foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

[SECTION TITLE]

Certified Accounting Technician FPER GUIDE

In order to become a Certified Accounting Technician (CAT), you must pass the exams, the Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) module and achieve the Foundations in Practical Experience Requirement (FPER). To complete the FPER you must obtain at least one year (12 months) of supervised, relevant, practical experience in an accounting or finance related role and achieve competence in a range of skills and activities. You should record achievement of your workplace experience and skills in your FPER Record. This booklet explains the CAT practical training requirements and how to document the work experience. For ACCA to accept the FPER as properly verified, you should be supported and guided at work by a workplace mentor and competences MUST be signed off as achieved by a suitably qualified person. The forms that you and your workplace mentor(s) need to complete are contained in the FPER Record forms booklet.

USEFUL address ACCA Connect 2 Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street Glasgow G3 8BW United Kingdom tel: +44 (0)141 582 2000 fax: +44 (0)141 582 2222 www.accaglobal.com
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CONTENTS
Introduction Practical experience FPER Record forms Work permitted outside approved training Obtaining the Certified Accounting Technician Qualification Frequently asked questions Certified Accounting Technician Competences 4 5 7 8 9 10 13

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

contents

INTRODUCTION
To become a Certified Accounting Technician, you must pass or be exempt from the CAT exams, complete the Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) module and meet ACCAs Foundations in Practical Experience Requirement (FPER). The FPER Record must not be submitted until all elements of the CAT qualification are complete and this will be your final stage to the qualification.

The structure of the CAT Qualification and how it links with the ACCA Qualification is shown below. There are three levels of the CAT Qualification: Introductory Certificate in Financial and Management Accounting consisting of FA1, Recording Financial Transactions and MA1, Management Information Intermediate Certificate in Financial and Management Accounting consisting of

FA2, Maintaining Financial Records and MA2, Managing Costs and Finances Diploma in Accounting and Business which consists of FAB, Accountant in Business, FMA, Management Accounting, and FFA, Financial Accounting. CAT students must also pass two from three specialist Options papers; FAU, Foundations in Audit FTX, Foundations in Taxation and FFM, Foundations in Financial Management.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE To complete the FPER you must obtain at least one years supervised work experience in a relevant accounting or finance role and meet the minimum competence requirements for the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) Qualification. You must also provide evidence that you have fulfilled the Foundations in practical experience requirements by completing the FPER Record.

MATHS AND ENGLISH SELF-CHECK MODULES (optional) FOUNDATIONS IN PROFESSIONALISM MODULE

+ 2 exams
= INTRODUCTORY CERTIFICATE IN FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

+ 2 exams
= INTERMEDIATE CERTIFICATE IN FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

+ 3 exams

+ 2 exams from 3
+ FPER including 12 months work experience

= DIPLOMA IN ACCOUNTING AND BUSINESS

SPECIALIST OPTIONS AWARDS

= CERTIFIED ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN (CAT)

+ PROFESSIONAL ETHICS MODULE

+ 6 exams

= ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN ACCOUNTING AND BUSINESS

BSc from Oxford Brookes University

+ PER including 36 months work experience

+ 5 exams

= ACCA member

MBA from Oxford Brookes University

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
WHY IS PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IMPORTANT? To work effectively in an accounting technician role, it is very important that you are able to demonstrate competences in a wide range of both personal effectiveness and technical skills. These will enable you to work independently and to support professional accounting staff in a range of business areas, including bookkeeping, financial administration, cost accounting and in other roles within financial accounting, management accounting, treasury, finance, within the private or public sector, or within financial shared service centres. The CAT exams provide you with the knowledge and understanding which underpins competent performance in the workplace, but to be fully effective at work, the knowledge and skills acquired through study should be applied and demonstrated practically. WHAT ARE COMPETENCES? ACCA has identified 26 competences that broadly cover a range of personal effectiveness and technical functions. The competences describe functions that are carried out by individuals within an accounting environment. The competences are made up of elements (challenge questions or specific tasks) which contain a description of what an individual must experience or achieve, so that they can demonstrate competence. There are 26 competences listed on pages 13 to 15. Each competence contains several elements. There are four Essentials Competences (EC) and 22 Technical Competences (TC). The Essentials Competences are generic in nature covering such personal effectiveness skills as acting professionally and ethically, managing self, communicating effectively and using information and communications technology, which all accounting technicians need to demonstrate. One of the Essentials Competences is very similar, and the other three identical, to those included within the ACCA Practical Experience Requirement (PER). To take this into account, demonstrating these competences will give exemption from four of the nine Essentials Performance Objectives of the ACCA PER, should a student choose to study towards the ACCA Qualification after achieving full CAT status. A student will also be able to claim 12 of these 36 months work experience required for ACCA PER. These competences must be demonstrated to your workplace mentor by answering Challenge Questions. There are three Challenge Questions set for each EC.

