The one thing to help you manage exam stress

Posted by & filed under Mental health, Study tips.

I honestly believe exam stress is one of the worst kinds of stress we experience because there’s no way to avoid the pending exam, and nobody teaches us how to deal with the stress effectively. 

This leads to a whole spectrum of symptoms. From the mild headaches, worry and doubt, procrastination, feeling moody or being more susceptible to colds. To the more extreme, insomnia, depression, shaking, excess sweating, ears ringing or rapid heart rate and chest pains.

Wherever you are on this scale right now, you can ease the intensity of how you’re feeling by doing one really simple thing.

Step outside and smile for 17 seconds.

I know it sounds bonkers, but doing this is scientifically proven to reduce stress and make you happier instantly.

Why it works

The reason this simple technique is so powerful is 3-fold:

1. Getting out of your current environment can be enough to break the pattern of worrisome thoughts.

2. Fresh air and daylight on our skin re-energises our bodies.

3. Holding a smile for 17 seconds kick-starts chemical reactions in your brain that alter your mood, release positive hormones and make you feel better.

The science behind a smile

In the late 80s, psychologist Robert Zajonc published a study that showed the emotional effects of creating different face shapes through sounding out different vowels.

He asked his subjects to produce different vowel sound such as a long ‘e’ or short ‘o’. When participants made the long ‘e’ sound and their face resembled a smile, their mood improved.

Since Zajonc’s study there have been many others that give evidence to the psychological benefits of producing a fake smile long enough to turn into a genuine smile.

Some bonus tips

1. Be sure to really go for the smile! Smile with your mouth and your eyes. A limp ‘social smile’ (you know the ones you give when you don’t really mean it) won’t work as well.

2. If you’re struggling, think of something that makes you smile or laugh. Maybe a funny memory or joke will help you crack a smile.

3. Get someone else to smile in front of you and hold eye contact. We’re hardwired to mimic and respond to other human beings, and you won’t be able to help yourself smiling.

4. If you can, laugh! Take the Duchenne smile further and find something to laugh about – as laughter continues to increase the release of ‘happy hormones’. Watching some comedy, or even someone else laughing is enough to get the giggles.

Read more on taking control of your stress;

Browse the full range of AAT study support resources here

Brave new work: understanding how cutting-edge practices work

Posted by & filed under Students.

If you want to stand out and land the best jobs in modern accountancy, you’ll need to know how cutting-edge practices operate…

Companies that have adopted new ways of working are desperate for accountants who are willing to adapt and embrace new things. If you can get your head around the way these companies want you to work, you’ll be at a distinct advantage when it comes to landing a job. So here are four crucial ways in which accountancy has changed.

It’s faster paced

Technology allows us all to increase the speed at which we work. In accountancy, technology means you can have access to completely up-to-date financial information in a few clicks.
It means you can compile reports for clients and stakeholders and respond to them on the same day, which is how people increasingly want accountants to work.

“These days, when someone emails in with a question, they expect a reply straight away, whereas in a traditional firm somebody might not go back to them for a while,” says Alex Falcon Huerta, founder of Soaring Falcon Accountancy.
“You need to consider the fact that a client is working on their business, and we’re trusted with their financial information, so we need to respond to them in a timely manner, not a week or two later. It should be an instant thing.”

It’s more collaborative

Technology has made collaboration in the workplace easier, and that’s having a particularly major impact on accountants.

In many organisations across the private, public and non-profit sectors, the finance business partner model is applied; accountants on the team are assigned departments to work closely with.

For example, you might be assigned to work with the sales and marketing teams, or procurement. Your job is to understand those teams’ goals, problems and place within the business, and to provide them with advice and support to help them improve. If you’re working in practice, collaboration with clients is about understanding their goals, problems and opportunities, and working with them to grow their business in the right way. “We work with SMEs, and a lot of them, because of where we’re based, want to work in the morning and go surfing in the afternoon,” says Andrew Sullivan, director of Plymouth-based practice Numbers (UK) Ltd.

“We ask for a set of goals to meet over three to five years. They can be business-based or they can be personal. A lot of people say they want to work fewer hours, pay off their mortgage, make more profit or spend more time with their kids. So we set goals with the client and agree how we’re going to help them achieve them.”

It’s more creative

No, we don’t mean ‘more creative’ as in ‘creative accounting’ – it’s more about problem solving.

With so much contemporaneous data at your fingertips, your financial knowledge can be channelled into helping people overcome difficulties, become more efficient and even achieve their dreams.

