Exploring the Myths

7/27/2019 Exploring the Myths

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www.bpp.com

AccountancyExplo ring the Myths


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BPP Pro fe ssio na l Edu catio n is the co m pany tha t trains p e o p le fo r the

qualifications the y ne e d to be co m e b usine ss p ro fe ssiona ls. BPPs succe ss

in exam ina tion training is ach ieve d through classroo m tu itio n, co nd ucte d

by a team o f over 160 de dicate d p rofession al tutors, with co urse m ate rials

o f e xce ptio nal qu ality and d ire cted ho m e stud y. Innovative m etho ds o f

study no w includ e CD RO M ba se d le arning and on line virtual cam pu s

environm e nts, de signe d to p re pare you for both pap er and com pute r

base d e xam s. O ur con sisten tly im pressive p ass rate s and ou r re pu tationwith stude nts are testim o ny of o ur succe ss.

BPP Pro fe ssional Educa tio n a lso p rovide s training in o the r sp e cialist areas

including financ ial se rvice s, taxa tio n, inso lvency, ac tua rial, m arke ting , law,

langua ge s and hum an reso urces.

BPP Pro fe ssio nal Educatio n


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The de cisio n to e m bark o n a cou rse of training for a p ro fe ssio nal

qualification rep re se nts a significan t investm e nt w ith m any facto rs to

co nside r. This bo o klet aim s to he lp you m ake the right de cisio ns a nd to

assist in the cho ice you m ake in term s of e m ploym e nt are a and

profe ssio nal bo dy.

Do you want to work in accountancy and finance?

Which area will you specia lise in?

Do you know which qualification is best for the type of caree r you have

chosen?

How do you go about studying fo r it?

BPP can g uide you thro ugh the training m ine fie ld and he lp you to achieve

the qu alification ne e de d fo r a succe ssful care e r in acco untan cy and

finance.

Peo ple often m ake caree r choices in the area of accountancy without

be ing aware o f all the po ssibilitie s available and wron gly assum e tha t the

wo rk of acco untan ts is very sim ilar whe reve r they wo rk. Jobs a re cho se n

withou t fully und e rstan ding the leve l o f stud y sup po rt o n o ffe r fo r wh at are

so m e o f the m o st de m and ing e xam s stude nts will be aske d to sit. This

bo oklet u ncovers the range o f caree r cho ice s available an d w ill assist you

in se le cting the righ t q ua lification fo r those caree rs, as w e ll as highligh ting

the study o ptio ns o n o ffe r.

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An intro ductio n to acco untancy


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Public PracticePublic practice is ofte n the first p lace co nside re d for acco untancy caree rs.

The aud iting p art o f this wo rk involves the asse ssm e nt o f the fairness o f

the financial state m e nts o f co m pan ie s. Large r p ublic practice firms can

also o ffe r caree rs in tax advice , inso lven cy, investm e nt p lanning and

co nsultancy (e .g. assisting firms w ith the insta llatio n o f ne w co m p ute r

systems).

If you wish to wo rk in Public Practice a s an a ud ito r (and wan t to obta in a

Practising Ce rtificate allow ing you to sign acco unts ) yo u w ill ne e d to

cho ose betw e e n the Institute o f Chartered Accou ntan ts in Eng land and

Wale s (ICAEW), the Inst itute o f Cha rte re d Accountants o f Sco tlan d (ICAS)

an d the Asso ciat io n of Cha rte re d Certifie d Accoun tants (ACCA). All

qualifications a re we ll re sp e cte d.

Industry and CommerceThe wo rk of acco untan ts in ind ustry and com m e rce includ e s prod ucing

bud ge ts, prod uct costing a nd p roviding m ana ge m e nt with finan cial

info rmatio n o n which they can base the ir de cision s. In such e nviro nm e nts

you g ain an intim ate und e rstand ing of the b usine ss in w hich you wo rk.

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The thre e m ain fie lds o f theacco untancy pro fe ssio n


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If you w ish to wo rk in ind ustry or com m e rce you w ill be cho o sing betw e e n

ACCA and th e Charte re d Institute o f Ma nage m e nt Accoun tan ts (CIMA).

Both bo d ie s p ublishe d syllabi in 2 0 01 tha t cove r ve ry sim ilar top ics. ACCA

o ffe rs the cho ice o f two from four fina l leve l pap e r op tions w hilst CIMA

o ffe rs an inte g rate d case stu dy. Bo th qualifications are we ll re co gnise d

both inside and ou tside the UK.

