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An Accounting Technician qualification enables you to work in a wide variety of jobs such as Accounts Administration, Assistant Accountant, Audit Assistant, Budget Officer, Cash Manager, Cost Assistant, Credit Controller, Executive Officer, Insolvency Assistant, Payroll Manager, Stock Controller, Systems Administrator and others.
In addition, the Accounting Technician qualification provides those already working in a business environment, but without a formal qualification, with recognised competence and upward mobility.
The work of an Accounting Technician
What makes a good Accounting Technician
How to become an Accounting Technician
Job Opportunities and Earnings
Case History
Where to Study
The Work of an Accounting Technician
Accounting Technicians are highly skilled support staff, who work under the supervision of a professional qualified accountant or on their own, in senior positions, carrying out duties that were once the domain of the professional accountant. Their skills are required in the fields of accountancy - financial and management - and they are widely employed in the three accountancy settings: public sector, industry and commerce and the private practice. Their duties vary according to the setting in which they are employed and according to their role within that setting.For those involved in financial accounting, duties may include carrying out internal audits of the accounts system, managing credit control systems, recording sales and purchase transactions, dealing with payroll, stock control, invoicing and payment.
Technicians also work as members of the audit team - checking whether a company's accounts are being properly maintained. They then give advice on book-keeping and gather information that will help the professional accountant advise clients on matters such as insolvency, receiverships, tax planning and trusteeship.
The duties of technicians working in management accounting involve analysing and collating financial and statistical information and writing reports on their findings for business managers. They produce reports on a regular basis, assess elements of a company's business and advise on aspects of computerised systems.
The technician's work is usually desk based and involves routine use of computers and calculators.
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What makes a good Accounting Technician?
An accounting technician needs to:- Be accurate and interested in detail
- Be able to work methodically and quickly
- Be able to analyse financial information and interpret the result for others
- Be computer literate
- Have good oral and written communication skills
- Have a good knowledge of accountancy and business law
- Be able to work as part of a team
- Be able to work on his or her own and take responsibility
How to become an Accounting Technician
There are two accountancy bodies in Ireland that offer routes to qualify as an Accounting Technician.The Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland, IATI, was founded in 1983 and is the partner body of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Its designatory letters are MIATI - members of the Institute of Accounting Technicians of Ireland - and its primary task is to meet the demands of its 20,931 members and 4,799 students. To be eligible it is necessary to have completed satisfactorily the required examinations, the computer assessment and recorded work experience of two years duration.
IATI offers the following qualifying routes to those who register as student members.
(i) School Leavers can enrol on a two-year full-time programme leading to the IATI examinations i.e. Foundations and Admission examinations. These courses are offered in some seventy institutions throughout Ireland, in Institutes of Technology, VEC Colleges offering PLC courses, Private Colleges, Fas Centres and Adult Education Centres. A list is available from IATI.
Entry requirements for 2001 for those wishing to enrol as student members of the IATI are as follows:
- Leaving Certificate - 5 passes on ordinary level papers at grade D or better, or 4 passes of which at least two are on higher-level papers at grade D or better. Passes must be obtained in English and at least one subject from Mathematics (an overall distinction in Leaving Cert. Applied is now accepted) or Accountancy.
- GCSE Northern Ireland - 5 passes in subjects at grades not lower than grade C. Passes must be obtained in English and in at least one subject from Mathematics or Accountancy.
(iii) People already working can register with the Institute and proceed to take examinations using the service of one of the wide range of part-time courses, which are available locally throughout Ireland. Centres offering these courses include Adult Education Centres, VEC Colleges, Institutes of Technology and DIT. A list is available from IATI.
(iv) Persons over 21 years of age with approved relevant experience may make an application for enrolment as a student on the basis of their age and experience rather than on their educational attainments. This facility is often helpful to those people returning to work after an absence.
(v) A distance education course offers yet another route to qualification.
All enquiries about exemption on the grounds of experience or prior learning should be made to Geraldine Lynch (Tel. 01-6377363). Those wishing to take examinations in 2002 must have applications for exemptions in before October 20th, 2001.
