CTA After ACA

Is the qualification necessary for me?

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Hi

I'm a recently qualified ACA in a small/medium practice, and always had the intention of studying CTA afterwards to improve my tax knowledge. My concern however is that I'd be putting myself through the stress of extra exams without knowing how much benefit it will give to my day to day work.

I enjoy the work I do (accounts, VAT returns, audit) and the size of clients I work with, but I don't really see the process right through to the end so to speak. I liaise with clients in order to prepare their accounts and get them to a point where they are ready for submission, but I don't meet with clients to discuss the accounts and tax implications, complete the CT600's, directors personal tax returns, etc. For this reason I feel that much of the tax knowledge I gained during the ACA has somewhat lapsed as I rarely put it into practice. I'm therefore conscious that the same would happen if I studied for the CTA, and that the knowledge would be wasted.

I do anticipate progressing over the next few years to the point where I would actually be the one who is meeting with clients to present their accounts and discuss tax planning options with them, at which point I assume the CTA knowledge would become useful. I guess my question then is should I pursue the CTA qualification now whilst I'm still more of a 'doer', or would it be more sensible to wait until I'm actually in a more senior position and would be making more use of the knowledge. Or is it not necessary at all, is ACA level tax knowledge enough to get by on when discussing tax matters with clients?

Thanks in advance

Replies (18)

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By chicken farmer
20th Sep 2019 09:17

In a small/medium sized practice, you really need to be an all-rounder and have a good knowledge of all taxes. My suggestion would be to sit the ATT exams now and if at some point in the future you decide to specialise in tax, then sit the CIOT exams.

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Replying to chicken farmer:
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By Matrix
20th Sep 2019 09:24

I would imagine that the ATT syllabus is included in ACA so I don’t see the point of doing ATT?

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By Wes90
20th Sep 2019 12:33

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I agree, it's that rounded skill set that I want to get to be able to offer a range of advice rather than having to pass a client on when they ask me a more complex tax question.

I've not really considered (perhaps ignorantly) the ATT exams, as I could theoretically have the CTA exams done in 12-18 months with my exemptions. I believe I just need to sit one written paper (plus the law & ethics computer exams) for ATT, so I'm not sure how much value this would add for me.

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Replying to Wes90:
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By weuk
24th Sep 2019 12:14

Wes

This is very similar to what I went through a year or two ago. Unlike you, I had the benefit of completing the tasks from A to Z (at work).

The tax legislation changes so quickly, as others have stated, the knowledge becomes obsolete within a year but then there are parts of that knowledge-the principles-which do not really change. Furthermore, you get to acquire a new set of skills-how to approach an issue-which somehow end up giving you confidence,when at work.

I could have easily claimed the exemptions and sat one exam to become qualified but I did not. The reason was that these are tax qualifications with emphasis only on tax unlike ACA. You get to learn things from a different perspective and that is exactly what I wanted.

ATT would be a good start, do not claim exemptions. Test yourself even in the Accounting exam. For me it was about testing myself, acquiring new skills and knowledge and reaffirming that the gray matter up there was still in working order.

Having said that be prepared for stress as this would not be a walk in the park just because you are ACA. The exam pressure, the material to go through is reasonable but like any tax exam; there is a lot of learn.

Every few days I loose interest when my work, social and private lives clash with my study plans and I end up getting stressed and ask myself the question, Why?

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By Matrix
20th Sep 2019 09:25

If you have the energy then do them while you are on a roll. You will never regret it.

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Replying to Matrix:
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By B Roberts
20th Sep 2019 11:50

Matrix wrote:

If you have the energy then do them while you are on a roll. You will never regret it.

I agree with the above - whilst you are still in "studying mode"

Your professional and personal commitments may both increase in the future, making studying more difficult.

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Replying to B Roberts:
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By Wes90
20th Sep 2019 12:38

Yes I agree from a work/life balance perspective I don't currently have children, but in 5 years, who knows.

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By paul.benny
20th Sep 2019 10:12

As you will already know from your ACA, your skills are part formal learning and part experience.

Have a conversation with your boss about your ambitions, about what that might require in terms of study/qualifications, and what opportunities might be available to support that.