“One of our clients came to us and said: ‘I’ve always wanted to own the local pub,’” says Sullivan. “That was a bit of a weird one, but we had to work out how we were going to make sure that the business had got enough profit so that, over a number of years, we could accumulate that profit so he could buy the pub.

He knew the lease on the pub was going to be up in five years, so he wanted to be ready to make an offer to take over the lease.” A lot of this comes down to your ability to read financial data. “If I look at a balance sheet, I can see where the company is currently, and I can make an educated guess about where the company is going to go,” says Amin. “

It’s more sociable

Farnell Clarke has its own pub in the office, The Tax and Pounds. It’s a fun perk for staff, but it actually plays a bigger part in the firm than that. It acts as a cultural signpost for staff and clients that helps to differentiate the firm from competitors. “Part of our culture is directly linked to our brand,” says founder Will Farnell.

The people in an organisation are a huge part of its culture, and accounting and finance teams are starting to get wise to that. “We really base our recruitment decisions on human skills and soft skills,” says Sullivan.

These days, the work you do will involve a lot more socialising with clients or stakeholders than it might have done in the past. That might be an intimidating thought, particularly if you tend to be introverted. But you can actually teach yourself to be more comfortable in social situations, and, if you’re introverted, you may in fact be better placed to socialise effectively – generally, introverted people are better listeners.

All this applies to in-house teams as well – their work increasingly requires them to be chatty, open and sociable, and to listen to people’s problems. And clarity is key. “Your communication should be clear, free of jargon and not patronising,” adds accountant and mentor Anna Goodwin. “I’ve spoken to other accountants and not understood what they’ve meant – and that’s as a qualified accountant myself!”

AAT urges accountants to seek training to prevent money laundering

Posted by & filed under AAT news, Anti-money laundering, Members.

AAT is urging accountants to acquaint themselves with the warning signs associated with money laundering – and seek formal training if they haven’t already done so.

As part of Flag It Up, the Government’s anti-money laundering (AML) campaign – which this month is focusing on the need to act with suspicious minds, a new poll by Coleman Parkes Research issued today has shown that over one in three (36%) accountants have not received any formal AML training. In addition, only 37 per cent of accountants have a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) in their company – compared to 70 per cent of lawyers surveyed.

How AML affects the UK

Money laundering is big business. The National Crime Agency estimates that money laundering helps enable serious and organised crime that costs the UK an estimated £37 billion each year. This rises to hundreds of billions of pounds when considering international criminal money being annually laundered through UK banks and their subsidiaries. The signs of money-laundering aren’t always obvious, but the impact is wide-ranging.

There are major concerns about the vast number of accountants who failed to recognise the key ‘red flags’ that should trigger suspicion into client activity;

  • 63% didn’t recognise a change in the identity of the lead client or beneficial owner
  • 58% didn’t see a change in the nature or purpose of the business relationship
  • 49% didn’t recognise changes in the client’s instructions without warning or reason
  • 37% didn’t recognise an increase in spending that is inconsistent with the client’s means

Money laundered by criminals can put people out of work, and in some cases into poverty; help cause cyber attacks; and even fund terrorism. Thousands of employees working in the accounting, legal and property sectors – among others – are at daily risk of being targeted by these criminals who use professionals in order to disguise money being laundered through the financial system.

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)

Most accountants should be well aware of the threat that money laundering possesses however, Adam Williamson, Head of Professional Standards, AAT said:

“The evidence suggests that not nearly enough are reporting suspicious activity. Just under 8,500 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were submitted across the accountancy, legal and property sector during 2017-18.

“Even if you have received formal training in the past, why not take the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the latest red flags that could indicate potential criminal activity? There’s no excuse to fail to recognise the threat, and it could help save lives.”

Tackling the issue

More generally there appears to be a lack of awareness of how best to tackle the issue. For example, a new YouGov poll commissioned by AAT has revealed that in relation to the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS), set up a year ago to provider consistency across the 22 money laundering professional body supervisors, 54% of MPs say they have “never heard of this organisation”.

Thinking with a suspicious mind

The Flag It Up Campaign urges professionals in accountancy, legal and property to think with a ‘suspicious mind’ and report a SAR that could prove crucial in preventing this range of serious crimes. While the information you include in your SAR may not seem definitive in your eyes, or meet what you might think is the level of legally valid evidence, it can contain the final piece that completes the investigative jigsaw for law enforcement agencies.

AAT has 130000 members operating in accountancy and bookkeeping, and we recognise the responsibilities each and every member has to get this right. As we head into the new tax year, it’s been announced that the Government’s new Serious and Organised Crime Strategy will be given at least £48 million to tackle illicit finance – but ultimately the scheme will only be successful if accountants highlight when clients are overtly evasive, if funding sources are unusual or if there are discrepancies in client transactions.