ESSENTIALS COMPETENCES Below is the list of the Essentials Competences (EC) which all students must complete: EC1: Act professionally at work EC2: Manage self EC3: Communicate effectively EC4: Using information and communications technology TECHNICAL COMPETENCES Below is the full list of Technical Competences (TC). GROUP 1 Technical Competences linked to papers FA1 and MA1 Minimum of ONE to be achieved 1 2 3 4 TC1: Verify and record income and receipts from originating documents TC2: Verify and record purchases and payments from originating documents TC3: Prepare ledger accounts and an initial trial balance TC4: Provide basic information on costs and revenues.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

TC6: Maintain records relating to capital acquisition and disposal TC7: Prepare the final accounts of unincorporated entities TC8: Prepare and complete sales tax/vat returns TC9: Record and analyse information relating to direct costs TC10: Record and analyse information relating to indirect costs TC11: Record and analyse information relating to costs, revenues and profit TC12: Manage and control cash receipts, payments and balances.

GROUP 3 Technical Competences linked to the Diploma and specialist Options papers Minimum of THREE to be achieved 1 2 3 TC13: Draft financial statements for different business sectors TC14: Interpret financial statements for different business sectors TC15: Use management accounting techniques to support planning and decision-making 4 TC16: Measure and evaluate financial performance 5 TC17: Plan and control financial performance 6 TC18: Use and evaluate accounting systems and financial controls 7 TC19: Implement internal and external audit procedures 8 TC20: Prepare personal taxation computations and complete tax returns 9 TC21: Prepare business taxation computations and complete tax returns 10 TC22: Grant credit and monitor and control the collection of debts. The complete Essentials and Technical Competences are available in the Foundations in Practical Experience (FPER) Record.

GROUP 2 Technical Competences linked to papers FA2 and MA2 Minimum of TWO to be achieved 1 TC5: Correct errors and process accounting adjustments in the extended trial balance

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

practical experience

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

Challenge questions require you to describe an experience or a task that you have carried out, explain what you learnt from the experience and review the impact of the experience on yourself and on the organisation. The Technical Competences (TC) relate to specific accounting related roles, responsibilities and tasks. Each TC is linked both to relevant accounting occupational standards and to the syllabuses of the CAT exams which are assessed at three levels. There are four TCs linked to papers FA1 and MA1, of which you must achieve a minimum of ONE. There are eight TCs linked to the papers FA2 and MA2 of which you must demonstrate TWO. Of the remaining papers, at the highest level of CAT, including Options papers, there are 10 linked TCs of which you must achieve a minimum of THREE. HOW MANY COMPETENCES DO I HAVE TO ACHIEVE IN TOTAL? To qualify as a Certified Accounting Technician, you must achieve 10 competences in total, including: All four Essentials Competences A minimum of six Technical Competences; linked with all three levels of the CAT qualification. WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS FOR EACH COMPETENCE? To demonstrate competence to a standard, you must do the following: Obtain sufficient work experience in the elements listed on pages 13 to 15 Answer Challenge Questions within a maximum limit of 500 words Explain how you have demonstrated Technical competences within a maximum limit of 250 words and tick off the specific skills demonstrated.

HOW DO I ACHIEVE A COMPETENCE? Competence is the ability to perform an activity to a set standard within the workplace. You achieve a competence if you can meet the requirement described without close supervision or regular instruction from your workplace mentor. WHO CAN ACT AS A WORKPLACE MENTOR? Wherever possible your workplace mentor should be a line manager or partner who is: a Certified Accounting Technician or a member of AAT a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant a member of an accountancy or auditing body recognised by law in your country of employment a member of an accountancy or auditing body which is a member of IFAC. Your workplace mentor should regularly review your work to check that you are meeting the practical experience requirements. They can also help you to plan how to gain the required experience. They are also responsible for judging whether you have achieved a competence. Note that for the demonstration of the Essentials Competences, which count towards the ACCA Practical Experience Requirement (PER), the person that signs off your FPER competences must be qualified beyond Certified Accounting Technician level or AAT. Your FPER Essentials competences must be signed off by someone who is both familiar with your work and a fully qualified accountant Please refer to page 11 for additional guidance on workplace mentoring.

