Moving from an AAT qualification to ACCA

There are numerous accountancy qualifications and certifications that allow accountants to enhance their subject expertise and progress their career. Two of the most renowned certifying bodies are the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA).

If you have a qualification from AAT or are about to get certified by the body, you may be considering moving on to an ACCA certification. Read this blog to learn more about the benefits of pursuing ACCA, the transferring process and the career prospects after becoming ACCA qualified.

Why should you think of pursuing ACCA?

Becoming a full qualified ACCA member means joining the association’s global network, containing 219,000 members spread across 179 countries. Access to such an extensive group can allow you to interact with people from diverse professional and academic background, enhancing your networking skills and career prospects too.

The ACCA syllabus is also more comprehensive than AAT qualifications and covers a wide range of subjects including financial accounting, taxation, accounting regulations and law, and corporate accounting ethics. You can also cover key areas like strategic financial reporting to help you master important financial and business concepts.

Thousands of businesses across the world hire ACCA chartered certified accountants, owing to their excellent technical skills and subject expertise. Hence, transferring to ACCA with an AAT qualification can only help to enhance your business and career prospects.

Progression to ACCA from AAT

An AAT certification is usually your first step into the accounting world and does not require specific subject knowledge. At the end of your AAT certification, you would be familiar with basic accounting skills and knowledge such as financial planning and bookkeeping.

However, ACCA has a more advanced curriculum and is aimed at those looking to become a chartered certified accountant. To start the Applied Knowledge Level in ACCA, you need to have completed at least two A Levels and three GCSEs or a Level 3 AAT qualifications (Or equivalent).

ACCA has a broader and deeper coverage of accounting subjects such as corporate and business law, performance management and financial accounting. It therefore makes sense to progress to an ACCA qualification after your AAT if you want to acquire more subject expertise or move towards higher paying roles in the industry.

Exemptions in ACCA with an AAT qualification

One of the biggest advantages of progressing to an ACCA certification after your AAT are the AAT exemptions. ACCA offers many subject exemptions to AAT members which can help them to complete the qualification in a shorter space of time.

If you have a full AAT qualification, you are exempt from the following subjects:

• Accountant in Business (AB or F1)
• Management Accounting (MA or F2)
• Financial Accounting (FA or F3)

Cost of migrating to ACCA

Although it can be challenging studying for the ACCA exams, it is surprisingly affordable to move to ACCA after your AAT certification. You need to make an initial one-time registration payment of £79 along with an annual subscription fee of £112 with the ACCA. This cost is subject to change and does not include the cost of course materials and the exams.

What are the career prospects with an ACCA qualification?

The ACCA certification is considered as one of the most prestigious accounting qualifications in the world and can help you secure a well-paid accounting role in leading accounting firms or for well-known brands.

ACCA members can explore careers in any business domain as financial accountants, business accountants, management accountants, corporate treasurers, auditing officers, financial controllers, finance managers, insurance specialists or investment managers (to name a few!).

Even with an AAT qualification, you might find the preparation for your ACCA exams challenging as the difficulty level of the certification is higher than that of an AAT certification. Investing in an appropriate preparatory ACCA course can make the transition to the qualification much easier.

The London School of Business and Finance offer state-of-the-art ACCA online courses that can assist you in passing your ACCA exams at the first attempt. The ACCA online platform provides you with 24/7 access to courses and study materials trusted by 3 of the big 4 firms, to ensure you maximise your chances of success.

Click here to find out more about the ACCA online courses at LSBF.

This article is written by Sweha Hazari and edited by Amelia Hayward-Cole.