It’s not a hard or particularly time-consuming job to raise a SAR, but it is an accountant’s professional and legal duty to do so. Failure to report doesn’t just impact on wider society

accountants who do not comply could face up to two years in prison, be excluded from the profession, and/or face an unlimited fine.

AAT is recognised as a statutory supervisor for supervising the compliance of AAT licensed members, as detailed in schedule 3 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. 

AAT has a responsibility to:

  • Help AAT licensed members understand relevant legislative requirements
  • Ensure that AAT licensed members comply with the law

In return, AAT licensed members must register for Anti Money Laundering supervision and put in place control systems to assess the risk of their firm being used by criminals to launder money. 

For additional information about the ‘Flag It Up’ campaign, or more advice on how to tackle money laundering, please visit FlagItUp.campaign.gov.uk

Meet the mentor: Helen Weir, previous CFO of M&S

Posted by & filed under Inspiring stories.

Continuing with our series of conversations between AAT students and inspirational accountants, Helen Weir, who recently stepped down as CFO of Marks & Spencer, shares lessons in leadership with Freya Penn.

Before Marks & Spencer, she worked as finance director at John Lewis, was group CEO for UK retail at Lloyds Banking Group, and was CFO of DIY retailing group Kingfisher. She’s one of the most respected FDs in the UK, and one of the FTSE 100’s few female FDs.

Freya: I’m not sure which branch of accounting I want to pursue or if I want to go with practice or industry. I was going to ask your opinion on which would be better to start out with.

Helen: I personally like management accounting, and think CIMA is a great qualification. It’s less theoretical and more practical. You get to be part of a business. So, if that’s where you ultimately want to end up, I think you might as well get there sooner rather than later. The one thing I’d say is that, if you choose management accounting, don’t ignore the technical aspects, because ultimately, in finance, control is always important.

Freya: I think I would prefer to do management accounting.

Helen: Great! What I’d urge you to think about, then, is what sort of sector you’re interested in. Given you live in Norwich, it will need to be something you can do there, but I’d have thought there are a lot of options there.

Passion for a particular sector

Freya: Is it really important to have a passion for the area you go into?

Helen: I do think that being in a sector you enjoy is important so that when you get out of bed in the morning you think: “Yeah! I’m going to do something interesting.” The time you spend at work is time that you’re not spending with your family or on a hobby, so it has to be something that you really enjoy.

Freya: I saw that you studied business. How important do you think it is to have a good understanding of how business works?

Helen: My experience when I studied, which was many, many years ago, is that CIMA gives you good business training, as well as accountancy training. Also, being part of a business will enable you to learn. I’m personally not a massive fan of pure business education. Business isn’t theoretical; it’s practical. That’s one of the joys of finance; you look right across the business, so you can really understand what’s going on in each area.

Long terms goal setting

Freya: Did you have a long-term goal when you started your career or have you taken opportunities as they’ve come about?

Helen: I didn’t set out with a five or ten year goal. I was never like that, and I suspect most people aren’t. I knew I liked consumer-focused businesses, so that’s where I started.

Freya: How have you juggled having the home life and the career you’ve had? It’s something I think about a lot.

Helen: The most important thing I would say is: find a path that works for you. The decisions and choices that I’ve made are not the choices everyone would make. I don’t have time for the ‘working mothers versus non-working mothers’ debate. Everyone has to find the path that works for them. I was lucky to be able to afford childcare for my children, which gave me more flexibility at work. It’s all about trade-offs, and you just have to try to find a balance that works for you.

Juggling a career and children

Freya: Do you think having had children before starting a career is more of a disadvantage? If I’m going to an interview and I have children, will they think I’m going to be rushing off?

Helen: I don’t think so. Do make sure you’ve thought through what your childcare arrangements are, or will be. If you need flexibility, then finding a role that will give you that flexibility is important.

Freya: I’m on the committee at my children’s preschool. What skills do you think I should be looking at picking up?

Helen: I think it’s great that you are doing that. Typically, when you take on a new role, people are looking for anything you have done that is similar. Serving on a committee is a great way of demonstrating that you can work effectively as part of a team and are not afraid to take on responsibility.

Does your office need a romance policy?

Posted by & filed under Members, Run your business.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, love is in the air and employees may indulge in a spot of flirting at work or send their clandestine crush a card.

In fact, around 15% of people meet their partner through work, according to a survey by ReportLinker technology firm. But what sort of impact do relationships at work have on a business and should employers have a policy for managing office romances?

Can office relationships be good for business ?

