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Hi
i was looking to get some advice regarding a situation im in at work. I have completed my final acca exam and results come out on 14 Jan. Ive been working in practice for 3 yrs and 4 months after graduating. Ive had experience in financial accounts prep and payroll however my managers havent given me the opportunity to do audit which is vital for me to qualify. The first year i struggled with everything but i got better year by year. I am the only one among my colleagues to complete all my exams. However my colleagues have obtained far more experience than me in terms of audit etc this had made me feel disheartened about my future progression. I had spoken with my manager just before xmas break up and had asked for an update in regards to what audits are coming up in 2019 and whether i will be assigned to any. She responded saying that in January there will be one big audit for a client at a number of locations, but she seemed reluctant to allow me to go on it as she said that lt was an urgent one (im assuming she meant that there was no time for a senior to train me on this) and distance was an issue ( assumed that she was reluctant to allow another person to go because of the cost to the firm). I then asked if there will be any other audits i could possibly go on and she responded saying that she will let me know when one comes up. She didnt want to go into any details with me, i had the impression that the manager didnt believe i was capable of doing certain audits yet and that its just a matter of them carefully picking the ones they feel are right for me and i also believe that they havent assigned me on any yet due to firms focus on ‘cost minimization’. So there is no definite idea of when i will be going on an audit.
I had my review with my manager in October 2018 and she mentioned how there will be many audits for me to go on in the new year, however i am dissapointed that they havent even planned to assign me on any upcoming ones.
It seems like i may just about be able to get on 1 audit in the next 3-6 months if im lucky. I did mention my concern regarding getting my letters as now i had finished my last exam and they had understood that however it hasent changed their views.
At this rate i dont think they will be signing off my PER any time soon, it may take another 12 months.
I would really appreciate your insight and guidance to this. I feel like im ready to leave, ive been there long enough, progression in slow and they focus on cost rather than personal development. I get paid peanuts for my position too.
Hi,
Well it is common to face problems in workplaces but we need to make sure we remain professional and patient when dealing with conflicting priorities.
From what you have mentioned, your manager has not refused you anytime…which means that you do have chances of getting selected for the upcoming audits. Don’t let assumptions dishearten you.
If you think your manager believes you are not capable of doing certain audits, it is best to discuss with your manager what skills do you lack and how can you develop the skills required to do so (may be by doing a training course or something similar?)
Something like a performance appraisal.
I am hoping if your manager sees your interest and enthusiasm in learning and developing skills they will help you in achieving them.At times we think we have it all but if analyse ourselves(our work) we then notice that there are a lot of areas we need to improve and work on.
From what I think, you do seem to be in a favourable position in terms of your qualification…
Have an experience of more than 3 years
Are on your way of becoming an affiliate…Leaving the job or staying it is completely your decision.
You would, however, need to consider some factors like:
In terms of contractual binding
In terms of finding new jobs… ‘will you be able to find a better job?’
In terms of your PER… You would need to get your time approved by your manager, if your manager does NOT approve your time then that time period does NOT qualify for your PER.What all I have mentioned above are just advices from my own personal experience. They are not cast iron rules. The decision is for you to make… you know your situation better than anyone else.
Hope that helps.
Hi Jetavi,
Thanks for your advice. Having received my final exam results I officially passed and now am an acca affiliate. I wanted to ask regarding performance objectives, do I necessarily need audit experience as part of my PER? I have achieved all the financial accounts PER objectives and was wondering, if computing corporation tax and VAT would be sufficient enough to achieve the tax PER objectives? if so, I technically have qualified.
I am concerned with my manager, if I move jobs now I fear she will not sign off any of my time or approve my PER objectives achieved so far? what can I do in such situation?
@jetavi said:
Hi,Well it is common to face problems in workplaces but we need to make sure we remain professional and patient when dealing with conflicting priorities.
From what you have mentioned, your manager has not refused you anytime…which means that you do have chances of getting selected for the upcoming audits. Don’t let assumptions dishearten you.
If you think your manager believes you are not capable of doing certain audits, it is best to discuss with your manager what skills do you lack and how can you develop the skills required to do so (may be by doing a training course or something similar?)
Something like a performance appraisal.
I am hoping if your manager sees your interest and enthusiasm in learning and developing skills they will help you in achieving them.At times we think we have it all but if analyse ourselves(our work) we then notice that there are a lot of areas we need to improve and work on.
From what I think, you do seem to be in a favourable position in terms of your qualification…
Have an experience of more than 3 years
Are on your way of becoming an affiliate…Leaving the job or staying it is completely your decision.
You would, however, need to consider some factors like:
In terms of contractual binding
In terms of finding new jobs… ‘will you be able to find a better job?’
In terms of your PER… You would need to get your time approved by your manager, if your manager does NOT approve your time then that time period does NOT qualify for your PER.What all I have mentioned above are just advices from my own personal experience. They are not cast iron rules. The decision is for you to make… you know your situation better than anyone else.
Hope that helps.
No. You do not need audit experience to qualify. The vast majority of people qualify from industry and have no audit experience. Audit is just one of the streams to becoming qualified.
Hi @pchahal,
As @alkemist has mentioned above you don’t need audit experience to qualify.
Then regarding the Tax PER objectives, provided they are coming up to the elements of the objectives then there shouldn’t be a problem.
Computation of tax comes under PO15 – TAX COMPUTATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS
So if you are able to meet all the elements under this objective, you are good to go! Because you just need to achieve 4 technical objectives, and as you have mentioned you are done with all the 3 objectives under Financial Management so are left with just one more.
Check this guide here to see the elements
https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Students/per/PER-Performance-objectives-achieve.pdfFinally, regarding signing off issues, I regret to inform you that if you are unable to get your time signed off by your manager it will NOT count towards the 36 months requirement. And ONLY your manager can sign off your time.