Public Sector AccountingAcco untan ts in the public se cto r have the cha lle nge o f wo rking within a

re sou rce -constraine d e nviron m e nt. Tight bu dg eting and financial

re porting is vital. Pro je ct wo rk often involves ide ntifying o ppo rtunitie s fo r

m ore e fficien t and eco nom ic use of reso urces.

Accou ntan ts in the pu blic se ctor are o ften ad vise d to sit the Chartered

Institute o f Public Fina nce Acco un tants (CIPFA) e xam s. Som e e m ploye rs

also give the o ption o f sitting the CIMA o r ACCA exam s if the se se e mm o re re levant to the organisation .

The Associa t ion of Account ing Technicians (AAT)is spo nsored byfo ur o f the m ajor accoun ta ncy bo die s in the UK; CIPFA, ICAEW, CIMA and

ICAS. The se p ro fe ssional bod ie s, alo ng with ACCA, o ffe r fast -track en try o r

e xem ptio ns into the ir qua lifica tio ns to AAT qua lifie d stud e nts . The

Cert if ied Account ing Technician (CAT)is a te chnician leve l qua lifi-

catio n awarde d by ACCA and gives a n e xe m ption fro m Part 1 o f the m ainACCA qualification, and Pap e rs 1 and 2 from the CIMA Fo und atio n level.

Acco unting te chn icians a re skille d acco unting st aff wo rking in a ll area s o f

acco unting an d finance fro m acco unts clerks, cre d it co ntrolle rs, aud it

ass istan ts and payro ll m anage rs throug h to se nio r leve ls o f financial

m anage m e nt. AAT and CAT m e m be rs ho ld a varie ty of profe ssio na l skills

which can be use d in acco unting p ractice , ind ustry and com m e rce a nd

the pu blic o r voluntary se ctors.

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The de cisio n o n w hich q ualificatio n to cho o se is o fte n d ete rm ine d by the

e m ploye r. If you find yourse lf with a num be r o f jo b o ffe rs, im portant

co nside rations includ e th e level o f financial sup po rt and stu dy le ave g iven

by the e m ployer. It is also imp ortant to che ck that the practical e xpe rie nce

tha t you w ill ga in in the jo b is sufficie nt to m e et th e ne e ds o f the re levan t

p rofess io na l bo d ie s (CIMA Training Partne r o r Qua lity Partne r Em ploye rs,

ACCA Accre d ite d Em ploye rs an d ICAEW and ICAS Autho rise d Training

O ffice s should m e et the se re qu ire m e nts).

If you be gin yo ur studie s w hilst no t e m ployed in a n a ccou nting

e nvironm e nt yo u a re like ly to find it e as ie r to sit ACCA or CIMA exa m s.

Howe ver, it is ad visable to find so m e e m p loym e nt, eve n if not ide al, and

study in the e vening o r at we ekends to show a co m m itme nt to prospe ctive

employers.

Study OptionsAt BPP, we o ffe r Hom e Stud y co urses , e-le arning p roducts a nd a full range

o f clas sroo m tuitio n including Blo ck Re le ase , Day Re le ase , Saturdays,

Even ing s an d Friday/ Saturday co urses . Fo r the revisio n p hase , we run a

se le ctio n o f cou rse s includ ing Reta ke , Que stio n Base d and We e ke nd

revisio n. For the ICAEW and ICAS qualifica tio n, we o ffe r a cho ice o f

Inte nsive or Link cou rse prog ram m e s.

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Making the right d e cisio n


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Co urses are cu rre ntly run in over 2 0 lo cations in the UK and Ire land , with

furthe r cen tres in Europ e , USA and the Far Eas t. Co nta ct d e ta ils fo r o ur UK

and Ire land ce ntre s can be fo und o n the back cover of this broch ure .

Co nta ct det ails fo r inte rnatio na l ce ntres a re available o n o ur website at

www.bpp.com.

The Professional BodiesEach p rofessio nal bod y has its ow n e ntry and training re qu ire m e nts an de xam s which typically take aro und thre e years to co m plete . Me m be rship is

only achieved once all the e xaminations have be en com plete d and

evide nce o f p ractical e xpe rie nce has be e n subm itte d . Failure to g ive

evide nce of practical expe rie nce is the m ost co m m on re ason for

m e m be rship ap plication s being re fuse d.

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* The d evolved a ssessm ents m ust be com pleted be fore sitting Advanced Stageexaminations.

* * Stud e nts m ust be in the last ye ar of their training co ntract be fore sitting theAdvance d Case Study.

