The government subsidises the courses.
I'm currently studying level 2 AAT, I missed out on level one. I believe it goes up to level four which is a hefty qualification. Because I receive jobseekers allowance I was waived on some fees, but I still had to pay for the books and the AAT membership. Overall this came to about £260. The membership must be renewed annually if you want to get a decent position, but it doesn't include the initial administration fee.
Regarding the content, it's mostly double entry. At the beginning of the year we were taught some basic business knowledge, like costing and professional ethics. In a few weeks we start SAGE. If I were to continue into the second year ... just double entry but far more complicated.
> Double-entry is fundamental to accounting, in the same way that memory is fundamental to computing.
I couldn't agree more, but to get an entry level job, say purchase ledger clerk a lot of employers want experience with SAGE more so than paper T-A/Cs. One of my fellow students mentioned someone who works at a fairly high level in accountancy - almost completely ignorant of dub-entry, but was a whizz with SAGE. A look at a lot of job descriptions mirror this sentiment among typical employers. Using SAGE and the like contrasts sharply with the phrases some of my fellow students utter to remember the fundamental rules. My Zen Koan is: Debit the thief's A/C, credit the victim's.