Alison King, managing director of Bespoke HR consultancy, says relationships at work are inevitable and that they can be a good thing for business.

“Relationships between colleagues can have a very positive impact on the business, such as encouraging co-operation between teams. Unfortunately, however, we tend to hear only about the negatives, where relationships breakdown or if an allegation of sexual harassment is made,” she notes.

Employers may, King advises, have some form of policy about voluntary disclosure of relationships at work, but it’s not something they can actively discourage.

“You may want to have some documentation in this regard encouraging the voluntary disclosure of relationships, but without being over Draconian, because, of course, everyone has a right to privacy.”

Declaring a conflict of interest

Most employment contracts will also include a duty to declare any conflict of interest, which would include a relationship between a manager and someone in their reporting line. It is a balance between respecting employee’s private lives and protecting the business against potential sex discrimination or harassment claims, King says.

Karen Teago, joint CEO & principal solicitor at Yess law, says a relationship between staff, especially if you’re running a small practice, can cause a number of issues. “For example, a relationship between a senior and junior member of staff leading to favouritism. Or two people in the same department wanting to go on holiday at the same time. Or disruption and upset if a relationship ends.”

Sending Valentines cards or flirting with a colleague may not automatically cause problems but it depends on the context, according to Teago. “It depends if those things are disruptive to the work environment or not welcomed by the recipient and the protagonist persists with unwanted approaches,” she notes. In which case, there is a risk of that behaviour being classed as sexual harassment for which the employer could be liable (as well as the individual themselves.)

Creating a policy

It would, however, be unrealistic and extreme to ban relationships at work outright, Teago says. “A more workable policy would include safeguards against the more predictable issues arising, but no employer will ever be able to include every possible scenario in a policy and shouldn’t try,” she says. “The key is to look at what is a reasonable response to any problem. Managers wanting to discuss possible issues should avoid making assumptions about the situation, establish facts and preserve confidentiality, as with any sensitive employment matter.”

King points out that any harassment that relates to someone’s gender is also prohibited under the Equality Act 2010. “This could include telling jokes about women or making derogatory sexist remarks about women,” she notes. “A Valentines card sent as a bit of light-hearted fun could also fall into this category, depending on the nature of the card.”

Trusting your employees

If an employer find that two employees are involved in a relationship which may be a cause for concern, they should, in the first instance, try and have an informal talk with the employees involved. “It would be best practice to chat to all parties involved informally initially to assess whether any further formal investigation is required,” King advises.

“If there any concerns about an employee’s behaviour in the workplace, these should be informally investigated and a decision should be made as to whether there is a potential case to answer and if it is necessary to convene a disciplinary hearing.”

Ultimately, it’s down to trust and the relationship employees have with their employer. ‘If there is a relationship of trust between the employer and employees it is more likely to create an open dialogue where employees feel able to be open about relationships in the workplace, whether in the early stages or after a relationship breakdown,” says King. “This can help to facilitate early constructive intervention, if appropriate and it doesn’t flout the employee’s right to privacy.” It is, essentially, much more likely to be sensitively resolved if there is a high degree to trust.

How new technology and legislation threatens the auditing sector

Posted by & filed under Financial accounting and reporting, Members.

After decades of relatively little change, the auditing sector is suddenly facing a raft of new technologies and legislation that threatens to fundamentally alter the nature of the role.

The most significant developments currently have been around application programme interface (API), through which different software packages and apps can integrate with each other, and data-blending solutions, enabling auditors to extract and validate information from accounting systems, says Gary Jones, director of audit at Grant Thornton UK. This is being complemented by machine learning techniques, which can help analyse data, and robotic process automation, he adds.

“A combination of these tools should also allow for more ‘real-time’ analysis of data, which will open more avenues of work that could complement an audit of the statutory financial statements or provide a very different form of assurance on transaction streams,” he says.

There are already examples of data mining impacting the role of auditors, says Kim Hau, senior proposition manager for Onesource Indirect Tax at Thomson Reuters.

“A very simple example of this is where transactions for a group of entities were downloaded as part of an audit and the analytics showed that there was a spike of expenditure at just below or on the £500 mark,” she adds.

“On further investigation, it transpired that a second signature for approval was required on purchases of over £500 and that the purchasing staff were therefore ‘taking the easy option’. This was costing the group a lot of money in lost bulk-buying discounts and resulted in them changing their purchasing process.”

The benefits of blockchain for auditors

Blockchain also offers significant opportunities for auditors, and could impact how the job is done, says Alexandre Karako, director at Psion. “The main work of the auditor is to verify and justify the audit trail, so blockchain is the natural solution through its traceability and immutability,” he says.

