing on to the ACCA. 

Do you think that would be a good idea or would it be best to go straight on to the ACCA? 

By the way, the reason why I was thinking of doing the AAT first is so that I can get back into  'study mode' and also I do not want to be 'drowned' with the course material that is necessary to learn at ACCA level.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

ACCA?

Posted by Roary The Tiger on Monday 21 June 2010 15:03
Why are you asking CIMA/ACMA students about ACCA? Are you confused?

students

Posted by Polar Bear on Monday 21 June 2010 17:29

more than just students on this board roary ;)

but yes they are confused!!

Going into accountancy

Posted by geek84 on Monday 21 June 2010 18:05

Hi Folks 

I'm sorry if I did not make myself clear in my original post, but can any of you please tell me the diffecence between CIMA and ACCA? 

Thanks in advance for your response.

just different

Posted by Polar Bear on Monday 21 June 2010 19:03

i suggest you read the PDF:

http://www.cimaglobal.com/About-us/Why-CIMA-is-different/

ACCA - stronger focus on audit / financial and statutory accounting.

CIMA - focus on strategy and company management, business development.

but huge amounts of overlap. don't ask which one is better, your just opening up a hornet's nest of about 1,000 comments - they are just different. obviously people on this board will back CIMA.

 

CIMA/ACCA

Posted by Barry on Tuesday 22 June 2010 06:15

Hi,

I chose CIMA to get a qualification that set me up for working in FMCG and would give me a broader business understanding.

 Also AAT I believe will take approx 3 years whilst CIMA offer a certificate level as both an introduction to the professional qualification and a stand alone achievement. This can reasonably be completed within 6 months.

Studying with AAT trained students and Certificate trained students there is no apparent knowledge gaps. In fact the certificate level leads smoothly into the professional teachings.

So I would suggest deciding on what type of accountant you want to be should be your first choice... ACCA to me is more practice/tax etc... CIMA for me is input into a wider range of business decisions. But this is very personal and you need to decide what career you would like to progress and which suits best.

Good luck! 

Forget AAT

Posted by Shahbaz Husain on Thursday 24 June 2010 22:46

My suggestion is that you forget AAT as all it will do is slow down your progress. Decided on CIMA or ACCA and get stuck in - you'll be studying for a few years so you'll get into the swing of that soon enough.

CIMA is for people that want to work as in-house accountants. As a result CIMA accountants seem to be more expert in how to run a business than others. As CIMA accountants spend most of their student days working in business it's a no brainer why this is the case

ACCA is for people that want to have a greater level of flexibility on where they work; audit, tax, insolvency, investment or industry. The qualification really does give you flexibility but that can be limited by where you qualify so choose your employer wisely

Going into acountancy

Posted by Thomas Walsh on Monday 28 June 2010 20:27

Hi Geek84,

Delighted to hear that it's been roughly 20 years since you finished college, i am in similar position (probably even longer!) and was also made redundant after 15 years in finance dept. of a building suppliers.

The general advice you're getting seems to be to lash straight into the Cima Certificate, and I would agree with that, the AAT does seem a waste of precious time.

I've had two jobs since, but am now out of work again, so hope you also get one soon.

The one thing i will say is not to underestimate the difficulty of re-starting your studies after such a long break, it's a real pain! [swearing removed by moderator 11/08/10 as it broke our community guidelines: http://community.cimaglobal.com/community-guidelines]

I wish you all the luck, keep me posted.

Consider AAT !

Posted by helene d on Tuesday 29 June 2010 11:46

I strongly disagree with AAT being a waste of time...on the contrary!

It would be particularly useful to you as you do not have much knowledge of accountancy and AAT would be therefore a very solid grounding. As you said, you would also gradually go back into study mode as  each level is more difficult.

On passing AAT, you would also be exempt from the certificate level of CIMA.

I chose that path and did not regret it.

Completing AAT & funding for CIMA

Posted by geek84 on Wednesday 11 August 2010 15:27

Hi Helene D

 If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to complete the AAT?  Did you go on to the CIMA straight away?  Did you face many problems getting your CIMA studies funded? 

The only thing bothering me at the moment is the length of time it will take me to complete the AAT & then go on to CIMA, plus getting relevant work experience.  I am already in my mid 40s!!

 

Thanks