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ACCA Qualification Ethics and Experience

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Ethics & Experience

In order to qualify as an ACCA member, any individual registering on the ACCA Qualification will need to complete:

  • 14 exams
  • relevant practical experience, with a minimum of three years
  • an online Professional Ethics module.

Professional Ethics module

  • ACCA Qualification puts emphasis on codes of conduct, professionalism and ethics
    It is an online training module, exposing students to ethical scenarios which they will test themselves on. They can take on the role of an Auditor or a Corporate Financial Accountant and review an audit situation.
  • It must be completed by a student before applying for membership.
  • The module is not
    graded but is a requirement for all students who registered with ACCA after 1 January 2007. .
  • Students are granted access to the Ethics module as soon as they are eligible to take P1 Professional Accountant.
  • The
    module can be taken whenever wanted, but the ACCA
    recommends that it is best taken at the same time as, or
    before, sitting the P1 Professional Accountant paper.
  • Existing students transferring to the new syllabus are
    recommended to complete the Ethics module, but it is
    not compulsory.
  • The module will also be available online, on CD-ROM or paper based format.

Practical Experience Requirements (PER)

A key component of the ACCA Qualification is the practical experience requirement (PER). PER will help ensure that ACCA members have the essential skills required by employers worldwide, complementing the knowledge they gain through the exams. ACCA’s PER is designed to reflect international best practice in learning and development. It has been developed only after extensive research with the global profession and employers. This consultation process revealed that employers require an increased focus on an individual’s workplace performance, and also closer links between in-company performance management processes and ACCA’s PER.

Key points

  • From 1 January 2007 ACCA requires you to complete the PER and your exams in order to be able to apply for ACCA membership (and therefore put the letters ACCA after you name).
  • The Practical Experience Requirement (PER) replaces the Student Training Record and you will have to complete an annual return (previously students sent one return at the end of the three years).
  • Your PER should take a minimum of 3 years to complete.
  • You will have performance objective criteria to complete (set targets, plan development, and mark their progress) which should be  checked and signed off by your manager (workplace mentor).
  • PER sets clear expectations of what trainee (student and affiliate) accountants should be able to do in the workplace. These expectations are set out as performance objectives and give each individual the chance to show where they have achieved a performance objective
  • PER provides simple and clear progress-reporting tools, which help both employees and employers get the most out of the process
  • There are nine compulsory (essential) objectives, and eleven optional objectives, of which you have to complete four. The objectives relate to the topics covered in exam papers.
  • You have to complete an annual return, declaring which performance objectives you have achieved in the previous 12-month period and how long you have been working in a relevant accounting role
  • ACCA has set up an online Trainee Development Matrix (TDM) which you should complete. This is in a similar format to the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) matrix that qualified ACCAs have to complete.
  • The PER is run entirely by ACCA, please visit their website for more details>>