CAN I GET EXEMPTIONS FROM ANY PAPERS with MY WORK EXPERIENCE Completion of ALL the competences linked to a paper will give you exemption from that exam paper when you claim the full CAT qualification. For example, completion of TC1, TC2 and TC3 will gain exemption from the exam paper FA1. Completion of TC9, TC11 and TC12 will give exemption from MA2. A table showing which competences are linked with which of the first four CAT papers is shown on page 12 in Table 1.

FPER record forMs

The FPER Record comprises one form which contains a record and summary of work experience and competences demonstrated which are verified by a suitably qualified workplace mentor.

The FPER Record form is designed to enable you to record evidence of your practical work experience and skills and have this experience verified by your workplace mentor. The FPER Record form is provided as a writeable and printable PDF booklet which can be downloaded from ACCAs website at www.accaglobal.com through the myACCA portal. You should complete the record and the summary, get your competences signed off and keep the records safe until you are ready to submit the FPER Record to ACCA. You are recommended to keep a diary of practical work experience and update it on a regular basis, at least once a month. This will help you to complete the FPER Record. The diary may take any form and is not submitted to ACCA. FPER RECORD AUDITS ACCA will conduct FPER audits to quality assure the FPER process and to maintain the standards that are set out in the Essentials and Technical Competences. ACCA reviews all FPER Records submitted, to check that they have been fully completed and signed off by a workplace mentor. A significant number of FPER Records will be more fully audited to ensure they provide adequate evidence of students practical experience and competence. If ACCA has grounds to believe that the FPER Record has not been fully or appropriately completed, ACCA will follow any outstanding issues with you directly and may ask you for clarification,

require further evidence to be submitted or in extreme cases, may take disciplinary action against you if it can be established that any work experience has been falsified in any way. COMPLETING THE FPER RECORD FORM There is a separate page in the FPER Record form for each of the 26 Competences As already stated you have to complete all four Essentials Competences; EC1, EC2, EC3 and EC4. You must also complete at least six Technical Competences; one from Group 1, two from Group 2 and three from Group 3. The choice of which Technical Competences (TCs) you complete should be discussed and agreed between you and your workplace mentor. Your choice of TCs should be based upon your work experience and where you can demonstrate that the work you do meets the competence requirements. As you gain experience and demonstrate your competences you should complete the FPER Record for the TCs you have selected. It is important that you provide an account of how you have achieved your competence, reflecting your work experience, in addition to ticking off that you have carried out all the specific activities associated with each TC being demonstrated. Ideally Essentials and Technical competences should be verified and signed off during any performance review that you attend with your manager, who may also be your workplace mentor, if suitably qualified. This may be every

three, six or twelve months. Alternatively, you should set up a regular review meeting with another person (if your manager or workplace mentor is not suitably qualified) to review your progress and complete the FPER Record for any competences achieved. A review of your progress should take place at least once a year. The FPER Record also provides a summary of the competences you have achieved. These must be verified by your workplace mentor after you have achieved them all. When the four Essentials Competences and the six Technical Competences have been satisfied you can complete and sign the FPER Record and ask your workplace mentor or your training manager (whoever is the appropriately qualified person) to review it and countersign your FPER off as completed. Note that you can electronically complete the FPER Record in the text and tick boxes contained within the record, but the final version must be printed, signed-off manually by your workplace mentor and sent to ACCA to the following address: Admissions Operational Delivery ACCA 2 Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street Glasgow G3 8BW United Kingdom

