Accounting Technician

This is a two year course leading to the qualification of a Professional Accounting Technician. An Accounting Technicians Ireland qualification is a job requirement for many employers. An Accounting Technicians qualification will lead to a career as an Assistant Accountant, Credit Controller, Accounts Supervisor and Payroll Administrator.

Year 1

• Financial Accounting
• Taxation
• Business Law
• Business Management
• Spreadsheet Methods (Accounting Technicians Ireland)

Year 2

For the Accounting Technicians Diploma you are required to gain experiential learning through two years full-time employment (or the equivalent part-time). The Diploma qualification is awarded on successful completion of all 8 subjects and two years relevant work experience.

• Advanced Financial Accounting
• Advanced Taxation
• Management Accounting
• Financial Data Management

Course content may be revised for educational or organisational reasons.

Five passes in the Leaving Certificate on Ordinary Level papers at Grade D or better or four passes at least two of which are on Higher Level papers at Grade D or better. Passes must be obtained in English and either Accounting or Mathematics. Leaving Certificate Applied with Distinction grade. Mature students are most welcome to apply.

Students may achieve advanced entry (2nd year) to Business & Accounting courses in some third level colleges. Students may also work as qualified Accounting Technicians.

Students who study the Accounting Technician course in Plunket College of Further Education will acquire the skills and qualifications necessary to take up employment in the following areas: Assistant accountant, accountant, accounts administrator, credit controller, stock controller and banking.

Those who are successful in achieving the Diploma for Accounting Technician may proceed (with exemptions from certain subjects) to pursue a career in taxation.

Many of our students who qualify as an Accounting Technician often choose to continue their studies and use their ATI qualification as a stepping stone into other accountancy and business related areas.

Many of our students progress to other accountancy bodies to study to become an accountant, including:

• Chartered Accountants Ireland
• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• The Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
• The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

My name is Lyudmyla and I am a former student.  My career path started here in Plunket College back in 2008 when I did the Core VTOS Programme English Language, Business and IT (ELBIT 5).

Upon completion of this course, I realized that I wanted to become an accountant.  So my next move was to apply for the Accounting (IATI) course also at Plunket College and continue my education for another two years here.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the teachers for their invaluable contribution to my professional development and to acknowledge the VTOS scheme for giving me the financial support during my studies.

I registered as an ACCA student in 2012 which is not an easy course and took me almost 6 years to complete it as I had to find the balance between my studies, work, and a family life.  Having theoretical knowledge has no value until you apply it to practical purposes. With zero experience it was very hard to find my first job but everything is possible if you really want something.  Eventually I found an internship with one company and after 9 months of hard work, I was offered a 6-month trainee accountant contract.  Unfortunately, that employer couldn’t support my ACCA studies, so I had to look for a new employer who would.  It was a lot easier to find a job with some experience and took me only two and a half weeks to find an employer who paid for my ACCA course.

Eventually my dream came true – I became a fully qualified accountant in 2019 and now I work as a senior accountant in a small accounting practice. I really like my job as I work with several clients from various industries which gives me an opportunity to learn new things every day.

There are Continuous Professional Development requirements for all ACCA members, therefore I am still studying and doing Master Microsoft Excel Macros and VBA course at present.  IT skills are crucial for an accountant, so please do not miss Ciarán’s classes!   My main message to students would be – do not give up on your dreams!