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Scooby
By gainsborough
20th Sep 2019 11:04

Given that the tax rules are changing a lot more frequently than they used to, I'd be tempted to wait until you are actually working in tax before doing the exams - otherwise the knowledge you pick up whilst doing the exam may be completely out of date by the time you get to it.

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Replying to gainsborough:
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By The Dullard
20th Sep 2019 11:09

The CTA exams are not about acquiring knowledge, the knowledege will always become out of date quite quickly. They are very much about acquiring skills.

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Replying to The Dullard:
Scooby
By gainsborough
20th Sep 2019 14:52

Very much agree with the acquiring skills part - I did take the CTA myself. But these are more unusual times than we have seen in the past couple of decades. With Labour proposing lifetime IHT and scrapping IHT; possible end of the tax return and MTD, it may at least be worth waiting for the next General Election ;).

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
20th Sep 2019 12:27

I am not an FCA, never did the CTA, but do wish I had that rigour instead of stumbling around in the dark for the past 20 years tax wise.

Its really a question of whether you now have a life having qualified and got your weekend & evenings back, and if you are willing to put it on hold for another couple of years.

If you have a young family etc, it would be hopeless trying to do it on the back of a FT job unless you only sleep 4 hours a night, so a if you are young enough and have no friends or love life left post ACA, then the time is now!

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Replying to ireallyshouldknowthisbut:
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By Wes90
20th Sep 2019 12:54

I have to say from a personal point of view, I never quite got the whole 'life on hold' feeling that I know many do other than probably the week prior to an exam, so the thought of doing more exams doesn't daunt me too much. Particularly as they're May and November sittings, as it wouldn't really impact at all on me enjoying the summer or the festive period.

The love life has survived, and I tend to agree I best get them done before a family takes away pretty much all of my time!

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Replying to Wes90:
By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
20th Sep 2019 14:36

The time on exams does depend how smart you are. I am more of a 'put the hours in and it sinks in' than a "natural" You may well be a lot smarter than me, I know i tended to go through the material at least twice, some of my peers seem to do it in one pass.

My training time is also somewhat coloured by the fact I was working with KPMG and doing long hours with a lot of travel, so it was hard to study on top in the evenings.

To be fair I did meet, and move in with a young lady in my 2nd/3rd yr, so perhaps there was more down time than I recall! It was some time ago now.

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By Vaughan Blake1
20th Sep 2019 16:05

I would speak to the partners and see what they think about your advancement. It could be a useful entre into finding out whether they see you advancing through the ranks or sweating it out as 'doer'.

Years ago the 'intermediate' CIOT exam was roughly equal to the old PE2 level tax, not sure if that has changed. My advice is to do CTA whilst you are a 'doer' rather than wait until you are a manager/partner des when your office responsibilities will become more onerous.

If you wait until the tax legislation 'settles down' you will never do it. There has been talk of abolishing IHT for at least the last 20 years!

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By djn24
24th Sep 2019 11:43

I considered the CIOT after I qualified but decided against it. In a way I'm glad as I think that a lot of the course would have been far too high level for the small practice.
I think the ATT would be far more useful.
On another note, that CIOT qualification is very highly regarded. As long as you have decent experience in tax to go with it (which you may not get in a small firm) you should be able to walk into a job easily with a good salary.
I've heard the term gold dust quite a few times when speaking to recruitment agencies for a tax specialist.

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By Tomazaan
24th Sep 2019 13:53

I did the CTA exam more or less straight after qualifying as an ACA some 30 years ago and am very glad that I did. That said, I wanted to move to a tax department in a big four accountancy firm and sitting the CTA exam convinced them that I was serious. I don't think you need to do (or would benefit from) the ATT exam if you are already a CTA.

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7om
By Tom 7000
24th Sep 2019 15:46

You know 90% of tax rules now, certainly enough to impress the clients....
The other 8% you get from the icaew tax helpline people and pay a small fee.
I personally wouldn't kill myself doing this

I would spend the next 2 years reading books on sales and marketing and getting to grips with google facebook and linked in advertising etc going to civic society meetings ,the gardensrs association , 5 aside , etc etc and making friends and signing up new clients. Aim for 4 a month. 2 years time you have 100... and 100k turnover and well either they make you a partner or you have your own practice on a plate...

Because in the end its not the accountant with the head full of tax that becomes the senior partner,... its the one with the most clients...

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