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

fper record forms

WorK perMitted outside approVed traininG

Holders of the Certified Accounting Technician qualification who are not registered on the ACCA qualification may undertake work within the definition of public practice, subject to section 8 of the ACCA Rulebook. They may refer to their status as a Certified Accounting Technician and use the designatory letters CAT after their name.
If you are a Certified Accounting Technician holder but also registered as a student on the ACCA Qualification, you may not claim to be a member of ACCA nor undertake work within the definition of public practice. You may undertake work outside this definition, provided that you do not refer to your status as a Certified Accounting Technician holder. The work that may be undertaken includes: basic book-keeping the recording of basic accounting data the preparation of accounting records to trial balance stage payroll VAT (applies in the UK only). You may provide such services either in a self-employed capacity or as an employee. The above rules do not apply if you: are a Practising Certificate holder and member of one of the UK or Irish Institutes of Chartered Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy; or hold a professional accountancy qualification which confers the right to practise in your country of residence. Further information about the work permitted outside approved training is available on ACCAs website at www.accaglobal.com

oBtaininG tHe certified accountinG tecHnician Qualification

When you have successfully completed all of the Diploma exams and two of the Options papers, you will receive an application form entitled Application for Certified Accounting Technician Status. In order to obtain the Certified Accounting Technician qualification, you must have successfully completed the Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) module and demonstrate that you have fulfilled ACCAs Foundations in Practical Experience Requirement (FPER).

TRANSFERRING TO ACCA REGISTER Students who have completed the CAT Qualification may wish to transfer to the ACCA register with exemptions from the Knowledge module. Foundations in Accountancy registered students are automatically transferred to the ACCA register on completion of FAB, FMA and FFA unless at the time of application they elect to continue to study for CAT. Students who wish to continue to study towards the CAT Qualification

must opt out of the auto transfer to the ACCA Qualification at that stage. FIA students, who meet the minimum entry requirements for the ACCA Qualification, can elect to join the ACCA register at any point up to, and including, the point at which they successfully achieve CAT holder status, but a transfer administration fee will be applied to those who elect to transfer to the ACCA register before achieving full CAT status.

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

obtaining the certified accounting technician qualification

freQuentlY asKed Questions

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE When can I gain my practical experience? You can gain your practical experience before, during or after completion of the exams. There is no time limit to gaining practical experience or applying for the Certified Accounting Technician Qualification. Can I use experience gained before I registered as a Foundations in Accountancy student towards the practical experience requirements? Yes, provided that the experience is supervised, relevant and can be verified. You should record your previous experience in the FPER Record as soon as possible after registration as a Certified Accounting Technician student and have it verified by your previous workplace mentor, provided they are appropriately qualified to be your workplace mentor. Does my experience have to be gained in a specific role or business sector? No. You may use experience gained in any accounting or accounting-related role, provided that it contributes to the achievement of the minimum competence requirements. The experience may be gained in any business sector or combination of sectors (e.g. public practice, corporate or the public sector). Do I have to work for an organisation that has been approved by ACCA? No. However ACCA encourages all employers of ACCA students to seek accreditation for the training support provided. This enables ACCA to provide employers with appropriate support and update them on relevant training issues. If you work for an ACCA Approved Employer trainee development CAT at Gold or Platinum level, and subject to your employers agreement to you claiming the exemption, you will not be required to fully complete the FPER Record. You will only need to sign that you work for an approved employer. Can lecturing experience count? No. Lecturing experience may not count towards the practical experience requirements for the Certified Accounting Technician qualification.
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Can I use experience gained in a parttime or temporary position? Yes, provided that the work experience is of a sufficient breadth and depth to contribute towards achieving the minimum competence requirements and that it is properly supervised. You may find that experience gained in a part-time or temporary position does not allow you to achieve many competences. Also, work experience gained on a part-time basis can only count towards the practical experience requirements on a pro-rata basis. Therefore, wherever possible, it is advisable to obtain full-time work experience that is relevant, supervised and meets the Certified Accounting Technician competence requirements. As a guideline, ACCA considers full-time work experience to be 35 hours per week. 1,540 hours of part-time work equates to one year of full-time work experience. What if I am self-employed? The CAT practical work experience requirements mean that your work and competence has to be supervised and verified by a workplace mentor. Unless your work allows for this it cannot count towards your FPER Record. Also, the provision of basic bookkeeping services directly to the public cannot constitute approved accountancy experience and therefore may not count towards the practical experience requirements for the Certified Accounting Technician qualification, unless taken under supervision (eg on a subcontract basis) when it may constitute approved accountancy experience. COMPLETING THE FPER RECORD How much detail do I need to put in the FPER Record? Your answers to the challenge questions set for each Essentials Competence should be concise and there is an upper limit of 500 words on each answer. Technical Competence descriptions should be more concise. However, both should give sufficient explanation so that your workplace mentor, and anyone external to your organisation, can understand them. The narratives for Technical Competences should be restricted to a maximum of 250