“Blockchain will reduce external auditors’ lost time on audit trails, although there will still be the need to verify the internal files of the company and the accuracy of any data entered into the blockchain.” This is still in its early stages, he adds, and it’s currently unclear whether there will be one main market leader providing a public blockchain facility, or whether each company or audit firm will have their own versions.

One advantage of blockchain is that it enables auditors to directly access the transactions in the supply chain, rather than having to rely on the co-operation of third parties.

“This could potentially render the traditional testing balance-sheet focused methods obsolete,” says Jones. “Blockchain could provide access to a far greater and more immediate level of assurance on a transaction level rather than having to focus on the year-end balance sheet. Where there is overlap with the current skillset and judgment of the auditor is the need to assess the integrity of the control environment of a business.”

Auditing cryptocurrency

Blockchain also has potential to transform how tax authorities collect money, particularly VAT, believes Hau. “A central distributed ledger would improve and reduce the need for audit as both taxpayer and tax collector are guaranteed to be looking at the same data and a single record of truth,” she says. “This could eliminate the need for external audits, saving both time and reducing the possibility of tax fraud.”

The use of cryptocurrencies – currently also in its infancy – could have ramifications for accountants and auditors. For now, Jones says investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should be seen as intangible assets, rather than a replacement or equivalent for cash. “The fundamentals of auditing a cryptocurrency have similarities with auditing currency – there will still be the same challenges around auditing the existence of the asset, but if the price volatility seen in 2018 continues this would present a further challenge,” he points out. “There is also the lack of a regulated market, which increases the risk relating to cryptocurrency balances and transactions.”

Why HMRC are keen to introduce API

Alongside new technology, legislation could also impact on the sector in the coming years. HMRC’s adoption of API ahead of the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) demonstrates its intentions to go beyond just the nine boxes of the UK VAT return, which will kickstart the process from April 2019. “If the launch goes to plan, then HMRC could start demanding the details of all the transactions behind the VAT calculations to be delivered through the API platform,” says Richard Asquith, VP global indirect tax at Avalara.

“This would follow European trends in countries like Spain, Hungary and Italy where businesses have to e-file sales and purchase invoices in real-time. Ultimately, HRMC’s API technology will give HMRC the power to pre-approve or even block sales invoices that it does not understand or suspects errors on.”

Taking control away from the big four

Laws around data protection will also be a big issue going forward, particularly as more information becomes available. “Audit firms will need to ensure they have the appropriate processes in place to comply proactively with GDPR and other data protection regimes, and the cross-jurisdictional nature of international clients and flows of data makes this increasingly challenging,” says Jones. “They will also need to remain abreast of developments in data protection law all over the world – as more information crosses global boundaries, the risk of a breach of local law, where laws may be stricter than in the UK, becomes ever higher.”

The government is also under pressure to introduce more far-reaching change, particularly around the dominance of the big four accounting firms. “In theory this could lead to those firms being broken into pieces to encourage competition and get rid of some of the ethical problems,” says Paul Merison, London ACCA director at the London School of Business and Finance. “An industry that is reliant on reputation has lost so much trust that its work is at risk of becoming irrelevant.”

A particular concern for him is the relationship between auditors and clients, which he believes has created an environment where auditors are afraid to challenge information. “One suggestion that I have made to students for the past 15 years is that big company audits should be allocated by a government body,” he says. “But probably the quickest positive thing that can be done is to open up competition in the industry. Virtually every big company is audited by the big four firms and that cannot continue given all of them have suffered reputation damage and fines.”

How often should audits be carried out?

Taken together, the impact of new technology and legislation could lead to a number of changes to the industry. Jones suggests the proliferation of technology and introduction of MTD could lead to a questioning of just how frequent audits should be. “For a listed business, reporting three months after year-end, the information in the report can be as much as 15 months old,” he points out. “This may increasingly be seen as too historic to be relevant in a fast-paced world. The investor community could push for more frequent assurance, beyond what is required by the Companies Act, and eventually for continuous assurance in real time, which would mean a rethink of the business model for most UK audit firms.”

There are also implications for the skills required by auditors. “Auditors will need to have a data scientist background for big data analysis through artificial intelligence and machine learning, and should already take lessons on blockchain as they will need to interact with different blockchains and understand how they work,” says Karako.

Yet while technology will help auditors get a better understanding of both the numbers and the underlying performance of a business, the fundamentals of the job are likely to remain the same, says Hau. “An audit will still be required to give assurance over the financial reporting of an entity or group of entities, and the auditor will still be required to make some judgement calls and be happy that ultimately the financial statements being reported on give a true and fair view.”

Brexodus: What happens if financial companies leave the UK?

