Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

[barrytucker]

Hi UAC forum members,
First I'll cut to the chase, then I'll fill in the details about my specific case.
1. Is the PB certification and the QuickBooksPro certification recognized outside the US?
2. Are there really others like me who have no accounting experience that were able to pass the PB/QB exam?

I'm from the UK and currently live in Asia. In the UK I worked as an analytical chemist and have a BSc in chemistry. Currently I live in Asia and teach English. I have a good head for numbers and I'm really interested in doing the UAC PB course, and then the QuickBooks course, so I can change my career and do something I would enjoy. I'm concerned about whether I'll be able to achieve this goal for the reasons stated above.
Your opinions and experiences would be most appreciated...thx

[benjonusa]

Hi barrytucker, I'm originally from the UK too - London specifically, which is where I first qualified as an accountant. PB is not recognized in the UK in the way of an accountancy qualification, I do know that BUT it will help you much more than hurt you. General entry level qualification in accounting is the AAT which is recognized most places except the US. This qualification is the first step on the UK accountancy qualification ladder. Very well received in Asia. If you need further information about accounting in the British Isles I'd be glad to help you out. As far as recognition elsewhere, I couldn't comment.

[barrytucker]

Hi Ben,
Thanks for your advice. I'm now looking into the AAT. What about software training/certification? Any suggestions? Which is currently most widely used in the UK/Europe (or Asia)?

[benjonusa]

As far as small business accounting, QuickBooks is still a market leader in the UK. Sage is huge too. There are many different versions of sage and I know a large number of Chartered Accountants use Sage (not the peachtree package) for their clients.

If you're thinking of going the whole way and qualifying and entering industry for a while then you may want to go for the big applications such as Oracle Financials and SAP, both work in very similar ways. Once you learn a small package, you can adapt to them all fairly quickly and the same goes for the larger applications. I would normally say start with quickbooks, but if you want a good foundation for accounting software, stay clear and use a more stringent package (for learning purposes only). Once you're up and running, you can't beat QB for speed and ease.