words each. You should avoid using jargon or abbreviations unless they are explained. With the Technical Competences you must also tick that you have undertaken the specific activities within each competence and your workplace mentor must verify your achievement of these by signing and dating the form for each Technical Competence you achieve. Examples have been provided as an indicator of the level of detail that is needed in a document entitled Demonstrating Essentials and Technical Competences listed under FPER support within the CAT section of the Foundations in Accountancy website pages. Can my FPER Record be completed retrospectively? Experience gained prior to registration can count, however, you will need to be able to ask your previous workplace mentor (providing they are appropriately qualified) to authenticate it and sign off any competences that you might have achieved at that time. Can I use experience that I obtained when I was studying for another professional accountancy qualification? Yes, provided that the experience is supervised, relevant and can be verified. ACCA is unable to accept the training records of another professional accountancy body because they are not based upon the achievement of the CAT competences. You will need to record your previous experience in the FPER Record as soon as possible after registration as a Certified Accounting Technician student and have it verified by your previous workplace mentor.

freQuentlY asKed Questions

SELF-REVIEW ISSUES I am the most senior member of accounting staff in my organisation. Who should review my FPER Record? You should make arrangements for your organisations external auditors or accountants to sign, or countersign, the FPER Record. My workplace mentor has no professional accountancy qualification, but has considerable experience in finance. Can he/she verify my FPER Record and Summary? Your workplace mentor should be someone with whom you work closely, who knows the type of work you currently undertake, and who also knows the quality of your work. Ideally this will be your line manager, or whoever you report to on particular projects or activities. Your workplace mentor should be a qualified accountant or CAT holder or AAT member. If they are not an ACCA member, they should be a member of a professional accountancy or audit body recognised by law in the country in which you work. The person who signs off your FPER as completed, mustbe suitably qualified whether or not this is your workplace mentor. If your workplace mentor is not a qualified accountant or auditor, another option is to get your competences countersigned by someone else who is qualified. All Essentials Competences must be signed off by a fully qualified accountant such as an ACCA member or someone else qualified as a professional accountant or auditor as recognised by law in your country of employment. You must enter the details of the qualified person in the FPER Record. The FPER Record forms refer to workplace mentor, as the person who signs-off your FPER competences, but note that this person should be suitably qualified to do so. You may have more than one workplace mentor over a period of time who take responsibility for helping you to achieve different competences. For example,

you may report directly to your line manager who will be able to help you with TC8, Prepare and complete sales tax/VAT returns, but you may also be working closely on a project with another colleague in another department who may be able to support you on EC3, Communicate Effectively It is important that your workplace mentor has the knowledge and experience to support you they will be assessing whether you have met the competences so it is crucial they have the expertise to do this. You should always avoid having friends or relatives as your workplace mentor to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Can my current workplace mentor verify experience gained at a previous employer or in another department? No. Your current workplace mentor is only responsible for verifying the experience gained under his/her supervision and the competences demonstrated in your current role. You should ensure that your FPER Record is brought up-to-date and reviewed when you leave an employer or change departments. QUALIFICATION AND POST QUALIFICATION ISSUES I have passed all of the exams required for the Certified Accounting Technician. Does that mean I am a Certified Accounting Technician and can use the designatory letters CAT after my name? No. Completion of the Certified Accounting Technician exams does not mean that you are a Certified Accounting Technician. In order to obtain the Certified Accounting Technician qualification, in addition to passing the exams, you must successfully complete the Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) module and demonstrate that you have fulfilled the Foundations of Practical Experience Requirement (FPER) explained within this guide. You may only refer to yourself as a Certified Accounting Technician, and use the designatory letters CAT after your name, when you have been awarded the Certified Accounting Technician qualification.

