Accountiancy Courses

clevtrev

I am a (operations) manager within a medium sized construction related firm which is rapidly downsizing. The MD has decided that we can no longer support a full time accountant and I have been asked to fill the role (as well as my own). I have pleaded a case for keeping the accountant but the financial situation is such that it is hard to argue.

I have a b.comm (which is getting a bit rusty) but have never really had much involvement with the practical day to day running of the finance function i.e. tax/paye, bank recs, maintaining the accounting system, generating management accounts etc. The current finance team is an ACCA plus an admin assistant who does some of the lighter tax reporting and maintains the creditor and debtor books.

Are there any practical courses out there that would get me up and running fairly rapidly. Was looking at the accounting technician but Im not really sure its at the right level and haven't come across people who have done it? Some of the night courses on offer seem fairly basic and targeted at one man bands with no finance expertise. The ACCA and ACA are a bit frightening in terms of work load for what I need. Really a one year night course with a practical focus is what is needed?

Any suggestions welcome

Snowdrop

Hi, I am an accounting technician now working for myself. You would probably learn the basics of what you need on the accountancy technician course but that will take a long time and you need to get up and running quickly. It is a great qualification and a very good foundation, but there is no substitute for practical experience.

I did the course years ago but have worked my way up by gaining experience and would be considered to be qualified by experience. This however took a very long time.

I recommend that in the short term you should get some training in house, on the systems you will be using. Some one who can go through all the processes with you, get you started and give you assistance as and when required.

Once you have all the basics of your own systems and routines and keep everything up to date, producing the management accounts should be relatively straightforward. Use the same format as before.

What part of the country are you in? If I can recommend someone local, I will.

If you need more advice, feel free to PM me.

DUBACC

clevtrev wrote: »

I am a (operations) manager within a medium sized construction related firm which is rapidly downsizing. The MD has decided that we can no longer support a full time accountant and I have been asked to fill the role (as well as my own). I have pleaded a case for keeping the accountant but the financial situation is such that it is hard to argue.

I have a b.comm (which is getting a bit rusty) but have never really had much involvement with the practical day to day running of the finance function i.e. tax/paye, bank recs, maintaining the accounting system, generating management accounts etc. The current finance team is an ACCA plus an admin assistant who does some of the lighter tax reporting and maintains the creditor and debtor books.

Are there any practical courses out there that would get me up and running fairly rapidly. Was looking at the accounting technician but Im not really sure its at the right level and haven't come across people who have done it? Some of the night courses on offer seem fairly basic and targeted at one man bands with no finance expertise. The ACCA and ACA are a bit frightening in terms of work load for what I need. Really a one year night course with a practical focus is what is needed?

Any suggestions welcome

While i understand the cashflow issues facing every company, disposing of the company accountant is a reckless move - unfortunately a lot of MD's dont really grasp the importance of such a role.

To answer your question OP, to start from scratch yourself would take far too long. Have a word with the company auditors - they should be able to 'coach' you through dealing with month-ends and wages at least.

kluivert

FAS doing a two part 10 week course.

Its basic to be honest but you should get the fundamentals.