AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting

• Business types, structure, governance, and the legal framework in which they operate.
• Impact of the external and internal environments on business, their performance, and decisions.
• Understand how businesses and accounts comply with principles and professional ethics.
• The impact of new technologies in accounting and the risks associated with data security.
• Communicating information to stakeholders.

• Accounting principles underlaying financial accounts preparation.
• Principles of advanced double-entry bookkeeping.
• Implementing procedures for the acquisition and disposal of non-current assets.
• Prepare and record depreciation calculations.
• Record period end adjustments.
• Produce and extend a trial balance.
• Produce financial statements for sole traders and partnerships.
• Interpret financial statements using profitability ratios.
• Prepare accounting records from incomplete information.

• Purpose and use of management accounting within organisations.
• Use techniques required for dealing with costs.
• Attribute costs according to organisational requirements.
• Investigate deviations from budgets.
• Use spreadsheet techniques to provide management accounting information.
• Use management accounting techniques to support short-term decision-making.
• Principles of cash management.

• Legislation requirements relating to VAT.
• Calculate VAT.
• Review and verify VAT returns.
• Understand the principles of payroll.
• Report information within the organisation.

Once enrolled, you have up to one year to complete your studies. The course will take approximately 620 hours to complete in total, of which 400 hours are proposed guided learning hours.

This course will be studied entirely via distance learning, meaning you will complete your learning either from home or a place that suits you. Full tutor support will be available via email, so if you have any questions or need some guidance, your tutor will be here to help. Your course materials will include a series of self-assessment exercises and tutor-marked questions to allow both yourself and your tutor to monitor your progress.

You will pay a one-off registration fee of £228 which will give you access to the qualification for its lifetime, which is typically four to five years. Once you have registered with AAT for your student membership, you will have access to their library of online resources and additional support materials, including sample assessments to help you prepare for your exams.

We will send an email with a link to download the free Sage software.

620 hours.

The qualification is assessed through eight tutor-marked assessments and four external exams, which you will complete at the end of your course. This computer-based exam must be sat under controlled conditions at an external examination centre. Your tutor will be able to help you decide when you are ready to take the assessments.

Booking your assessments

You can choose to add your exams to your enrolment. If you choose this option, we will book and pay for your exams for you. Our partner exam centre for students choosing to book their exams through us is based in Northamptonshire. When choosing to add your exams to your enrolment, it is important to note that we are only able to book your exams at the specified centre in Northamptonshire, and therefore, you must be prepared to travel to one of those centres to complete your exam.

If you do not wish to have your assessments included with your enrolment, you will need to book and pay for these separately.

For a list of available assessment locations, view AAT approved venues.

Once you have successfully completed your tutor-marked assignments and exams, you will receive your AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting from The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

With this accounting Diploma, you can achieve up to 56 UCAS points based on the grade you achieve. You can find out more about UCAS points here.

The skills developed during this course will enable you to apply for the following roles:

• Assistant accountant
• Senior bookkeeper
• Accounts assistant
• Audit trainee
• Credit controller
• Finance assistant
• Finance officer
• Payroll supervisor
• Tax assistant

Alternatively, you could progress to the next level of study by enrolling on the AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting or progress to higher education.

Take a read of ourHow to become an accountant career guide.