When I have obtained the Certified Accounting Technician qualification may I refer to myself as a member of ACCA? No. A member of ACCA is an individual who has completed the ACCA Qualification exams, the professional Ethics module, satisfied the practical experience requirements for ACCA membership, and been formally admitted to ACCA membership. When I have obtained ACCAs Accounting Technician qualification, can I offer my services directly to the public? If you hold the Certified Accounting Technician qualification and are registered on the ACCA Qualification student register, you may provide payroll, VAT (UK only) and basic bookkeeping services; record basic accounting data; and prepare accounting records to trial balance. However, you may not refer to your status as a Certified Accounting Technician or undertake work within the definition of public practice as defined in the ACCA Rulebook. If you are a Certified Accounting Technician and are not registered on the ACCA Qualification, you may undertake work that falls within ACCAs definition of public practice (see the ACCA Rulebook for full details). You may also refer to your status as a Certified Accounting Technician and use the designatory letters CAT after your name. Certified Accounting Technicians may only carry out audit work or other reserved work where authorised to do so by applicable law. I have obtained the Certified Accounting Technician qualification. How do I proceed to study for the ACCA Qualification? Once you have completed the Certified Accounting Technician exams, you can request a transfer to the ACCA Qualification register and be awarded an exemption from the Fundamentals Knowledge module exams of the ACCA Qualification and from four of the nine Essentials Performance Objectives within the ACCA Practical Experience Requirement (PER).

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

frequently asked questions

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freQuentlY asKed Questions

May I use the practical experience gained for my Certified Accounting Technician qualification towards the practical experience requirement (PER) for ACCA membership? Yes, you can use the practical experience gained for your Certified Accounting Technician qualification towards the practical experience requirements for ACCA membership. After you complete the FPER and have registered for the ACCA Qualification you will be exempted from Essentials POs: 1, 4, 5 and 6 of the ACCA PER and your 12 months experience will also count towards the three years required for the ACCA PER. Which exam exemptions can I apply for when I have completed my practical work experience requirements? When you have completed all the practical experience requirements, which includes a minimum of the four Essentials Competences and six Technical Competences (10 in total), and you have had this experience and your competences verified by your workplace mentor you may claim exemptions from up to all four of the CAT Introductory and Intermediate exams.

To get work based exemptions from any of the first four exam papers, you will need to have completed all the Technical Competences associated with that paper. This will usually mean that you have to complete more than the minimum number of competences than would have been required if all exams are taken. The Technical Competences which are linked with the Introductory and Intermediate levels are shown in Table 1 below. You do not need to claim the exemptions until you have completed the Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) module and all other CAT exams. The FPER should be sent to ACCA when you are ready to claim your CAT Qualification. Any exams not passed, but gained by work experience will be updated at this time.

TABLE 1 Technicical competences required to be demonstrated to gain work-based exemptions from the first four papers of CAT
FIA Exam papers FA1, Recording Financial Transactions MA1, Management Information FA2, Maintaining Financial Records MA2, Managing Costs and Finance Level Introductory Introductory Intermediate Intermediate TCs for exemption TC1, TC2 and TC3 TC4 TC5, TC6, TC7 and TC8 TC9, TC10, TC11 and TC12 Number of TCs 3 1 4 4

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certified accountinG tecHnician coMpetences

This section contains the full set of summarised Certified Accounting Technician competences. Each competence has a summary to help you and your workplace mentor understand what experience is required. The challenge questions or elements within each refer to the specific types of work activities and experience that you should be reflecting upon or describing to demonstrate competence.

ESSENTIALS AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCES DETAILED COMPETENCES ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THE FPER RECORD AND SUMMARY DOCUMENT. Essentials Competences are not linked to any particular level of the CAT qualification or to specific exams: Students must complete all FOUR of these:

EC1: ACT PROFESSIONALLY AT WORK You must be fully aware of the legal, professional and ethical standards and values that apply to you as a professional and to your work as an accountant. This will include understanding what it means to be a professional, keeping up to date with and complying with all relevant laws, upholding fundamental principles and acting ethically. EC2: MANAGE SELF As a professional, you are required to demonstrate an attitude and behaviours appropriate to the workplace. This includes organising and prioritising your own workload and aiming to deliver work of high quality that meets agreed objectives. You will need to work with other people from both your own, and other organisations. You must also be committed to your own learning and development and take action to address your identified learning and development needs.

EC3: COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY You will need to communicate clearly in order to work effectively with others. This includes communicating clearly with colleagues at all levels in your organisation and with people external to your own organisation. You must identify and minimise any barriers to effective communication and convey information in a way others will understand. You may also need to check your own understanding of information provided by others. EC4: USE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY You will use information and communications technology to improve your work output. You must make yourself aware of the software packages used in your workplace and make practical use of the software available to support your own work objectives. This might include using technology to gather and present information, calculate and interpret data and to communicate with others.

