We’re pleased to show off our 2012 exams results as it’s been another “Excellent year,” said Managing Partner, Jenny Gidney, “with AAt continuing to produce results well above the national average, confirming us as the premier AAT centre in the region”.

Level four review
The Higher Diploma continued to launch many graduate AAT students into the accounting world. Our Budgeting results again returned 100%. The other two compulsory subjects of Financial Performance and Statements were well above the national average.

Optional units have also performed well. Terry Pacey has taught taxation in Peterborough since 1974. He said, “The new method of examination is causing students and lecturers some new difficulties. But as more is understood of the examiners requirements I am sure our results, although good, will return to the exceptional pass rates of the past.”

Level three review
The Advanced Diploma has been the most difficult level again this year. The new syllabus increased the old subjects from three to seven! Despite this we are pleased to confirm we have maintained our long term averages of 90% in the main core subjects of Accounts and Costing. Emma Osgood said, “The students performed outstandingly in Costs and Revenue. This is a very big unit that lasts the whole academic year and many students find it difficult. Students achieved an overall 94% compared to the national average of 78%”.

The VAT paper has proved taxing for both staff and students! The lack of ‘good’ teaching material and the shear vagrancies of the exam itself need addressing urgently by AAT.

Level two review
The Diploma has returned exemplary results once more. There was demand for a Level two evening class to start in January. Congratulations to the students that completed their Level two in such a short space of time. With over 30 students spread over our three classes we have made sure the foundation in accounting vital to our students has once again been meet.

Secrets of success
Our performance has been considered so much better than others that AAt were asked to share our secrets of success with other centres at the national conference. Victor Gidney said, “The way to get good results on these papers is to ensure quality staff, have them work on the subject consistently over the years. Most important of all, have small classes. Small classes have always been the way at Anglia Accountancy training.”

Congratulations to all
As always we have had the pleasure of teaching some fantastic students who are enthusiastic and hard working. This makes the teaching and the learning most enjoyable. We wish all our students continued success and thank them for their efforts this year.

A new start in September
With our new Peterborough premises at Endeavour House on Saville Road, and long term funding arrangements now fully in place, we look forward to servicing our customers and students for many years to come.

New classes start September 2012!
For more details log on to our website at www.aat4u.co.uk, email mail@aat4u.co.uk or call 01733 312120.

Apprenticeships are available to all businesses of all sizes across most sectors including accountancy. They offer work based training which is designed around the needs of employers. They lead to a nationally recognised qualification which means employees and employers will benefit immensely.

Apprenticeships in accountancy have been available for many years from Anglia Accountancy training in Peterborough who have also maintained an enviable pass rate well above the national average. Now AAt are making these services available to businesses in the King’s Lynn and Wisbech area. With so many benefits this is a programme certainly worth considering.

Benefits to businesses include:
- Real value for money
- Improved productivity
- Motivated people
- Relevant accountancy training
- Avoiding skills shortages
- It’s a supported service which makes it easier to manage

The apprenticeship service includes:
- Management of the whole apprenticeship training process
- Qualified training and placement advisors who shortlist and refer candidates on behalf of businesses
- Qualified staff to train and assess apprentices for businesses
- A dedicated training and placement advisor to support businesses and their apprentice throughout.

More information
For more information about the excellent Apprenticeships service now available in your area, contact Anglia Accountancy training on 01733 312120 or email mail@aat4u.co.uk

This year Anglia Accountancy training tutors and students have been commended by the AAT for achieving high first time success rates at Level 4 for both Financial performance and Financial statements.

As a result, AAt have even been asked to share teaching tips and resources on how students have achieved such successful results. These tips and resources will be shared with other training providers at the 2012 AAT conference.

Receiving this approval from the AAT has of course been well received by tutors and staff, who take it as a positive pat on the back for all their hard work and effort. It’s another sign that the Anglia Accountancy training approach is effective, top quality and a winner for students.

Anglia Accountancy Training can now be found on the first floor of Endeavor House on Saville Road in Peterborough. Easily accessible between Peterborough’s Soke Parkway and Bourges Boulevard, the move to Endeavor House brings an array of improvements including:

• A fully refurbished unit
• Four training rooms (also available for hire from AAt)
• Full internet access
• Free car parking which includes a large over spill car park
• 24 hour security
• Full CCTV
• Secure door entry system
• Large kitchen facility
• Air conditioning

Overall, the new premises are wonderfully quiet, perfectly suited to the positive learning environment AAt work hard to create and maintain. Victor Gidney of AAt said, “The staff are very pleased with the move but more importantly, our students are happy.”

