AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting

You will undertake the following four units:

Financial Accounting: Preparing Financial Statements

This unit provides you with the skills required to produce statements of profit or loss and statements of financial position for sole traders and partnerships using a trial balance. In employment, you may be required to prepare a portion of, or all, the final accounts and this unit will give you the theoretical knowledge needed to complete that task. It will also allow you to understand how final accounts have been produced, either manually or automatically through use of accounting software.

• Understand the legal requirements and preparation of partnership accounts, showing division of profits after adjusting for interest on capital, interest on drawings and any salaries due to each partner.
• Preparation of final accounts for partnerships and developing skills in restructuring accounting information.
• Preparing final accounts for sole traders, including the accounting treatment required to incorporate accruals and prepayments, provision for depreciation, irrecoverable debts and allowance for doubtful debts.

Tax Processes for Businesses

This unit explores tax processes that influence the daily operations of businesses and is designed to develop your skills in understanding, preparing, and submitting Value Added Tax (VAT) returns to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The unit provides the knowledge and skills that are needed to keep businesses, employers and clients compliant with laws and practices that apply to VAT and payroll. You will learn about legislation and the importance of maintaining your technical knowledge through monitoring updates. For VAT, you will understand the registration and deregistration rules, including signing up for Making Tax Digital (MTD), and the rules relating to specialist VAT schemes. You will be able to recognise different types of supplies and calculate VAT correctly, understanding the importance of the rules relating to the recovery of input VAT and the sanctions and penalties for inaccuracies, omissions and failure to make submissions and payments within the correct timescales.

• Understand current VAT regulations and building your knowledge of VAT registration requirements, different VAT schemes available, penalties for non-compliance and the different types of classification of supplies.
• Perform the calculations needed to complete a VAT return.
• Submit completed documentation in a timely manner while maintaining an effective working relationship with the relevant tax authority.

Management Accounting Techniques

This unit provides the knowledge and skills needed to understand the role of management accounting in an organisation, and how organisations use such information to aid decision making. You will learn the principles that underpin management accounting methodology and techniques, how costs are handled in organisations, and why organisations treat costs in different ways. You will be able to recognise different approaches to management accounting and provide informed and reasoned judgements to guide management. You will also learn how to apply these principles and appreciate why effective management accounting is crucial to any organisation.

• Identify why cost accounting is an important tool for an organisation.
• Understand different approaches to cost accounting and making informed and reasoned judgements to guide management and help decision making.

Business Awareness

This unit provides an understanding of the business, its environment and the influence that this has on an organisation’s structure, the role of its accounting function and its performance. You will explore the purposes and types of businesses that exist, and the rights and responsibilities of key stakeholders. You will learn what the micro- and macro-economic environments are and the impact and influence that changes in these environments can have on performance and decisions. This will include an understanding of the basic business law relating to the preparation of financial statements for different types of entities. You will learn about the concepts of risk, types of risk and risk management for a business.

• Preparation of final accounts for sole traders, developing your understanding of accounting systems and the environment and principles under which organisations operate.
• Accounting adjustments and accounting for fixed assets.

In addition to your classroom/online learning, you should aim to study for approximately eight hours per week.

You will undertake four computer-based exams. As we are an AAT accredited exam centre, these exams can be taken at college without the need to travel to an external exam centre.

Classroom Attendance
Classroom lessons are held at our training centre in Godmanchester, just outside of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, and be started in January or September each year. You will attend college each week during term time on a Thursday from 9:15am-1pm.

Online learning
Our online, distance learning courses can be started at any time. You will work through your online course materials at a time that is convenient to you and be supported by a personal tutor.

Whilst there are no formal academic entry requirements, you must be competent in manual double-entry bookkeeping as well as having a good basic level of maths and English.

As our courses include online learning components, students are required to have access to a PC or laptop with a reliable internet connection.

Course Fees
£2,573

Awarding Body Fees
All students or employers are required to pay the following awarding body fees in addition to the course fees. Please note that these are recharged at cost and may be subject to change.

• AAT membership
• AAT Exam fees (approximately £472)
• Textbooks (approximately £33 per unit)

CAW Loans2Learn
Course fees must be paid in full before the course begins. If you are unable to do so, we offer a personal loan scheme (Loans2Learn) that can help you to spread the cost into manageable monthly payments over a period of up to five years, subject to eligibility. It can be used to fully, or partially, cover your course fee (but does not cover any awarding body fees, such as enrolment and examination fees which are payable on top). More information can be found here.

The current rate of interest for a CAW Loans2Learn is 9%. Click on the calculator icon to calculate your monthly repayment options based on different repayment term lengths.

Example repayment - a Loans2Learn loan for the full course fee of £2,573 over 36 months would equate to monthly repayments of approximately £82 per month (please note this is an indicative price based on current fees and interest rates).

General Advice
Sources of financial help can be found on our student finance page. Before making any financial decision it is recommended that you seek advice from an independent source, for example the Money Advice Service.

If you have not achieved your qualification by the planned end date detailed in your individual learning plan, continued support and course access is available by paying monthly direct debit payments, or applying for a supplementary or increased loan, until certification is achieved.

These are current figures and may be subject to change. The differences in course fees reflect the level of funding that is available as a result of government policies and priorities. These may be as a result of age, employment status, previous education achievements, or location for example, and are outside the control of CAW Business School (The College of Animal Welfare).

This course is eligible for the Ministry of Defence Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) Funding. Read more here.

On completion of the level 3 AAT qualification, you can apply for the AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting.

No, there is no requirement to already be working in a finance role. In fact, many students undertake AAT courses to change career, or enhance their CV ahead of applying for job in finance/accounting.

If you are planning on attending college for classroom-based lessons our intakes are January and September each year. If you are looking to study our online course, there’s no need to wait, you can start at any time.

Once you are enrolled and ready to start you will work through the online course materials in your own time. You will be allocated a tutor as a point of contact to support you through the course.

No, as a private further education college fees are applicable to all students. We do have a Loans2Learn scheme that can help you to spread the costs of study into manageable monthly payments.

Yes, many of our students who are employed in a finance job choose to undertake this qualification as part of the AAT Level 3 Assistant Accountant Apprenticeship.