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Interview with Mrs Angela McLeod AICB CB.Cert, recent achiever of the Level II Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping, and model planes enthusiast.
'Although I'd heard the M-Day news, I didn't really start thinking about working towards the new qualification until April and I did all my studying with textbooks. In fact when I took the exam on 14th June, I realised that I'd over revised. I had already taken the online mock at home (I had to ban my husband from the room and really shut myself off).
'I can fully recommend the Kaplan textbooks that are written for the ICB exams. They're very helpful and the little exercises you work through help make the whole process much less daunting.
'To be honest, the questions were not as hard as I was expecting - you either know it or you don't. You don't need to be worried!
'Having been in the same job for 11 years, I took the exam just to prove to myself I knew what I was doing. You can sometimes feel like there's no real push when you're in the same job, and then M-Day came up and I thought "well actually, why not?". As I work for a big exporter I deal with lots of VAT Returns, credit control and all the books before everything gets handed over to the external accountant, so getting an official qualification made sense.
'I can now see that I know a darn sight more than I needed for the Level II Certificate in Manual Bookkeeping so I might even be on my way to taking the Level III.
'Of course, if you're not at a college, the prospect of exams can be very daunting, but the other members should know that the people at the test centre, run by Pearson Vue, were very nice. Pearson Vue centres also host all the Driving Theory tests so when I came in they guessed I wasn't there for that and said, "oh you must be our bookkeeper!" You have to hand over your passport and a bank card for ID, and they won't let you take anything into the room with you; but when I went it wasn't busy, and it was easy to book in. Yes, it was all very friendly and I came out flying on a high.
'My top advice is READ THE QUESTION! It was only after checking through my work that I realised I'd made a silly mistake by misreading something and making an assumption. I remember at school they said that if you're given two hours for an exam you should use it- there are no prizes for leaving early.
'I hope my story can encourage others, I'm no different from anyone else. I think it should be seen as less of an exam and more of a test, but once you've got that piece of paper you know you've achieved a certain standard.
'I would say I've been a silent member over the years, having only rung you once with a question I had about VAT and you gave me the answer I needed. Obviously I read the newsletters, but I'm not under the same sort of pressure as those of us who are running their own businesses. I guess everyone has their own reasons for being an ICB member but I just enjoy being part of a body and being kept informed and up to date.'
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