AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting

• Understanding and implementing the organisational planning process.
• Use internal processes to enhance operational control.
• Use techniques to aid short-term and long-term decision-making.
• Analyse and report on business performance.

• Reporting frameworks that underpin financial reporting.
• Drafting statutory financial statements for limited companies.
• Drafting consolidated financial statements.
• Interpreting financial statements using ratio analysis.

• Roles and responsibilities of the accounting function within an organisation.
• Evaluating internal control systems.
• Evaluating an organisation’s accounting system and underpinning procedures.
• The impact of technology on accounting systems.

• Preparing tax computations for sole traders and partnerships.
• Preparing tax computations for limited companies.
• Preparing tax computations for the sale of capital assets by limited companies.
• The administrative requirements of the UK’s tax regime.
• The tax implications of business disposals.
• Understand tax relief, tax planning, and agent’s responsibilities in reporting taxation to HM Revenue and Customs.

• Principles and rules that underpin taxation systems.
• Calculating UK taxpayers’ total income.
• Calculating income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) payable to UK taxpayers.
• Calculating capital gains tax by UK taxpayers.
• Principles of inheritance tax.

• Understand the audit and assurance framework.
• Importance of professional ethics.
• The planning process for audit and assurance.
• Reviewing and reporting findings.

• Preparing forecasts for cash receipts and payments.
• Preparing cash budgets and monitoring cash flows.
• The importance of managing finance and liquidity.
• Understand the way of raising finance and investing funds.
• Regulations and organisational policies that influence decisions in managing cash and finance.

• Relevant legislation and contract law that impacts the credit control environment.
• How information is used to assess credit risk and grant credit in compliance with organisational policies and procedures.
• Understand the organisation’s credit control processes for managing and collecting debts.
• Techniques available for collecting debts.

Once enrolled, you have up to one year to complete your studies. The course will take approximately 985 hours to complete in total, of which 390 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 £244 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.

You will need to complete five units on this course from a mix of mandatory and optional units. The mandatory units are:

• Applied management accounting
• Drafting and interpreting financial statements
• Internal accounting systems and controls

You will also then need to choose two units from the following list of optional units:

• Business tax
• Personal tax
• Audit and assurance
• Cash and financial management
• Credit and debit management

985 hours.

The qualification is assessed through five tutor-marked assessments and five 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.

Alternatively, if you choose not to add your assessments to your enrolment, you will need to book and pay for these separately.

Once you have successfully completed your tutor-marked assignments and exams, you will receive your AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting from The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

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

• Commercial analyst
• Payroll manager
• Fixed asset accountant
• Indirect tax manager
• Tax supervisor
• VAT accountant

Have a look at our ‘How to Become an Accountant‘ career guide.