“Bookkeeping with AAT has given me both the technical grounding, and the confidence to belong in finance”

We spoke to several AAT-qualified bookkeepers to see how the qualification helped to shape their career path for the better.

Every business, no matter its size, needs someone who can keep its finances on track. That’s where bookkeepers come in. They play a vital role in helping organisations manage money, stay compliant and make informed decisions.

The good news is that you don’t need a finance background to get started. An AAT qualification can help you build the skills and confidence employers are looking for, while giving you a recognised pathway into bookkeeping and wider finance roles.

Studying with AAT changes lives and provides support no matter where you are on your journey, according to those who have been there and done it.

The importance of bookkeeping

Cassie Evans, who is currently studying her Level 3 qualification and works as a bookkeeper for Right Click Accounting, said that finding this opportunity has given her a first-hand experience in the significance of her role.

“It’s really made me realise how important the bookkeeping side of things actually is,” she said. “Keeping a client’s accounts up to date might sound quite simple, but that information can then be used for so much more.

“A client might need up-to-date figures for a grant application, to look for investment or just to understand where their business is at, and the bookkeeping we do helps make that possible.

She also thinks that having the opportunity to be more hands-on with clients is a great way of building those human skills that businesses need when talking about numbers. She continued: “I’m not just learning something through my AAT studies and then moving onto the next topic, I’m actually getting to apply that knowledge at work and see how it can support the clients we work with.

“It’s also brought me closer to the rest of the team. My colleagues might be working on a client’s VAT return or year-end accounts, but the bookkeeping I’ve done feeds into that work. I’m starting to see how everything connects and where my role fits into the bigger picture.”

Changing careers for a better future

Helen Aldridge AATQB left her gardening career after almost 19 years in search of a fresh start. She explained that she felt like she had lost her identity and confidence until she found AAT.

“A part-time admin position became available at my partner’s business,” she said. “This then made sense for me get a bookkeeping qualification. 

“After searching online, I found AAT and began studying the Level 2 qualification which has allowed me to progress and deal with the company’s bookkeeping on a full-time basis.

“AAT has also given me the opportunity to reinvent myself, gain confidence, learn new skills and live again.”

Helen admits that it wasn’t until she passed her Level 3 qualification that she full understood the weight of what she had managed to achieve.

She added: “I realised my after completing my Level 3 qualification that it had completely changed my career prospects. Not only did I have a widely recognised bookkeeping qualification, but I had become a qualified bookkeeper and could have AATQB after my name.”

Applying learned skills within a financial setting

Nicola Ogden AATQB says that she’s had a lot more opportunities available to her since starting her studies with AAT in 2022.

She said: “I’ve gone from general admin-type work into proper finance roles – bank reconciliation, consolidated invoicing – and I’ve picked up software certifications along the way.

“I also now do the bookkeeping for my mine and my husband’s company. None of this would have felt possible or credible without AAT behind me.

“If it hadn’t been for AAT, I’d probably still be in general admin, without a clear route into finance and without the confidence to say, “I can do this”. AAT has given me both the technical grounding and the proof – more to myself than anyone else – that I can actually do this, and that I belong in finance roles, not just adjacent to them.”

Building confidence with AAT’s support

For Bayhano Riley, who now owns his own accountancy business, gaining his AATQB status was more than just earning a qualification.

He said: “AAT gave me the confidence to finally obtain a maths qualification. I had been self-conscious since I didn’t go to my GCSE maths exam as a teenager, but after completing the AAT qualification, I realised that maybe I had the potential to achieve this after all.”

Shortly after studying with AAT, Bayhano got a job as a Finance and Marketing Administrator for a start-up company and used the real-world knowledge he had gained every day.

He added: “The fundamental education that I gained, in terms of concepts such as depreciation, accruals, and even apportionments, really assisted me with the core demands of the job, and helped me to progress by taking on more demanding work and implementing process improvements.” 

Have you ever considered bookkeeping? Find out how AAT can help kickstart your journey at www.aat.org.uk/qualifications-and-courses/bookkeeping

Harry Rogers is AAT Comment’s news writer.