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

certified accounting technician competences

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certified accountinG tecHnician coMpetences

TECHNICAL COMPETENCES Group 1 competences Linked to FA1 and MA1 exam papers Students must demonstrate any ONE of these, at least. If claiming exemption from any introductory level paper, all competences linked to that paper must be completed. TC1 Verify and record income and receipts from originating documents Linked to FA1 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in the verification, preparation and coding of originating documents and in recording income and processing receipts from customers. (This TC may be demonstrated using manual or computerised systems.) TC2 Verify and record purchases and payments from originating documents Linked to FA1 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in the verification, preparation and coding of originating documents relating to purchase transactions and payments to suppliers. (This TC may be demonstrated using manual or computerised systems.) TC3 Prepare ledger accounts and an initial trial balance Linked to FA1 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in recording, totalling and balancing ledger accounts, reconciling them to control accounts, completing journal entries and can extract a draft trial balance, identifying and correcting errors. (This TC can be demonstrated using a computerised or manual accounting system)

TC4 Provide basic information on costs and revenues Linked to MA1 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in providing basic information about revenue and costs, including comparing costs and revenues against previous periods, forecasting cost and revenue data and in using spreadsheet packages effectively to support these activities. Group 2 competences Linked to FA2 and MA2 exam papers Students must demonstrate any TWO of these, at least. If claiming exemption from any intermediate level paper, all competences linked to that paper must be completed. TC5 Correct errors and process accounting adjustments in an extended trial balance Linked to FA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in collecting and collating financial accounting information (complete or incomplete), identifying and correcting errors and processing accounting adjustments through an extended trial balance TC6 Maintain records relating to capital acquisition and disposal Linked to FA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in keeping records relating to tangible non-current asset acquisition, depreciation and disposal TC7 Prepare the final accounts of unincorporated entities Linked to FA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in preparing income statements and statements of financial position for sole traders and partnerships

TC8 Prepare and complete sales tax/ VAT returns Linked to FA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in preparing, completing and submitting sales tax data and/or VAT returns TC9 Record and analyse information relating to direct costs Linked to MA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in classifying and recording direct costs and are able to analyse them for management information purposes TC10 Record and analyse information relating to indirect costs Linked to FA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in classifying and recording indirect costs for management information purposes TC11 Record and analyse information relating to costs, revenues and profit Linked to MA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in recording, estimating and analysing departmental, unit, job or process costs and revenues to calculate and optimise profitability TC12 Manage and control cash receipts, payments and balances Linked to MA2 This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in managing, forecasting and monitoring overall cash receipts, payments and balances

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certified accountinG tecHnician coMpetences

Group 3 competences Linked to Diploma and Options exams Students must demonstrate any THREE of these: TC13 Draft financial statements for different business sectors Linked to FFA This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in preparing statutory financial statements, including income statements, statements of financial position and cash flows and providing all supporting information under relevant legal and regulatory requirements for the sector in which you have experience TC14 Interpret financial statements for different business sectors Linked to FFA This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in identifying the different elements of financial statements and interpreting financial performance and position for the sector in which you have experience TC15 Use management accounting techniques to support planning and decision-making Linked to FMA This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in using relevant management accounting techniques to support planning and decision-making TC16 measure and evaluate financial performance Linked to FMA This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in using relevant management accounting performance measurement techniques to support management

TC17 Plan and control financial performance Linked to FMA This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in using relevant management accounting planning and control techniques to support management TC18 Use and evaluate accounting systems and financial controls Linked to FAB This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in using, managing and improving accounting systems and controls TC19 Implement internal or external audit procedures Linked to FAU This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in the planning, conduct and reporting of an internal or external audit assignment. TC20 Prepare personal taxation computations and complete tax returns Linked to FTX This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in the preparation of personal tax computations and completing relevant returns. TC21 Prepare business taxation computations and complete tax returns Linked to FTX This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in the preparation of business tax computations and completing relevant tax returns. TC22 Grant credit and monitor and control the collection of debts Linked to FFM This TC is about demonstrating that you are competent in managing credit facilities and credit control.

foundations in practical experience requirements (fper)

certified accounting technician competences

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