Course Completed: ICB Career Path + Level 4 Diploma subjects

After retiring in 2013, Vipul Patel could look back on a career as a businessman with experience in fields as diverse as IT, entertainment, and computer games, and four successful businesses to his name.

Restlessness, and a desire to give back with his experience led him back to the world of work, and it wasn’t long before he was examining his options. Not wanting to become another management consultant, he came to Ideal Schools to learn the craft of bookkeeping, and set up his own business, AccountsForMe, in Watford.

Mr Patel said: “I had checked out a few options, and Ideal Schools was fantastic. All the staff were really encouraging, and Brian couldn’t have been more helpful.

“Because I wasn’t working, I was able to go through all the exams to become a full Member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (MICB) in less than seven months. The tutors at Ideal Schools were always available, and the course materials worked perfectly for me.

“I thoroughly enjoyed studying with them, and would certainly recommend the experience to anyone who was thinking about an online college.”

AccountsForMe has gone from strength to strength since Mr Patel set the business up. It achieved limited status in 2014, after only a year of trading, and now employs two staff. In 2015, the company was nominated for the ICB’s LUCA award, named after Luca Pacioli, the Cistercian monk credited with inventing the process of double entry bookkeeping, for Best Small Practice, and Best Newcomer.

Not content to rest on his laurels, Mr Patel has devoted his attention to future proofing the business by going back to Ideal Schools to prepare for the upcoming FRS105 (Financial Reporting standard) exams. Issued in July 2015, this will enable him to prepare accounts for micro-entities.

Mr Patel said: “I wanted to have the business poised for whatever challenges the future might hold, such as my choice to specialise in Xero, a cloud based bookkeeping system for Mac.

"When the FRS105 came into existence, I knew Ideal Schools would be best placed to get me ready for the exam. I’ve already taken the mock exam with them, and want to be ready for the next step.

“I got the best grounding for my company with the expert tutelage given by Ideal Schools. For anyone wanting to start a bookkeeping business, it should be their starting place.”

Click Here to see the services that Vip offers