Registered AITI Tax Qualification Info and Questions

Aisling(",) · 22-10-2020 10:13am

mariussulla1977 wrote: »

Hi Folks

I have a rusty LLB in Irish Law from 2002 and I an considering doing the CTA exams as a path back into the Corporate World.

Would love some advice on whether it is achievable if you have no experience in accounting and what would be the career prospects of the qualification. Found Law easy enough but I have never studied Accounting in any form.

Is it waste of time for me to head down that path?

I can't really comment on career options from the course because I'm doing it as a civil servant.

On the accounting note they start properly at the very beginning and it is doable. I didn't even do business in school and I have a media degree so it was all new to me and I did grand.

NoraG · 22-10-2020 11:54am

mariussulla1977 wrote: »

Hi Folks

I have a rusty LLB in Irish Law from 2002 and I an considering doing the CTA exams as a path back into the Corporate World.

Would love some advice on whether it is achievable if you have no experience in accounting and what would be the career prospects of the qualification. Found Law easy enough but I have never studied Accounting in any form.

Is it waste of time for me to head down that path?

A lot of my friends have completed the CTA without an accounting background and are doing great

Will Yam · 22-10-2020 4:52pm

mariussulla1977 wrote: »

Hi Folks

I have a rusty LLB in Irish Law from 2002 and I an considering doing the CTA exams as a path back into the Corporate World.

Would love some advice on whether it is achievable if you have no experience in accounting and what would be the career prospects of the qualification. Found Law easy enough but I have never studied Accounting in any form.

Is it waste of time for me to head down that path?

It largely depends on your own ambitions and circumstances.

I don’t believe that ever getting a further qualification is a waste of time.

Like you, I came very late to tax. I had an ancient b.comm and a lot of business, but not tax or accounting experience.

I have a general interest in tax and thought I might do the course. 2 things prompted me to jump in - 1. My accountant made a horlicks of my tax and I ended up doing it myself and 2. I mentioned to a colleague that I was thinking of doing it and she responded that I would never be able to get the exams.

2 years later I went back to her with my cert.............

It is a bit of a disadvantage not having tax/accounting experience but by no means insuperable. I made a friend on the course who worked with Revenue and he helped me a lot.

So when it was all over, I started a (very) small practice (more as a hobby really), only doing personal tax returns (paye + rental income), writing articles on tax, teaching it at basic level.

So, go for it!

StevenToast · 22-10-2020 9:59pm

jim292 wrote: »

Hi Everyone, hope you are all keeping well and staying safe! Just looking for a bit of advice. Completed my ACA exams in 2016, and currently working in an accounting role for a US multinational. Recently I have had a lot exposure to VAT returns & corporate tax returns for the international entities that I am looking after and this has sparked an interest in pursuing a professional tax qualification.

I am torn between the CTA and the CTC (Chartered Accountants Tax Qualification). I know the CTA is the industry norm & more reputable qualification in Ireland but I am just worried as the CTA looks like a lot more time consuming as there is 4 exams versus 2 exams for CTC. I will not be getting much study leave and will be expected to keep up my usual workload, so plan would be to get a lot of the study done in the evenings/weekends, is this realistic? How many weeks study leave is the norm for the CTA part 2 exams?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

In my place of work Normal study leave for part 2 exams would be 1 week per exam plus the week of the exam (5 weeks total).

Part 3s are then 7 weeks leave....

Happy4all · 22-10-2020 10:56pm

jim292 wrote: »

Thanks StevenToast.

I would be getting max 2 weeks study leave before and the week of the exam - has anyone an experience of taking the part 2s with this amount do study leave?

If you can make enough time to study in evening well in advance, you should be fine. I somehow done them only taking the Friday before exam week off.

Aisling(",) · 23-10-2020 1:22pm

Has anyone who registered for the CTA's in the last few weeks been set their payment details or confirmation of enrolling?
I've got the money for the Part 3's ready to go but its burning a hole in my pocket and I want it gone.

Orwilsin · 22-02-2021 1:47pm

Aisling(",) wrote: »

Has anyone who registered for the CTA's in the last few weeks been set their payment details or confirmation of enrolling?
I've got the money for the Part 3's ready to go but its burning a hole in my pocket and I want it gone.

How are you finding Part 3? I’m also sitting them in May and feel completely swamped!

Citizen2011 · 22-02-2021 1:51pm

Orwilsin wrote: »

How are you finding Part 3? I’m also sitting them in May and feel completely swamped!

Yeah it’s like Part 2 x 10.

The volume is unreal.

Orwilsin · 22-02-2021 2:02pm

Citizen2011 wrote: »

Yeah it’s like Part 2 x 10.

The volume is unreal.

Yeah, same! And there isn’t much support, we just have to keep afloat ourselves!

NoraG · 22-02-2021 2:07pm

Orwilsin wrote: »

How are you finding Part 3? I’m also sitting them in May and feel completely swamped!

It is information overload ðŸ™ˆ. They have changed the Domestic lecturer to Sarah Finnegan who is brilliant. She lectures the professional advice and her explanations are brilliant. Well worth watching her lectures as she pulls it all together. We have 11 weeks from today so we should get the heads down. Make a plan and follow it the best you can, that is what I have been doing.

