SIMON GROOM EXPLAINS HOW THE ATT COULD PROVIDE YOUR FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD OF TAX QUALIFICATIONS
In today’s economic environment, professional qualifications are increasingly important from whichever angle you look at it. If you are starting out in your tax career, a professional qualification gives you an externally recognised stamp of approval that will enhance your career prospects, either within your current firm or in a new role.
If you are an employer supporting your staff through professional exams, they provide a foundation of knowledge on which to build your own practical, on-the-job training, as well as motivating and improving morale.
Potential benefits
So, if qualifications are so beneficial why don’t more people take them?
I suppose there are some obvious reasons – the cost, the work and ‘what about my social life?’ But then again, if it was that easy it wouldn’t be worth having.
So if there was a professional qualification that recognised all of these issues, without devaluing its reputation, as well as opening up additional possibilities for furthering your career, wouldn’t it be worth considering?
The one I have in mind is that offered by the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT).
The ATT was formed in 1989 and is currently preparing for its 21st birthday celebrations this year. It has over 10,500 members, affiliates and registered students, and is widely recognised as the leading professional body for those providing tax compliance services and related activities in the UK.
The examinations set by the ATT are widely recognised within the tax profession as an excellent foundation on which to build a tax career. Most qualifications require you to sit more than one examination, sometimes to be taken at the same time, in order to be successful. Often, passing one of these papers gives you nothing; it is only when you have the complete set that you achieve your final goal.
When the ATT introduced its new examination structure in 2007, it was mindful of these issues. The increased pace of life frequently means that there is little time in which to fit studying. And where the demands of work and family responsibilities meet, there are often few opportunities for the additional burden of studying for a professional qualification.
Students no longer want to have to sit examination papers all at the same time and don’t want to face the risk of passing some, but not all papers and ending up with nothing.
What’s the difference?
The new ATT examination structure addressed these concerns and introduced a modular examination system whereby papers could be sat together or one at a time, giving students the opportunity to study at their own pace.
But not only that, the ATT decided to recognise the achievement of passing individual papers by way of a system of certificates of competency.
Before we go further, let’s look at what is on offer from the ATT’s examination structure. There are seven papers:
Papers 1, 2 and 7 are referred to as the core papers, with papers 3, 4, 5 and 6 being the option papers. To achieve full membership, candidates must sit and pass the three core papers and one of the option papers. In addition, candidates must satisfy the practical experience requirements (full details of these, as well as the credit on offer for anyone who has passed AAT Unit 18, can be found on the ATT website at www.att.org.uk.)
This combination of papers means that candidates who qualify for membership have a thorough grounding in all of the major taxes and have demonstrated that they have achieved a certain level of ability in a specialist area.
Proof of competency
But what if you don’t want to sit four papers? That’s fine; if you are only interested in one area of tax you have the opportunity to sit just one paper and be awarded a certificate of competency if you are successful. While this does not confer membership of the ATT, it is a recognised achievement in its own right and provides a stepping stone to full ATT membership.
If circumstances change and you decide that you want to study other areas of tax, you can try for another certificate of competency. The added benefit of this is that if you ever decide that you wish to aspire to full membership you already have one or two of the papers under your belt.
Another possibility for the certificates is to use them as part of the continuing professional development (CPD) requirements for another professional body. You can choose any of the papers and as well as satisfying CPD requirements you gain yourself a qualification from a respected professional body in the process.
What’s more, if you do pass all four papers, and you still have a desire for more exams, success at ATT provides a stepping stone for you to progress to the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s CTA examinations. And if you’re interested in international tax there’s always the Advanced Diploma in International Taxation. The possibilities are endless …
In conclusion
To me, the ATT’s examination structure ticks all the boxes in terms of flexibility and recognition, and it helps candidates to balance all of the different demands that are placed upon them. Why not have a look?
If you are interested in the ATT examinations you should read the prospectus.