All telephone and email information remains the same but you can now find AAt at:

Endeavor House
Saville Road
Peterborough
PE3 7PS

Although not the only measure, pass rates are a key indicator for all centres. Anglia Accountancy training have had excellent pass rates throughout the years (full details here). We are very pleased to confirm that we have continued this success with the new QCF qualification using the Computer Based Assessments. We have sustained our high performance rates having now held in excess of 500 exams.

Exams of special note are Accounts Preparation 2 for our Level 3 students. All our students successfully passed these. The assessment that has tested the students’ knowledge the most, at the lower levels, is Costs and Revenue. As always the students have found the concepts of costing difficult. However we are pleased to have a pass rate of 89% in comparison to a national average in the 70′s.

Our level 4 results have so far been encouraging despite the fact that our candidates did suffer from the December computer problems at AAT. Personal Tax caused considerable trepidation but the results do highlight our continuing success at this level.

Most of our students have coped well with the change to computer based exams. They certainly like the “instant” results! Exam success can only improve as we travel along the learning curve together.

For most of the last 15 years AAt have been able to offer Apprenticeships to all its students under the age of 25. AAt is now potentially able to extend this service to all students irrespective of age. (Although we are waiting for final confirmation of this). We hope to offer all our courses to all our students via the apprenticeship program. This will mean that if your staff are accepted onto a programme we will be able to reduce our charges by up to 75% and 50% in most cases.

Under the new program these are the costs:

• Under 19: Free
• Level 2: £250
• Level 3: £500
• Level 4: £750

But there’s a down side! To qualify students:

• Are likely to have to do the “Key Skills” qualification in addition to their AAT course,
• Must not have other qualification like a degree or other NVQ’s,
• Must have the support of their employers
• Three monthly work place visits are required.

So as you can see it will be amazing to offer the Apprenticeship scheme to all students but our students and employers will have to commit to fulfilling their side of the deal.

The awards
It was a great lunchtime event with awards going to many different students. A special award went to Ben Mawford who is the level 3 student of the year. In presenting him with his award, Jason Cannon from AAt said, “Throughout the year he was an extremely hard-working and diligent student and especially helpful to others”.

The prestigious prize of level 4 student of the year went to Claire Marks. Claire has been with us for two years completing intermediate and hopefully her level 4 when the final results come out. Jenny said of her, “Claire works and brings up her children single handedly. She has worked extremely hard in these difficult circumstances. All staff agreed Claire was an outstanding candidate.”

Saying goodbye to Sally
The event was also a sad event. After 15 years we were all saying goodbye to Sally Tebbs. Sally, who works for Boston College, has been AAt’s training advisor since we started in 1996. She has travelled thoughout the area from Grantham to Stanstead Airport from Market Harborough to Hunstanton. Sally is known in every Accountancy practice in the region and most accounting departments. She has been involved in the training of over 500 young accountants. Victor Gidney said when presenting her with some going away presents, “We are really sad to see her go,” says Victor from AAt, “She is irreplaceable and we wish her well and I hope she will move on to higher and better things at her College.” Sally will be missed by all and we wish her the best for her future and remind her that there will always be a warm welcome for her at AAt.

Sally said, “For the past 15 years I have thoroughly enjoyed my work with a professional and welcoming team that always treated me as a ‘member of the family’. All the students, both young and old are treated equally at AAt and many of the comments I would receive about the AAt services during one to one meetings (with students and their employers) were positive. In fact, the results at AAt speak for themselves. I always appreciated being fully involved in all the operations at AAt and I know my contribution has been valued. I am completely confident that the service I provided will be effectively taken up by the team at AAt.” Sally says, “Never say never, I’ll be back!”

A new era
As we move into this new era, apprenticeship schemes will be opened up to all ages. AAt will be adding new funding partners to its portfolio. The new providers will give all our employers and students more flexible options when deciding on their training. AAt staff will now be taking over the responsibility of visiting students and conducting work place reviews.