Posted by & filed under Brexit, Members.

Some €6 trillion of Europe’s financial assets are currently managed in London. The capital also has the lion’s share of Europe’s €5.2 trillion investment banking industry. And yet, as is becomingly increasingly apparent, Brexit is going to have huge impacts on the UK’s role in banking and financial services.

Whilst Britain is currently home to more banks than anywhere else in the world, the prospect of a mass exodus of financial services is alarming. According to figures published by Relocate Global, the industry generates a whopping 12% of the UK’s total economy.

What will the consequences be?

“The most obvious impact on accountants will be how their clients are affected,” says Abz Tahar, Director at Swansea-based Assurance Accountancy. “Depending on their industry, clients’ business could be affected by customs checks, a possible shortage of available skilled workers and amendments to laws which may affect their client contracts.”

But there is a clear commercial advantage on the horizon as well. “The uncertainty regarding new legislature will most likely result in clients looking more and more to their accountants for help and advice.”

Moving out of London

Already, Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered have suggested they are likely to relocate to Frankfurt.

According to a recent commentary in This is Money, Barclays, Standard Life and Prudential also plan “to move vast insurance and banking assets and liabilities out of London to subsidiaries in a number of European capitals.”

Insurers and banks are about to start moving “£253 billion of assets out of the UK,” it’s believed, with documents suggesting that “at least 15 major financial firms have already set court dates to approve transfers – irrespective of whether a deal is struck.”

Is there a particular reason why finance companies seem so keen to leave, when London has long been the home of banking? “The main motivator is the issue of passporting,” says Tahar – the mechanism whereby companies can do business with other EEA states based on their home member authorisation.

Post-Brexit, it’s likely that the UK will be surrendering this right. “If those rights are withdrawn, it significantly limits investment opportunities,” explains Tahar. “As Brexit’s negotiations grow ever more convoluted, finance professionals are feeling the pressure.”

International impacts

This is important for accountants “because clearly, many of the most successful professional services and accountancy firms are based in the UK, but do business globally,” says Ardi Kolah, Executive Fellow, GDPR Programme, Henley Business School.

“It’s important to ensure they can continue to provide those services seamlessly.” Currently, having a client in Spain or Germany “doesn’t pose any problems – but it might present them when they are registered in a different jurisdiction.”

“As is the case for most divorces,” Tahar says, “the untangling promises a further slew of accusations and recriminations and, as always, it’s the children that suffer – in this case, the UK’s finance companies.”

Practical advice if Britain leaves the EU

Although UK-based accountants should not be unduly worried in the short term, “the benefits of being in the EU were clear,” says Kolah. “The advantages of the one-stop-shop mechanism will no longer be available to us. So there’s a bit of work to be done thinking about how that will be perceived from your client’s point of view.”

Practical advice? “See the EU as a marketplace now, not a home territory,” Kolah recommends. “Start making friends with other people who have partners in the EU.

It was easy when we inside the tent – we were partners. Now we won’t be, and there will inevitably be consequences to that because the EU cannot be seen to reward the UK for leaving.”

If you need to travel back and forth inside Europe, “it will be helpful to have an EU passport; there’s now talk of having to buy a visa. We just don’t know yet – but in the future, you won’t be able to jump on a plane and start working in an EU country, as you currently can do.”

A time to offer reassurance

In the event of no deal, the situation is likely to look even more dramatic. “There’s likely to be a severe period of upheaval for finance professionals,” Tahar says.

“A no-deal scenario is likely to include customs checks for businesses buying and selling within EU countries; audit and reporting implications; application of Government contingency advice; and disruption and increased prices on flights.”

However, this does put finance professionals in what Tahar calls “a singularly strong position, as “uncertainty in revenue and cash-flow matters will send clients new and old flooding to them for advice!”

Ardi Kolah paints a more sobering picture. “You can’t be a member of a club and then still get the benefits after leaving. It’s always cheaper to be a member than pay as you go.”

UK businesses are “currently in a holding pattern until the details of Britain’s withdrawal are finalised,” Abz Tahar concludes. “But, now is the time for finance professionals to reassure clients that they will be on hand to help – whichever way it goes.”

Miranda Buchanan: Distance Learner of the Year 2018

Posted by & filed under Students, Training provider conference.

Not everyone would react to being made redundant while on maternity leave in the same way as Miranda Buchanan.

But Buchanan’s resilience in the face of adversity, is perhaps just one of the reasons why she was named AAT’s Distance Learner of the Year 2018.