Citizen2011 · 22-02-2021 2:13pm

That seems to be very much the approach. We need to be our own Managers to get us through to passing. I'm going to have to take a swerve on a lot of the Transfer pricing stuff, International developemnts etc. I can't see having the time to delve into a load of theory. It's hard enough to learn the Revenue Audit Guide and that's a guaranteed question on Professional Advice.

A lecturer said tecently on a topic and he was so right we need to have our thinking done well in advance before going into the exam. Especially with the DTA it's so important to get the right perspective on which side you're looking at a person's status from etc.

For the international secondment scenarios - try thinking of as many people you know personally that are abroad or are back etc just to frame it and get the perspective right. It's one question that it could unravel quickly if there's doubt in your mind, the clock ticking.

NoraG · 22-02-2021 2:46pm

Citizen2011 wrote: »

That seems to be very much the approach. We need to be our own Managers to get us through to passing. I'm going to have to take a swerve on a lot of the Transfer pricing stuff, International developemnts etc. I can't see having the time to delve into a load of theory. It's hard enough to learn the Revenue Audit Guide and that's a guaranteed question on Professional Advice.

A lecturer said tecently on a topic and he was so right we need to have our thinking done well in advance before going into the exam. Especially with the DTA it's so important to get the right perspective on which side you're looking at a person's status from etc.

For the international secondment scenarios - try thinking of as many people you know personally that are abroad or are back etc just to frame it and get the perspective right. It's one question that it could unravel quickly if there's doubt in your mind, the clock ticking.

Sarah mentioned important chapters in the code of practice such as chapter 2. I don’t think you need to know the full code. It is important to watch the masterclasses, such as on secondments and how it is explained. I watch it live, but to be honest there is not much time to take notes, so when I get a chance I rewatch them and it all comes together. It is terrifying right now!

Citizen2011 · 22-02-2021 2:55pm

Thanks. I will replay the masterclasses. It is terrifying alright but i think the key is to slow it down on the day. Wouldn't ya just love to have Sarah's brain going into the exams!

NoraG · 22-02-2021 3:04pm

Citizen2011 wrote: »

Thanks. I will replay the masterclasses. It is terrifying alright but i think the key is to slow it down on the day. Wouldn't ya just love to have Sarah's brain going into the exams!

Sure would ha ha

Aisling(",) · 26-02-2021 3:14pm

The part 3's are killing me.If I somehow pass these it's a miracle.

I'm delighted the domestic lecturer has changed.I don't doubt she's a great mind but she couldn't teach at all.
CT is my downfall and I was weak on losses,interest,royalties etc at part 2 so that is haunting me now.

I think indirect taxes will be doable and I'm really trying to get secondments down because that'd be good to have for professional skills and international taxes. Domestic is my white whale.Though we still have 10 weeks and I've got 4 weeks off to really focus myself.

If I get manage to get these exams on this sitting I will never ever ever do another tax related qualification.Not a single cert or diploma!

StevenToast · 26-02-2021 3:29pm

Aisling(",) wrote: »

The part 3's are killing me.If I somehow pass these it's a miracle.

I'm delighted the domestic lecturer has changed.I don't doubt she's a great mind but she couldn't teach at all.
CT is my downfall and I was weak on losses,interest,royalties etc at part 2 so that is haunting me now.

I think indirect taxes will be doable and I'm really trying to get secondments down because that'd be good to have for professional skills and international taxes. Domestic is my white whale.Though we still have 10 weeks and I've got 4 weeks off to really focus myself.

If I get manage to get these exams on this sitting I will never ever ever do another tax related qualification.Not a single cert or diploma!

If you get these part 3s...you will never need another qualification again!

NoraG · 26-02-2021 4:59pm

Aisling(",) wrote: »

The part 3's are killing me.If I somehow pass these it's a miracle.

I'm delighted the domestic lecturer has changed.I don't doubt she's a great mind but she couldn't teach at all.
CT is my downfall and I was weak on losses,interest,royalties etc at part 2 so that is haunting me now.

I think indirect taxes will be doable and I'm really trying to get secondments down because that'd be good to have for professional skills and international taxes. Domestic is my white whale.Though we still have 10 weeks and I've got 4 weeks off to really focus myself.

If I get manage to get these exams on this sitting I will never ever ever do another tax related qualification.Not a single cert or diploma!

I had to laugh at your last paragraph and I would say it is the same for everyone!
Just a heads up on interest, royalties and dividends, which worked for me. I read Chapter 6, without looking at legislation, about 2 weeks ago, I re read it last night and tagged the legislation and felt that chapter 6 brought it all together as it explains why and how to use the exemptions.

Deckyalrite · 06-03-2021 4:46pm

Advanced Direct Tax is a bit of a struggle for me as mentioned before the content is so far-reaching. Struggling a bit with with the whole restructures/amalgamations, just don't have enough practice experience on it. also hard to know where to start with the Group losses. Was ace at it in Part 2's but seem to manage to make a mess of it in Group structures.