Entry Requirements

UK degree o r AAT qualification

2 A Levels and 3 GCSEs (or equivalent)

Minimum of 18 UCAS poin ts is des irab le

The Route to Qualifying

In o rde r to ga in the qualification yo u will ne e d to :

(i) Pass all exam s at the Professiona l Stage .

(ii) Com plete de volved a ssessm en ts and the n m ove o n to the Te st of

Advance d Te chnical Com pe ten ce a nd the Advance d Case Study.

(iii) O bta in a training co ntract w ith an autho rise d t raining o ffice an d g ain

spe cific w ork exp e rie nce .

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Institute o f Charte re d Acco untants inEng land and Wale s (ICAEW)

PROFESSIONAL STAGE

Accounting

Aud it and Assura nce

Busine ss Fina nce

Busine ss Manage me nt

Fin an cia l Rep o rtin g

Taxation DEVOLVEDASSESSMENTS *

Com me rcial Law

Co m pany LawADVANCED STAGE

Test of Advanced

Te chnical Com pe ten ce

Ad vance d Case Stud y **

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIPTO THE ICAEW


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Entry Requirements

A UK de g re e o r overse as e quivale nt o r AAT qua lification.

Ide ally you sho uld h ave sa t High e r o r A Leve l Ma the m atics

and Eng lish. Entry re quire m e nts vary de pe nd ing o n ind ividual e m p loye rs.

A training co ntract w ith an ICAS ap prove d t raining o ffice .



(i) Pas s a ll the ICAS e xam s.

Te st o f Co mp ete nce

Test of Profess ional Skills

Test of Profess ional Expe rt ise

(ii) O bta in a 3 yea r training co ntract with an auth o rise d training o ffice and

ga in spe cific work e xpe rie nce .

Course Structure

Test of Competence (TC)

The re are five sub je cts at TC:

Financ ia l Accounting

Principles o f Audit ing and Repo rt ing

Busine ss Manage m ent

Finance Busine ss Law

Test of Professional Ski ll s (TPS)

The re are four sub je cts a t TPS:

Financia l Reporting

Assurance and Business Systems

Ad va nce d Finance

Taxation

Test of Professional Expert ise (TPE)

TPE co m prise s o ne m ulti d iscip line case stud y.

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Institute o f Charte re d Acco untants o fSco tland (ICAS)


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Entry Requirements

Any degree or 2 A Levels supported by 3 C grades at GCSE (or equivalent). The

GCSE passes must include English Language and Mathematics. A variety o f

vocational qualifications will also be acceptable, including SCOTVEC or BTEC

National Diploma/ Certificate in Business Studies and Advance d GNVQ in Business.

CIMA will also co nside r stud e nts o f 2 5 yea rs or olde r with substantial

expe rien ce of accountancy.


In o rde r to ga in the qualifications yo u will ne e d to :

(i) Co m ple te all three leve ls

(ii) Obtain three years re levant experience , do cum ented in the Student Caree rProfile, verified by the employer(s) and submitted to CIMA for approval.

Course Structure

Foundat ion Level* 1 Financial Accounting Funda m e ntals

2 Manageme nt Account ing Fundamentals

3 a Eco no m ics for Busine ss

3 b Busine ss Law

3c Business Mathem atics

Int ermediat e Level4 Finance

5 Busine ss Taxa tio n

6 Financial Accounting

7 Financial Rep orting

8 Manageme nt Account ing PerformanceManagement

9 Manage me nt Accounting Decision Making

10 System s and Project Managem ent

11 Organisational Managem ent

Final Level 12 Mana ge m e nt Accounting Busine ss Strateg y

13 Ma nag e m e nt Acco unting Financial Strate gy

14 Managemen t Accounting Information Strateg y15 Mana ge m e nt Accounting Case Study

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Charte re d Institute o f Manage m e ntAcco untants (CIMA)

*Found ation Level pape rs m ust be sat by Com pute r Base d Asse ssme nt


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Entry Requirements

You must be age d 18 or over and meet a t least one of the following criteria: 2 Aleve ls and 3 GCSEs (5 separate subjects including English and Mathematics), CATLevel B (complete ), AAT (UK) Intermediate (complete ), BTEC National Certificate(any subject), Advance d GNVQ (any subject), NVQ Leve l 3/4 (any subject),Deg ree (from a recognised institution in any subject), ACCA Certified Diploma in

Accounting and Finance (complete). Alternatively, if these requirements are notmet, students over the age of 21 can apply for mature student entry.