After her job role at a charity was lost following a takeover, the new mum saw the combination of redundancy pay and maternity leave as an opportunity to learn new skills. Knowing she would have to find a new job, she reviewed her CV and was confident in her management experience, but wanted to boost her financial qualifications. Her research led her to the AAT and a quick online test suggested Foundation Certificate was a good starting point.

“I used my redundancy money to do the course, which was a bit scary because it was my financial security at the time – but I don’t regret it,” says Buchanan, who was 30 at the time.

Distance learning – the perfect solution to juggling motherhood and studies

Buchanan’s daughter was just eight months old when she enrolled for her course in August 2016 (a month after being made redundant), with The Training Place of Excellence, which coincidentally is a short distance away from her home in South London.

“It turns out I drove past it all the time but had never really noticed it before,” she says.

Her plan was to become “a student at night” and use the flexibility of distance learning to fit her studies and exams around her new family commitments. Learning at her own pace also helped accommodate her dyslexia, she says.

“I’d get my daughter into bed and then 11pm-5am was my study time. I knew it was time to go to bed when I heard the first plane fly over,” she explains, adding that “having a baby who doesn’t respect that mum might want to sleep” made her night-time study make even more sense.

“Obviously I would have loved more sleep, but it was short-term pain for long-term gain.”

A self-confessed night owl, Buchanan realises her study plan wouldn’t suit everyone, but says coming up with a regimen that suits you, your life and your preferred times for study is one of the biggest advantages of learning at a distance.

Make sure breaks and treats are part of your schedule too

Finding a balance

After her first exam, Buchanan took a short break from her studies but later took five or six assessments back-to-back. She passed them all first time, but says it was harder to get back into the studying routine after pausing:

“When I first started it was like when you sign up for the gym and you are an eager beaver and then after a few weeks… it changes,” she says. “Sometimes flexibility is good but then you can abuse it. With distance learning, there’s no one else there pushing you. It’s a lot of self-discipline, you’ve got to put in the hours. Like everything in life, you’ve got to stick at it to get results. The flexibility is there though if something happens and you need to take some time off.”

She also urges students to find a balance, as without a classroom setting and peer-to-peer you can burn out. “It’s easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself and spend too long staring at a laptop,” she says.

“Make sure breaks and treats are part of your schedule too, whether it’s a biscuit, a walk in the morning or a few minutes to check social media as a reward for working,” she says.

“Within the last hour of study, I’d have a break from the laptop and a gin and tonic. If you don’t find that balance you will end up resenting your studies and won’t want to come back to them the next day.”

Be persistent

Buchanan says the beginning of the course was the trickiest part, because the language and concepts were so unfamiliar.

“It was all brand new, starting with credits and debits, which I didn’t understand at first. But once you get the foundation out of the way the course gets easier because it’s all related. You have to be persistent,” she says.

The support she received from her learning provider, especially when she felt stuck, was invaluable, she says. They provided her with ample materials and she would supplement these by searching for online discussions and YouTube videos if she needed alternative explanations of complex and new ideas.

Buchanan is now working for a small, family-run property management business and has already been able to implement some of the ideas and practices she learned for her Foundation Certificate.

“I have introduced cashbooks and there are few other things that I want to slowly introduce – I don’t want to be the new person coming in and taking over though,” she laughs. My qualification has definitely come in useful and it feels really good to be able to use it to help the business.”

Her distance learning experience was so positive that she now has her sights set on Advanced Diploma. “Looking at the job market there are always jobs in finance. All the admin jobs have that listed as a skill too so if I have that I will be more competitive,” she says.

Now it’s about applying what she’s learned and saving up for the next course. Second-time around perhaps she’ll have time for more sleep too – if she doesn’t, it’s unlikely to stop her or her success.

Canterbury College – Training Provider of the Year (medium) 2018

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What does it take to be a training provider that excels in helping students not only to do well in their exams, but also to help them find work when they have qualified?

Training Provider of the Year 2018– Medium

Canterbury College took home the award for medium sized AAT Training Provider of the Year, after delivering an award-winning submission in 2018. We talk to staff and students about the benefits of studying there.

Neil Maguire,  Product Manager (Training Providers) at AAT, said that one of the key elements of the successful application was the support that Canterbury College provided for all the students on their course.

“The judges were more than happy to crown Canterbury College the runaway winners in this category,” he said.

“They were able to display impressive support resources for students, which even included the use of WhatsApp groups to keep students on track! They offer free revision sessions, they actively find employment for students – this submission didn’t leave any stone unturned.”

What Canterbury College have to offer

Canterbury College is a Further and Higher Education institution in South East England, with campuses in Canterbury and Swale. In total there are about 10,000 students and 800 staff, of which around 200 are studying accountancy at various levels, including those studying AAT.