Can people advise if Sarah Finnegan is now doing bot the lectures and masterclasses on this. Found her brilliant in Professional Advice lectures.

I am a repeat student so zero access to lecture content and have given the institute enough money over the years.

If anybody was willing to give me access to the lectures to download some of the content of these masterclasses I can make it worth their while and would be greatly appreciated.

KMPT · 14-03-2021 3:08pm

Hi All.
I'm thinking of doing Part One. I am from a law background in my studies and I am currently doing a Masters in Business Management. No accounting or tax subjects though. How difficult do you think Part One is for non-accounting graduates? If you don't mind, can you explain what to expect in Part One please? Many thanks in advance.

NoraG · 14-03-2021 4:27pm

KMPT wrote: »

Hi All.
I'm thinking of doing Part One. I am from a law background in my studies and I am currently doing a Masters in Business Management. No accounting or tax subjects though. How difficult do you think Part One is for non-accounting graduates? If you don't mind, can you explain what to expect in Part One please? Many thanks in advance.

As a law student you should have no problem in doing Part 1s. You should be able to get an exemption from part 1s, but if you have no accounting background I would advise you to actually study and sit for them. If you go on the tax institute page you will find their guide which explains what will be covered in each part.

Aisling(",) · 15-03-2021 4:54pm

KMPT wrote: »

Hi All.
I'm thinking of doing Part One. I am from a law background in my studies and I am currently doing a Masters in Business Management. No accounting or tax subjects though. How difficult do you think Part One is for non-accounting graduates? If you don't mind, can you explain what to expect in Part One please? Many thanks in advance.

Part 1 subjects are
Law,Accounting, Business and personal taxes,Capital Taxes.

You'll fly through law since you have the background and its quite basic.This means you only have three subjects to properly learn.Capital taxes has a lesser workload that the other subjects too and is more straightforward.
I did well in the accounting despite having no experience,I didn't even do business in school.It's doable.

I will just say be careful with your timing.Part 2 is easily double the part 1 workload and if those exams will fall while you're still doing your masters it could be a struggle. Part 3's are also probably double the part 2 workload so be prepared for a big jump.

Orwilsin · 12-04-2021 12:28pm

Hi,

I know this a really basic question re Part 3 but what are people doing in regards to the Tax Acts? I did Part 2 last year and have all my Act books tabbed and highlighted etc and now I have the updated version with Finance Act 2019, I find i'm flicking between them. Sorry about the silly question, its just I don't know anyone else doing these exams, any help to make my time more efficient would be great!

NoraG · 12-04-2021 10:18pm

Orwilsin wrote: »

Hi,

I know this a really basic question re Part 3 but what are people doing in regards to the Tax Acts? I did Part 2 last year and have all my Act books tabbed and highlighted etc and now I have the updated version with Finance Act 2019, I find i'm flicking between them. Sorry about the silly question, its just I don't know anyone else doing these exams, any help to make my time more efficient would be great!

I believe the institute said you can have both years with you for the exam, but just be careful with the new changes to the new Act.

Orwilsin · 13-04-2021 11:58pm

Oh great, thanks! Didn't see that anywhere and thought I was going to have start re-tabbing my updated Act books....which is the last thing I need!

Aisling(",) · 14-04-2021 12:49am

Orwilsin wrote: »

Hi,

I know this a really basic question re Part 3 but what are people doing in regards to the Tax Acts? I did Part 2 last year and have all my Act books tabbed and highlighted etc and now I have the updated version with Finance Act 2019, I find i'm flicking between them. Sorry about the silly question, its just I don't know anyone else doing these exams, any help to make my time more efficient would be great!

I've tabbed the new acts.
Passed a decent bit of time a few months back doing them.

My TCA is now at the point where I'm selectively tagging it because it's looking like a peacock with all the colours.

I've very little tabbed in the VATCA and CATCA.
The contents, index and section titles are so much easier to use thankfully.

Orwilsin · 14-04-2021 12:56am

Aisling(",) wrote: »

I've tabbed the new acts.
Passed a decent bit of time a few months back doing them.

My TCA is now at the point where I'm selectively tagging it because it's looking like a peacock with all the colours.

I've very little tabbed in the VATCA and CATCA.
The contents, index and section titles are so much easier to use thankfully.

A peacock, haha!!!

NoraG · 06-05-2021 9:26pm

Good luck everyone next week I hope it goes well for everyone ðŸ€ž

KEANOJ · 18-05-2021 2:29am

Hey I was wondering if anyone has the past papers/solutions for
Part 3 from 2010-2015?

Happy to pay for them.

NoraG · 18-05-2021 10:33am

KEANOJ wrote: »

Hey I was wondering if anyone has the past papers/solutions for
Part 3 from 2010-2015?

Happy to pay for them.

I do not, but they tell you not to go too far back because of changes in legislation

Citizen2011 · 18-05-2021 3:38pm

How do you think last week went? It was a gruelling build up and the week itself was heavy going. Not too happy with Friday Professional Advice.

Registered AITI Tax Qualification Info and Questions

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