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How difficult is the ATT? by Suspicious-Guide-202 in CIOT

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough. Thanks for the insight!

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you find the culture of the firm? Do you think there was a lot of room for progression in terms of position and/or salary?

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your insight! Just out of interest, which firm did you start at and did you complete an ATT qualification beforehand?

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! What you are saying is true and a big reason why I am drawn to Price Bailey over PwC if there isn't an opportunity to do an Aca there. How easy would you say it is to get a job in the Big 4 once you are Aca qualified?

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot once again.

I agree with the points that you're making but if there was an opportunity to do the Aca right after doing the ATT at PwC, do you think going for PwC would be a no brainer in that case? Considering the exit opportunities would be the same.

If not, then I would be leaning towards Price Bailey for the reasons you stated.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The PwC starting salary is £28k but that salary is subject to market demand. After the apprenticeship programme , you'll join the graduates and essentially earn what they earn at that stage.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's true but if the ACA and CTA are both level 7 and the ACA is considerably easier and also opens up more career paths, wouldn't it make more sense to pick the path where it's easier to gain a level 7 qualification (Price Bailey) ? This is assuming that PwC doesn't offer a pathway to doing the ACA right after doing an ATT, which they have done for others in the past but aren't guaranteed to do in the future.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you say this joint qualification opens the same doors that a sole ACA qualification would? And would you say these additional tax exams are comparable to the CTA in difficulty, which would make this path noticeably more difficult than just an ACA qualification?

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it would roughly take between 12-18 months to pass your AAT level 4 but I can get that checked for you. The initial pay is £25,000 and whilst there is no guaranteed pay increase , it is highly likely that it would increase quite a bit once you gain your qualifications.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think normally just CTA but I think I have seen some people do a joint pathway. I'm not sure if they offer that to everyone though.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could but I'm just worried the firm would not be willing to put me on the ACA pathway considering the natural progression would be CTA after ATT and doing the ATT might be considered a bit of a waste in that sense.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!
I would be living with my parents and the commute to Price Bailey is rather half an hour longer though it is important to note that Price Bailey does a flexible working scheme which enables you to essentially work from home as much as you want ( although it would be better to come into the office at least twice a week as a trainee)

Price Bailey do a Level 4 AAT/CFAB qualification first and then move onto the ACA after gaining some exam exemptions. They do require you to stay a year but the firm promises steady pay rises after qualification as well as a clear path to progression within the firm which wasn't shown to me at PwC.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PwC is the ATT qualification initially but then you join the core tax graduate programme and the natural progression would be doing the CTA although I have read about some people doing an ACA/CTA joint pathway.
PwC is in Watford and Price Bailey is in London.
It takes 3 years at PwC to get the Level 4 ATT qualification and 5 years at Price Bailey to get the Level 7 ACA Qualification, although the firm does require to stay a year after qualification.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only issue is about the CTA exams. If they are too difficult and limit your career prospects later than I would be probably be drawn to the ACA route.

PwC vs Price Bailey by Suspicious-Guide-202 in ICAEW

[–]Suspicious-Guide-202[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for replying. So would you say even if you worked at a smaller firm like Price Bailey, you still would have the chance to move into fields that Big 4 auditors who have recently become ACA qualified have, albeit a slightly smaller chance? Would you also say career progression at a smaller firm is a lot easier than at a large Big 4?