Karen Mccafferty, Business Department Deputy Head, said it was first time the college had entered the awards.

“We offer full time and part time courses and part time blended learning,” she says. “We have 16 to 18 year olds on our study programme, 16 + on apprenticeships, and we have mature students, many of them in their 40s and 50s, who are studying for a career. We have a lot of adult returners and career changers.”

Their accountancy students are a broad mix of people, with students providing their own support network via WhatsApp so that they can pass on messages and discuss homework and assignments.

“Some have worked in the industry, but don’t have a qualification and want to train for an official qualification. In total, there are around 190 accountancy students.”

The College has been running courses for more than 25 years and has a great reputation in the local area.

The ‘Fun Friday’ sessions and use of accounting games add to the whole sense that this college cares

Offering students tailored support

“We are good at finding students jobs when they finish their training,” Karen Mccafferty says. “Former students are in a position to recruit and come straight to me to ask whom I can recommend. Once one of our students gets on the career ladder, they are in a position to take on other students and they can come to me if they need a new member of staff.”

Malwina Daszkiewicz

Malwina Daszkiewicz, 17, a full time student studying for her Foundation Certificate, said that she appreciated the quality of teaching, the support provided by the College, and the interactive aspect of learning.

“At my interview Karen suggested that I take AAT’s qualification because there were lots of opportunities in terms of career and further study. I hope to do the Level 3 apprenticeship next year so that I am working and learning and the same time, and can consolidate what I am studying.”

She said she particularly enjoyed the fun aspects of the teaching.

“I like the way Karen teaches – she incorporates games and self-led learning into the course and that makes it much more interesting. She is also very supportive and available for help and one to one support if you need it.”

The next step for Malwina is work experience at Canterbury City Council, where she hopes to get an apprenticeship for her Level 3 course.

Sharnie Francis

Sharnie Francis,  26, worked for a retail company before deciding that she wanted to change career. She chose Canterbury College to take AAT’s Foundation Certificate and Advanced Diploma qualifications. She successfully passed those exams and is now working at London and South Eastern Railways.

“I really enjoyed the courses and the support from the tutors who could not be more helpful,” she says. “I really feel that the courses have helped me progress in my job. The extra support such as tuition sessions outside normal college hours have been so helpful.”

Ellie Messenger

Ellie Messenger, 21, is currently studying for her Advanced Diploma and is on day release from HatHats Coffee Company in Whitstable.

“The courses have been hard work  but I am really enjoying them,” she says.

“Karen comes and does an assessment with me every six months to see how things are going and if I have any concerns or queries. The out of hours clinics just before the exams are a godsend – they help to calm your nerves and allow you to recap on any areas you feel unsure about. The college has a great reputation and a wide range of students from different backgrounds.”

Award winners

“Canterbury College was up against some stiff competition in the Training Provider of the Year (medium) category last year,” says Graham Hambly, Editor, PQ Magazine, who was on the judging panel.

“The judges loved the way the college involves students at every level,” he says. “Each class elects a member of the group as class representative, who then go to the student parliament meetings. From induction students are empowered to speak to course tutors too. This creates a win-win situation for everyone – it helps with both retention and achievement.

“The ‘Fun Friday’ sessions and use of accounting games seemed to add to the whole sense that this college cares, and this passion showed through in its entry.”

How to pick yourself up after failing an assessment

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Didn’t pass the assessment? Don’t despair. Follow motivational expert David Thomas’ five-point game plan to improve your chances next time round.

Think ‘motivation’ rather than ‘confidence’

Being confident about something you’ve never done before doesn’t work. I could be ‘confident’ about playing the violin, but I’ve never played one in my life. To become truly good at something, you need motivation.

Get the conditions right

When people take practice assessment papers at home, they usually do it while music or the TV is blaring in the background.

They’ll interrupt their studies to eat. When sitting the assessment itself, the biggest problem is silence. The brain panics because it’s not used to the quiet. Try recreating assessment conditions at home to prepare yourself.

Remind yourself of past successes

Any time you think “I can’t do this”, reflect on previous accomplishments and remind yourself that you can achieve what you set out to do.

Embrace your fear

Fear can be a very useful tool to increase your motivation, believe it or not. In fact, it’s estimated that 80% of motivation is fear-driven.

So channel your fear into the right places, visualising how you’ll feel if you don’t get your qualifications.

Breathe

Before reading anything, try a short breathing exercise.

Breathe in for five seconds, hold it for five seconds, and breathe out. Repeat that five times and you’ll be astonished by the difference it makes to your state of mind.

Browse the full range of AAT study support resources here