(i) Com plete Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the ACCA exams within ten years (unless a

mature stude nt entrant). Mature stude nts have two years to pass papers

1.1 and 1.2 and the n ten years to com plete the remaining 12 p apers.

(ii) O bta in thre e ye ars re levan t supe rvise d p ractical e xpe rie nce .Course Structure

Part 1 1.1 Pre paring Financial State m e nts *

1.2 Finan cial Inform atio n for Mana ge m e nt *

1.3 Managing Peo ple

Part 2 2.1 Informa tion System s

2 .2 Corp orate an d Busine ss Law

2 .3 Busine ss Taxation

2.4 Financial Mana ge m e nt and Control

2 .5 Fina nc ial Re po rting

2 .6 Aud it and Inte rnal Review

Part 3 Op tions 3.1 Audit and Assurance

(any 2 of 4 papers**) 3 .2 Advance d Taxation

3.3 Performance Manage me nt

3.4 Busine ss Informa tion Mana ge m e nt

Core 3 .5 Strate gic Busine ss Plann ing and Deve lo pm e nt

3.6 Advanced Corpo rate Rep orting

3 .7 Strate gic Financial Ma nage m e nt

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Asso ciatio n o f Cha rte re d Ce rtifie dAcco untants (ACCA)

* Com pu ter base d e xam is available for pap e rs 1.1 a nd 1.2

* * Stud en ts w ishing to ob tain a Practising ce rtificate (aud it) in th e UK m ust p asspaper 3.1 (UK).


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Entry Requirements

No fo rmal qua lifica tio ns are

re qu ire d. Stude nts m ust

no rmally be a ge d 16 or over to

register.


Training can be und e rtake n in

any em ployme nt sector.

In o rde r to g ain th e qualifi-

catio n you will ne e d to:

(i) Co m plete Introd ucto ry, Inte rme d iate and Advance d leve ls (the re is no

time lim it).

(ii) Achieve co m pe ten ce in a num be r of function s re lating to wo rk

pe rfo rme d by acco unting te chnicians. This com pe ten ce can be

o btaine d e ithe r by achieving an NVQ 4 in Accounting o r by m e eting the

ACCAs pract ica l e xpe rie nce re quire m e nt.

Course Structure

Introductory Pap e r 1 Re co rding Finan cial Transa ction s*

Pape r 2 Information for Managem ent Control

Intermediate Pap er 3 Maintaining Financial Reco rds*

Paper 4 Account ing for Costs

Advanced Paper 5 Managing People and Sys tem s

Pap er 6 Drafting Financial Statem e nts*

Pape r 7 Planning, Control & Performance Managem ent

2 opt ions fromPape r 8 Imp lem enting Auditing Proced ures*

Pape r 9 Prep aring Taxation Com putations

Pap er 10 Cash Ma nage m en t and Cre dit Control

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Ce rtifie d Acco unting Te chnicians(CAT)

* Deno tes Internation al and UK ad ap ted stre am s available


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Entry Requirements

Basic lite racy an d num e racy. No e xam ina tio n p e rfo rma nce is re quire d .



(i) Successfully com plete the Edu cation a nd Training Schem e .

(ii) Have at le ast on e ye ar o f re levan t, ap prove d wo rk e xpe rie nce .

(iii) Have suitability fo r me m be rship and co m m itm e nt to the Associatio n.

Course Structure

Foundat ion Stage 1 Recording Income and Receipts

2 Making and Recording Payme nts

3 Pre paring Le dge r Balance s an d Initial Trial Balance

4 Supplying Information for Managem ent Control21 Working with Com pu ters

2 2 Hea lth & Safety

2 3 Achieving Pe rsona l Effe ctiven e ss

Int ermediat e Stage5 Maintaining Financial Re cords an d Pre pa ring Accounts

6 Reco rding and Evaluating Costs and Revenue s

7 Prep aring Rep orts and Returns

21 Working w ith Compute rs (if no t alread y obtaine d)

2 2 He alth & Safety (if no t alre ad y obt aine d)Technician Stage 8 Contributing to the Managem ent of Costs and

Enha nce m e nt o f Value

9 Contributing to the Planning an d Allocation o fResources

10 Mana ging Accounting System s

11 Drafting Financial State m e nts

2 2 He alth & Safety (if no t alre ad y obtaine d)