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Job Opportunities and Earnings
Because of the present booming economic climate, demand for accounting technicians has never been as strong. Alan Honan, a consultant with the Accountants Panel, reports that in the present economic climate there is a huge demand for Accounting Technicians. Susan Wallace, Promotions and Marketing Officer of ACCA echoed this. "Current demand for Accounting Technicians is high", she said.Salary: £15,000 - £28,000
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Case History
Bernard Cullen M.I.A.T.I. works at present as a Senior Corporation Tax trainee with Ernst & Young. He did his Leaving Certificate in St. Thomas' Community College, Bray, Co. Wicklow in 1993. Following this he went to Trinity College where he did a degree in Mathematics.While in college he spent a lot of time thinking about what career path to take and what skills employers were seeking at that time. His research led him to choose a career in the business/financial field and to the awareness of the importance of skills transferability and subject diversity as selection criteria for this sector. With this criteria in mind he progressed from his mathematics degree to an Accounting Technician course in Senior College, Dun Laoghaire.
He chose to do the course in Senior College, Dun Laoghaire because of the college's excellent reputation as a provider of the IAITI Accounting Technician course. Here he gained competence in preparation of financial statements, personal and corporate tax computations, cost accounting, cash reconciliation, budgets and the production of reports. In addition to these core areas, he also got a thorough grounding in the use of information and communications technology.
During his two-year course in Senior College, Dun Laoghaire, Bernard distinguished himself on two occasions - in the 1998 IATI Foundation Examination he got third place in Ireland and in the 1999 IATI Admission Examination he got first place in Ireland.
After qualifying as an Accounting Technician he entered into a training contract with Horwath Bastow Charleton as a trainee Tax Consultant. During his time in Senior College, Dun Laoghaire he discovered that his favourite subject was Taxation. This discovery led him to investigating what career possibilities were available in the area. He liked the idea of advising clients on how to reduce their tax liabilities and he also liked the idea of a job for life that the field of taxation would guarantee - regardless of fluctuations in the economy we will always have to pay taxes.
It takes three years to qualify as a Tax Consultant. Qualification as an Accounting Technician entitled Bernard to exemption from three subjects of part 1 of the Institute of Taxation Examination. In May 2000 he sat one paper (Capital Gains Tax) of the Part 1 Examination. In June 2000 he moved to one of the Big 5 Accountancy Firms, Ernst & Young, to pursue a career in corporate tax consultancy. Since he joined Ernst &Young he has gained experience in managing the tax affairs of five of the world's largest technology companies, which are listed, on both the Irish and NASDAQ stock exchanges.
Bernard considers that the promotional prospects in this career area are very good and consequently he expects to move to a management position within the next three years.
The Ups of the Career
- The qualification opens the door to many business areas
- Subject Diversity
- Skills Transferability
- Good Remuneration
- Study Leave for Professional Exams
- Good Promotional Prospects
- Commitment/Dedication required to pass Professional Exams
Where to Study
An arrangement is in place with the partner body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, whereby those who achieve high standards in the IATI examinations may become students of the Chartered body. They receive exemptions from the first of its four examinations and from a further subject in the next stage. They can then take a professional examination with a view to qualification as a Chartered Accountant. Other options for further study open to IATI Technicians include a qualification in taxation, marketing and computers at degree or diploma levels.It is important to note that, in some cases, examining bodies will grant exemptions only to people who have actually sat and passed all IAITI examinations. They may refuse exemptions in subjects in which the applicant was exempted from the relevant IATI paper.
The ACCA Accounting Technician Body
The ACCA Accounting Technician Body was launched in September 1997 and, like its partner body, ACCA, it operates on the basis of open entry which means that anyone 16 years or older can enrol for this qualification.
There are nine examinations, split into three levels: Foundation, Certificate and Professional. There is no time limit to completing these examinations. The first two levels can be sat by computer-based examinations, allowing one to receive results instantly on conclusion of each examination.
As well as completing the examinations, relevant work experience of one years duration is required for the technician qualification C.A.T. (Certified Accounting Technician). A wide variety of work environments are acceptable and students can switch jobs and business sectors during training, thereby widening their experience.
Exemptions are given to students who have previously studied Accountancy (at NCEA, NCVA or other levels) or worked in Accountancy. Each individual case is assessed for the purpose of granting exemptions.
Completion of the Technician examinations will offer automatic transfer to the ACCA professional examinations, allowing exemption for the foundation stage of the ACCA professional qualification.
In order to prepare for the ACCA Accounting Technician examinations one can study by day or by evening at a College or University, or one may study privately using the various materials available (which are listed periodically in the Accountancy Technician Bulletin and Students Newsletter).
Colleges offering courses of study for the ACCA CAT qualification include the Institutes of Technology in Athlone, Tralee, Cork and Waterford, Rathmines Senior College, Rossan College, Ashfield College, H.S.I. College, Limerick, BPP Lad Lane Business School, Western Management Centre, Galway, FAS training Centre, Dundalk.
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