Association of Accounting Technicians
Diploma Stage

Students will normally be expected to complete Certificate and Advanced Certificate stages but entry direct to the Diploma Stage is permitted provided you can satisfy the Association of Accounting Technicians entry requirements as detailed on the Exemptions matrix.

Units of competence

To complete the Diploma stage you must complete six units of competence. Four are compulsory and two are optional, selected from a range of three as follows.

Mandatory Units - all four must be completed:

Unit 11 - Drafting financial statements

Unit 33 - Management Accounting

Unit 10 - Managing systems and people

Unit 32 - Professional Ethics*

*if not already covered at an earlier stage

Optional Units - choose two from three:

Unit 17 - Implementing audit procedures

Unit 18 - Preparing business taxation computations

Unit 19 - Preparing personal taxation computations

Course contents

The study topics include:

• Revision of basic accounting and accounting concepts
• Limited company accounts for publication
• Regulatory and conceptual framework and statement of principles
• Post balance sheet events
• Contingencies, goodwill and taxation
• Cash flow statements
• Ratio analysis
• Consolidated (group) accounts
• Management accounting and information
• Users of and good qualities of accounting information
• Cost accumulation
• Costing Methods
• Budgets
• Standard costing
• Cost reduction and performance measurement
• Decision making
• The statutory and professional regulations governing auditing
• Audit planning
• Computers in auditing
• Audit testing
• Audit reporting
• Auditor liability
• Calculation of income tax
• Prepare computations of property and investment income
• Prepare tax computations for trades and professions
• Prepare capital gains tax computations
• Account for Corporation tax
• Prepare Corporation tax computations and returns
• Investment appraisal
• Systems analysis and design
• Interpersonal relationships
• Team management
• Co-ordinating work

On completion of the whole course, in order to progress to membership of the Association you must obtain at least one year's relevant work experience. Experience can be gained in any employment sector and can be gained before, during or after studying for the Diploma qualification. When you are looking for work we will be happy to supply an academic reference to help you with this. Enrol now.