Student Outstanding Achievement Award
We are delighted to have two of our students nominated for the 2011 ICB Student of the Year award. Kirin Thompson and Angela Spencer will be going head to head right up to the announcement which will be made at the Banqueting House on the evening of 17th November. We wish them both the very best of luck. It has been a very difficult process this time around as we have so many excellent students, many of whom are now working as bookkeepers either in employment or as self employed. One student Tatjana Bertele stood out so much that we decided to present her with an Outstanding Achievements award. The presentation took place at the Grosvenor Hotel Stratford-upon Avon on the 19th of October.
After some time contemplating her future, Tatjana made the decision to train as a Bookkeeper in February this year. Due to her uncertainty she was advised by our course advisor David Campbell to take things one step at a time, but with her mind made up she decided to go for full membership. By September she was qualified and had upgraded her membership to Associate AICB, gaining distinctions in her exams along the way. Just one exam pass away from achieving her goal of being fully qualified by M-Day. As Tatjana had decided to follow the self employed route she managed to find time to develop and launch her own web site (www.yourtrustedresource.com). Following on from this Tatjana has received many enquiries from potential clients, and realising the needs of a modern day business has now started her studies for Payroll and Self-Assessment. We fully expect Tatjana to have completed her studies which include seven courses and exams in less than twelve months.
Tatjana's story so far.
Having had a successful career as a PA working across a broad number of industries, I can’t quite pinpoint the exact time I decided to become a bookkeeper. It would be fair to say I sort of fell into it (although bookkeeping functions formed a large part of many of the PA roles I undertook). When the recession hit, I began contemplating my future (as I am sure lots of others have and still are). Whilst having coffee with a relative I randomly saw an advertisement for bookkeeping in the local newspaper. This lit a spark somewhere in my mind. One of the things I’d enjoyed most as a PA was the bookkeeping side of the role (those elements that filled most people with dread!). I decided to look deeper into what bookkeeping really involved and discovered the ICB.
As someone who has always prided herself on attention to detail and being thorough, the thought of having to retrain in order to offer a professional and regulated service really appealed to me (as much as it daunted me). The more I researched the more I thought "I think I’ve finally found what I really want to do!” I was immediately impressed with what was on offer. Unlike most Associations and Institutes it seemed that you could really become a part of the ICB rather than being just a member or a number. The information available, not only on the web but over the telephone, really impressed me as did the forum and the possibility of attending regular regional meetings and seminars. After all this was going to be a new career for me and I was aware of the commitment required both mentally and financially, plus I would no doubt need guidance and support to make it work. This I felt was readily available from the ICB.
So, having finally decided to go down the bookkeeping route, the next step was to find the right training provider. Did I want classroom based or home study? My search eventually led me to Training Link. In February 2011 I contacted Training Link with a whole host of questions about the courses they offered, the support that would be available etc. I had so many questions that I started to doubt if this was the right route for me to take after all. If I was so sure why did I have all these questions? David at Training Link was extremely helpful; he answered all of my questions and more. There was no hard sell, the decision was left to me. I seem to recall being told that it would be ok if I needed more time to think about it "no need to sign up this instant”.
Cash flow was (and still is for the moment) really tight. I was taking a massive financial gamble. I had to work out the real cost the impact of retraining would have on my financial situation and admit that the picture wasn’t pretty (being a cautious person, I almost talked myself out of it several times).
I was made aware from the beginning that the ICB would be implementing a new membership structure which was due to come into force by the end of September, M-Day. Based on my growing enthusiasm and the fact that Training Link provide the courses on a fast track basis I set myself a target. I wanted to be ready for when M-Day arrived. I had to pass both manual and computerised exams up to level 3 in order to become a full member. I decided that if I was going to do it I should do it properly and go for the full membership. M-Day gave me a target to aim for. I think it is important to have a target or schedule otherwise an excuse can always be found for not seeing something through. All was going well with the studies and exams until June when I came bumping back down to earth. I had failed the Level 3 manual exam! Self doubt immediately kicked in, had I bitten off more than I could chew? I started to really question myself. Looking back at the reasons for failing, it was actually quite simple. I hadn’t read the questions properly, and as I had made a mistake early on it transposed through the accounts, and consequently made more of my answers incorrect.
What a great lesson to learn as a bookkeeper (and thankfully in an exam rather than in live accounts!). Be thorough and read through the information provided, or make mistakes and face the consequences. I doubt a client would be pleased if I spent hours working on books that ended up being inaccurate.
By September I was qualified up to AICB level and, although there was now no chance of my making it to MICB by the end of the month, I decided to make a start on my new business. I set up my own web site www.yourtrustedresource.com, had obtained my Practice Licence and started looking for clients in between completing my studies.
Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat! The level of training provided is to a high standard which means, if you’ve passed the exams you know your stuff! Anyone who has AICB or MICB attached to their name has worked very hard for these letters (I know, I’m one of them). It was whilst doing the course that I started to develop a very healthy respect for bookkeepers (I couldn’t believe what I was learning — this goes way beyond the perception of ‘it’s just data entry’).
My bottom line: A small spark is all it takes. In the middle of a recession and with an ailing bank balance, I somehow managed to become my own boss and am getting paid for doing something I love. If you have the commitment and the passion, opportunity will find you rather than you having to go on a wild goose chase. I’m just starting out in my venture but, already, I’m thoroughly enjoying the beginning of a wonderful new life.
I could not have done this without the tremendous support of all at Training Link. From customer care, quality of course and course materials, through to tutor support (thank you Angela!), I can only highly recommend Training Link as an outstanding course provider. It is because of the quality and support that I decided to continue my studies with Training Link. I am now on target to be fully qualified by mid November and also complete Payroll and Self Assessment exams by the start of 2012. With this I will be able to offer a complete service to my clients.