Opt ions (choose 2)15 Op e rating a Cash Manage m en t & Cred it Control

System

17 Im ple m e nting Auditing Pro ce du re s

18 Pre paring Busine ss Taxation Co m puta tio ns

19 Pre paring Personal Taxation Co m puta tio ns

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Asso ciatio n o f Acco untingTe chnicians (AAT)


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BPP Professional Education

BPP Ho use

Ald ine Place

142 -144 Uxbridg e Roa d

London

W12 8 AA

Tel: 0 2 0 8740 2 22 2

www.bpp.com

AAT

154 Cle rke nwe ll Road

London

EC1R 5 AD

Tel: 0 2 0 7 837 8 60 0

www.aat.co.uk

ACCA & CAT

ACCA Conn ect

2 Ce ntral Quay

8 9 Hydep ark Stre et

Glasg ow G3 8 BW

Te l: 0141 5 8 2 2 0 0 0

www.accaglobal.com

CIMA

2 6 Chapte r Stre et

London

SW1P 4 NP

Tel: 0 20 766 3 54 41

www.cimaglobal.com

ICAEW

Chartered Acco untan ts Hall

PO Box 4 3 3

London

EC2P 2BJ

Tel: 0 20 79 20 8100www.icaew.co.uk

ICAS

CA Hou se

21 Haym arke t Yards

Edinburgh

EH12 5 BH

Te l: 0131 3 47 010 0

www.icas.org.uk

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Use ful co ntacts


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www.bpp.com 13

Law +44 (0)161 728 1778

Linguarama +44 (0)20 7939 3200

MBA +44 (0)20 8740 2211

MPW +44 (0)20 7835 1355

Taxation +44 (0)20 7400 7722

Accountancy +44 (0)20 8740 2222

Actuarial +44 (0)1235 550009Financial Services +44 (0)20 7786 5900

Human Resources +44 (0)845 130 1334

Insolvency +44 (0)20 7400 7777

BPP Professional Education trains people for the global,professional economy byoffering exam-based courses and professional development programmes.

www.bpp.com


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Training Ce ntre s

BirminghamThird FloorCanterbury House83-85 Newhall StreetB3 1LH

T: 0121 212 4722E: [email protected]

BristolBPP HouseGrove AvenueQueen Square

BS1 4QY


Cambridge3rd FloorLion HouseLion YardCB2 3NA


Cardiff3rd Floor

Eastgate HouseNewport RoadCF24 0SB

T: 02920 473100E: [email protected]

Croydon2nd FloorCarolyn House26 Dingwall RoadCR0 9XF


Glasgow10th FloorSavoy Tower77 Renfrew Street

G2 3BZ


Leeds36 Park RowLS1 5JL


LiverpoolGround FloorAlbion HouseJames Street

L2 7XUT: 0151 236 9030E: [email protected]

Luton1st FloorChristchurch House40 Upper George StreetLU1 2RS


Lon do n, Farring do n5 Roberts PlaceEC1R 0BB

Lon do n, HolbornFaraday House48-51 Old Gloucester Street,WC1N 3AD


Lon do n, Lond on BridgeBecket House60-68 St Thomas StreetSE1 3QU

Lon do n, Shep herds BushBPP House142-144 Uxbridge RoadW12 8AA


Maidstone1st FloorSunley HouseMiddle RowHigh StreetME14 1TG


ManchesterGrd FloorBoulton HouseChorlton StreetM1 3HY


Newcastle

Gunner HouseNeville StreetNE1 5DF


Nottingham1st FloorPearl Assurance HouseFriar LaneNG1 6BT


OxfordThe Oxford Centre333 Banbury RoadOX2 7PL


ReadingQuadrant House20 Broad Street MallRG1 7QE


SouthamptonLandport House85-97 QueenswaySO14 3HJ


COURSES ALSO HELDIN THESE LOCATIONS

Derby 0115 924 2244

Dublin 00 3531 662 3395

Edinburgh 0141 332 7400

Guildford 0118 959 6166

Limerick00 3531 61 310 884

Milto n Keyn es 01582 413 332

Preston 0161 288 8000Sheffield 0113 244 8822

OFFSHORE LOCATIONS

Guernsey 01481 710 065

Isle of Ma n 01624 610 718

Jersey 01534 780 290

BPP is regularly opening new

centres.

Please call 020 8740 2222 or

visit www.bpp.com to see if we

have opened in your area.

BPP House142-144 Uxbridge RoadLondonW12 8AA

Tel: 020 8740 2222Fax: 020 8740 1111Email: [email protected]

www.bpp.com

Documents

Exploring the Myths