ATA, ATP designations

[DaveinTexas]

Hi all.

I am currently an EA and I am seriously thinking of going through the NTPI courses to become a fellow and to gain representation knowledge beginning next year. It seems to me that the knowledge I could obtain from these courses would benefit my practice more than seeking a Masters in Taxation; any thoughts on this?

In the meantime, do you find it worthwhile to seek other designations such as ATA, accredited tax adviser or the ATP, accredited tax preparer? Are these exams very challenging?

If you have taken and passed the exam, did you find it worthwhile to go through the trouble of getting a study guide for the exam?

TIA. Have a great week all.

[Roberts]

I've never heard of the Fellows program. What are the requirements, cost, yearly fees? Is there an actual commercial JOB market for those who qualify?

[BOB W]

You can be an ATA automatically....

http://www.acatcredentials.org/ata.html

[Uncle Sam]

Ata Atp

If you are referring to the NTPI Fellow program(National Tax Practice Institute), it's a designation to those who partcipate in and complete the education program of NAEA's educational program sponsored by the NAEA-EF (Education Foundation).
Although I'm not a Fellow, nor ever took a course from it, it's a full service program that provides education on BOTH tax preparation AS WELL AS TAX REPRESENTATION, TAX RESEARCH, possibly even studying for the Tax Court Exam.
To learn more about it, go to http://www.naea.org