Hone

Lessons · Accounting · the order the steps are actually done in

The order the steps are actually done in

The road has a sequence, and parts of it run in parallel. Education qualifies you to sit; the examination is passed over a period; experience is gathered, often at the same time; then the application is made, and the licence is issued by somebody else on their own schedule.

Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.

In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a qualified accountant. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.

What it is for

Most of the wasted time on this road comes from doing in series what could be done in parallel, and from forgetting that the last step is not in your hands. The application is processed by an office with a queue, and that queue is between you and every date that is anchored to the licence being issued.

How to think about it

Draw the sequence once and mark which parts overlap. Then work backwards from the date you want to be licensed, adding the processing time you do not control, and see which of the overlapping parts has to start first.

Worked example

Education, to the point of qualifying to sit
First, because it gates the examination.
Examination and experience, overlapping
This is the overlap where the time is saved.
Application, once the requirements are met
Assembled by you.
Issue, by the board, in its own time
Not in your hands, and the event several rules are anchored to.

Your turn

Name the two stages that can be worked at the same time.

The examination and the  are gathered in parallel, not one after the other

The trap

Leaving the experience until the examination is finished. They overlap by design, and doing them in series can add years to a road where nothing required it.

Next in Accounting

Every Accounting lesson on one page

Practise the order the steps are actually done in on HoneA question on it now, a real problem where there is one, and it is remembered for review. Free, no email needed.