As for the new courses the changes have addressed many of the weaknesses of the old NVQ process and consolidated on the challenges of accounting in today’s working environment. Foundation has become Certificate Level 2, Intermediate Level 3 becomes Diploma Level 3 and Technician become Diploma Level 4. A brief introduction to what these changes actually mean follows.

Foundation becomes Certificate Level 2
The Foundation course was a solid qualification ensuring all students were fully competent in Sales, Purchase and Nominal Ledger. But its ”belt and braces” to the extensive portfolio made it an onerous process to complete. The new Certificate Level 2 maintains the qualification’s integrity covering all the same subject areas with a much more straightforward assessment approach. Computerised accounts and a business unit still remain.

Intermediate Level 3 becomes Diploma Level 3
The Intermediate Level 3 has always been rather limited in content, especially if you had already completed the Foundation element. The new Diploma Level 3 addresses these problems. VAT has now become its own separate subject, whilst Final Accounting for Sole Trader and Partnerships remains, as does the Costing paper. Spreadsheets, dropped in 2003, have been re-introduced reflecting their importance in today’s business operating environment. A Cash Management unit which is based around cash flow forecasting has also been added at this level. Finally we look at Professional Ethics which have become a major issue over the past few years with high profile problems in the business world such as Enron, the banking crisis and, of course, the MP’s expenses! With the changes, Professional Ethics has finally been consolidated into the course bringing AAT in line with all other accountancy exam boards.

Technician becomes Diploma Level 4
The new Diploma Level replaces Technician. In this case, the subject content and structure of the level has barely changed. The optional units of Credit Control and Audit have become more specialised, and the Project, the nemesis of many students, still remains.

Our team at Anglia Accountancy training looks forward to putting the new improved AAT courses into action this coming academic year. Full details of all units can be found here and we will of course be guiding students through the changes.

Now is the best time you’ll ever have to finish off that final project! The new AAT courses replaced the previous NVQ structure in September 2010 and time is running out before your previous units may be affected meaning you won’t qualify to complete. Now is your chance to slay that dragon and complete your final unit. Don’t lose your chance to get your MAAT! It is just £299 to complete your AAT course with an average commitment of 4 hours per week. You can even work from home to complete this unit. Transition from other providers is easy and remember that the ‘Project’ is a prerequisite to further study. Irene’s story is a great example of how simple it could be to complete the ‘Project’ with AAt’s help.

Irene finished all other units of the AAT in 2007 with another AAT training provider. But when they moved from Peterborough things became a little more complicated for Irene’s final unit. Irene’s first attempt halted half way when the provider lost part of her work. Discouraged Irene let it slip. And if you let things lapse for too long your work can go out of date. This happened in Irene’s case who was very disheartened when a colleague recommended AAt.

Irene made contact with AAt in late December 2009. In January one of AAt’s Accountancy Training Advisors rang back to discuss Irene’s individual needs. Irene started in February and finished by Easter which is a testament to what can be achieved with the right support. According to Irene, the transfer process from one provider to the next was straightforward. In fact, this was the least of Irene’s worries - “The whole thing was managed brilliantly by AAt.”

“The help was practical and just what you need when you are also working full time.” This is a written project that may seem complex. But Irene felt AAt took it all step by step and offered long term guidance. And Irene speaks from experience. Her first attempt involved getting on with it single handedly, working her way through a 350 page manual – something you won’t get at AAt! Contrasting it with the AAt, Irene says, “The support throughout ‘the project’ was excellent. The training advisor came to my work to get me started and to see how I was doing throughout.”

“The support from AAt in this challenging final unit was top notch. I found the local support much more suited to me. I’d certainly recommend AAt to others, especially if, like I had, you have just one more unit to go.”

To those with this final unit to go, Irene says, “It’s definitely worth doing. It would be a shame to not to get your MAAT over just one unit!” Irene is an Accounts Preparation Assistant at Rawlinson’s. Working in the book keeping department Irene does monthly management accounts, VAT returns and prepares year end accounts for sole traders and partnerships. Over 25, Irene paid for her own training and persevered through Foundation, Intermediate and now Technician level. Irene has her eyes set on being a chartered accountant saying, “It’s just another two years of study after all!”

This is of course down to the commitment of the students together with the contribution of teaching staff in classes and exam preparation. AAt students consistently perform higher than the national average, a true credit to AAt staff and students.