ATT/CTA

Have you looked into ACCA/CIMA as being a graduate you may receive exemptions if you studied a relevant degree.


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Thanks for your reply. I have looked into various qualifications.
I graduated with a degree in mathematics and physics so will not get any exemptions. Also I am looking for a role within tax (although one could do ACCA/CIMA and then do CTA afterwards).

If you're a graduate and want to do the CTA, have a look at grauate tax roles in accounting firms which offer the CTA. Most will probably be ACA, but there is a joint programme offered by some firms too.

The normal CTA route will take you 3 years, as will the ACA. The joint route takes about 5 years to complete.

There's no point in doing the AAT since you're a graduate, unless you want to see if accountancy is right for you.

Thanks for your reply.
The ACA/CTA joint route is something that I would like to do. However if a training contract offers ATT then i will do it providing there is an opportunity to study CTA. (the AAT and ATT are two different qualifications)

Sorry I meant ATT. Either way, they're both at the same level. You won't find training contracts for ATT as a graduate - these sorts of contracts are usually meant for school leavers after A levels. Best to go straight into a CTA or ACA training contract - it's a waste of 2 years otherwise and may not even be open to you as you'll be over qualified. If you want to do the ATT beforehand though, you can do it as an independent student.

Sorry I meant ATT. Either way, they're both at the same level. You won't find training contracts for ATT as a graduate - these sorts of contracts are usually meant for school leavers after A levels. Best to go straight into a CTA or ACA training contract - it's a waste of 2 years otherwise and may not even be open to you as you'll be over qualified. If you want to do the ATT beforehand though, you can do it as an independent student.

Futhermore to do the CTA direct tax route (corporate/personal tax) you need to have some prior qualification (either ACA/ATT etc) where as for indirect route (VAT) you can take the CTA directly.

The ATT to CTA route sounds good, but is it a grad training contract? I personally would do the ACA to CTA route for versatility, it will take roughly the same amount of time as ATT to CTA, but you'll get a more advanced and versatile qualification.

Sorry I wasn't aware about the corporate tax condition ( I work in audit and am doing the ACA, not tax).

Hi

I am a recent graduate who is looking to study ATT/CTA. Can someone please tell me roughly the time it takes to become qualified.

In my personal view, ATT is waste of time and money. I wouldnt waste your valuable time for something pointless.

My firm offered graduates a three year route to joint ACA & CTA qualification, so it is possible. The attrition rate was high though, and I think they've changed their approach now.

What was the attrition rate high? Was that due to exam fails?

I think exam fails combined with the stress of everything. The ACA qualification is relatively challenging, particularly the professional level. The CTA papers are a whole different beast altogether -- there have been sittings where the pass rate has been in the 30-40% range (and you only need 50% of the marks to pass). Combine the two together, condense it into a three year period, and try to complete that whilst also meeting your commitments at work, and many people burn out.

Ultimately I think it caused a burn out rate that was unproductive for the firm because there were people who had a lot to offer professionally who struggled with the exams for various reasons who would be forced to leave due to their contract, and on the other side of the equation there are those who pass the exams without difficulty who are not high achievers in the workplace. I don't think that the correlation between exam performance and professional performance was at all strong enough to justify such a challenging set of qualifications being the determining factor as to who was worth keeping and who should be let go.