ACCA background but limited practical experience

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Evening all,

Need a little bit of advice and guidance towards gaining/refreshing my practical skills

I have been working in industry for a number of years and so have only ever been exposed to the accounting rules/regulations that my previous company had to follow. We never prepared the statutory accounts ourselves but once audited the firm would also prepare and file our stat accounts.

I am now at a new company which is much larger and more complicated and they prepare the statutory accounts themselves although still audited.

Its been a while since I touched on the areas involved in my studies so rather than pull out the old books I was wondering if anyone could point me towards the right direction in refeshing financial accounting and reporting knowledge. 

Any good UK websites, books, courses? Anything?

Appreciate any assistance and thanks in advance

Replies (7)

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By spilly
23rd Oct 2020 21:43

Would your employer be willing to fund any CPD you undertake?

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By Matrix
24th Oct 2020 08:09

I would look on ACCA, read accounting standards, go on a course. Probably hard to get practical experience if you are only going to be doing the accounts once a year.

I don’t know why you have posted anonymously on here though rather than discussing with your employer. Just wondering if you held yourself to be something you’re not when you took the job.

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By Mr_awol
24th Oct 2020 13:54

The problem is that most of the ‘update’ courses assume that you are (reasonably) up to date already.

Presumably to keep your ACCA qualification you ‘should’ have been doing a certain amount of CPE anyway, although you will of course have focussed on factors relevant to your job at the time.

The local training course operator did courses for ‘returners’ a few years back. Not sure if they do this every year but that sounds like the type of course which might be good for you

Edit: just seen matrix’s point about anon posting. Temping as it is to delete my reply, that seems to be almost as much of a dick move as posting anon in the first place - so this time I’ll ignore it and let the forum turn into a pile of (more frequently visited) rat [***] like John wants it to be.

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By Kelly O
24th Oct 2020 16:21

Look at last year's working files to see how they've been prepared in the past (maintain professional scepticism - they may not be entirely correct, and there may be more efficient ways of getting from TB to stats).

Ascertain which accounting framework is being used for the stats e.g. IFRS / FRS 102 / some foreign GAAP. If, for instance, you are using FRS 102 - read some articles around the particular quirks of the framework; you'll be able to find tables which show you the key differences between frameworks e.g. FRS 102 vs IFRS. Most frameworks follow the same basic principles but you do get differences, commonly with things like leases and intangibles.

Make sure you keep yourself up to date with any changes in accounting standards which apply to your framework.

Look at the stat accounts from the last couple of years, familiarise yourself with the accounting policies used, ensure that they are still applicable and that your company adheres to them throughout the reporting period.

For most of the above you'll usually find decent articles published online by accountancy bodies or large accountancy firms.

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By Paul Crowley
24th Oct 2020 17:53

Who does the tax?

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By tom123
25th Oct 2020 09:21

Are they preparing them on word or something?

Is it the quantum of the numbers you are worried about or the boiler plate text?

Doesn't seem an efficient use of time to bring the actual document prep in house fur a once a year activity?

Previous employer tried this and it was all such a pain.

What are your complex areas: loans, funding, fx, shares, interco?

Presumably you are happy with the basics of AR, AP, cash, stock, etc

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By the_drookit_dug
26th Oct 2020 10:48

I'd focus on your company's last set of accounts to see what sort of items you're dealing with. Anything you're unsure about, you can always ask the auditors for pointers.

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