However, you can get your objectives signed by a second practical experience supervisor, provided that your manager is not qualified.
To know more about this, check the link below :
https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/help/student-faqs-practical-experience-requirements.html#FAQs-about-practical-experience-supervisorsThe best I advice I could give you is to first get your time and objectives signed off by your manager and then move jobs… Otherwise there is a fear that you may lose your progress of your PER and may need to start all over again if your manager refuses to sign them off.
In the end, will surely recommend you to contact ACCA in regards to the above issues.
Hope that helps.
Hi, all. I had been offered another job. Pay is better and im hopinh they will be more understandign of my potential. I spoke to my manager abut leaving and what i need signing ff. However she dosent believe i have achieved certain objectives that i feel i have achieved. She says i still ask for help on financial reporting related jobs however i had told her that for the past few months ive been working to my own accord. and i remmeber in the past how they didnt like that i work on my own due to mistakes arising and that i should always ask for help. For this reason i dont think she will sign off the financial reorting PER objectives that i knowive achieved, being in practice fr 3.5 yrs! Then another risk is that the new employer may not sign it all off for another year or 2. I dont believe i should wait this long to qualify after having become an acca affiliate and working in practice for over 3 yrs. and i’d rather not wait until she signs off all the PER because i feel that they are delaying it on purpose and i wont achieve much in the next 12 months being at the same place.
Hi @pchahal,
Congratulations on becoming an affiliate (seems so that I didn’t read it earlier- sorry my bad) and getting a job offered.
My apologies for the delay in response, just saw your post.
Well, about the objectives, if your manager thinks/believes that you haven’t achieved the certain objectives then you will first have to do what your manager thinks are required to come up to those objectives and then get them signed off. Because then only they can be signed off. One can’t force their manager to sign off the objectives! Instead they need to satisfy them with their work.
I will advise you to get whatever you can get signed off by your manager (especially the 3years time otherwise you will need to start all over again) if you wish to leave.
If she is unwilling to sign the entire objective you can get the elements of the objectives signed off individually. The remaining elements you can get them signed off by another manager (at the new workplace) (Practical Experience Supervisor) after achieving them.
Moreover, will also advise you if you have decided that you want to get a new job maybe try applying in places which are ACCA Approved Employers.
There are many advantages for doing so and one of them would be… “If your work for an ACCA Approved Employer who holds trainee development approval at Gold or Platinum level, then they may allow you to claim a performance objective exemption. This means that you do not need to document completing the performance objectives in My Experience.However, it is important to confirm that your employer has this level of approval and whether they will allow you to claim the performance objective exemption.
If you qualify for the exemption, you will still need to achieve 36 months’ experience, use My Experience to record your employment information and to notify ACCA that you are claiming the exemption.”
Find the above in the link below
https://www.accaglobal.com/middle-east/en/student/practical-experience/performance-objectives.htmlAlso ACCA provides us with an Approved Employer directory so can search for the one that is in your location.
You can find that here…
https://www.accaglobal.com/in/en/help/approved-employer.htmlAll the best!
Hope that helps.
Hi Jetavi, thanks for your response. Regarding the performance objective exemptions. y current firm are approved by acca. I understand that by claiming an exemption, I don’t have to record experience on acca. However does the employer still have to do this?
I’m sorry but your question is a bit unclear for me…what do you mean by “still have to do this”?
Do you mean that is the employer obliged to make these exemptions, as in, is it mandatory for the employer to allow the trainee to claim these exemptions?
Is that what you have asked?If yes then,the decision is for the Approved Employer to allow their trainees to claim the performance objective objection.
Also as I have mentioned in my earlier post …
@jetavi said:
However, it is important to confirm that your employer has this level of approval and whether they will allow you to claim the performance objective exemption.
If you qualify for the exemption…
So it is up to the employer to decide if they want to allow you to claim the performance objective exemption.
Does that clear it?
Hi Jetavi,
What I mean to say is. Does my experience need to be recorded in someway by me or employer even if I was able to claim the exemptions?
They need to fill in a form but as far as I can see it’s just ticking off which objectives you are claiming, there’s no detail required.
They need to complete an assessment separately to maintain their gold or platinum status, which I believe is done annually. In this they have to demonstrate that they have training programmes in place to develop trainees.
@pchahal said:
Hi Jetavi,What I mean to say is. Does my experience need to be recorded in someway by me or employer even if I was able to claim the exemptions?
Hi @pchahal,
As @chris has already mentioned the employers do need to fill in the exemption form.
Here is a link to the form…so that you can get an idea
https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Employers/approved-employer/PER-confirmation-form.pdfTo claim the completion of some or all of the Practical Experience Requirement (PER) performance objectives through the ACCA Approved Employer exemption, you must complete and return this form to ACCA.
Section 1 must be completed by you.
Sections 2 and 3 must be completed by your ACCA Approved Employer primary contact or practical experience supervisor.This is mentioned on page 1 of the form.
The employer will complete the 2 sections, approve the objectives which he/she finds suitable for exemptions and then sign the form
So in regards to claiming exemptions as far as I know this is what the Employer has to do and nothing else.
Also, what @chris has stated above about assessment of the status, this is vital because you will have to mention the level(Gold/Platinum) of the Approved Employer in section 1 of the form.
Finally, I will also advise you to contact ACCA before moving forward for exemptions so that you can completely familiarise yourself with this entire process.
I hope this helps.
quick question is it possible to just complete the required 36 months and claim the time with one employer and go ahead and simply claim all objectives from other companies in the future if the first company does not have a qualified accountant?
@kimaya – you may find this thread helpful https://opentuition.com/topic/acca-work-experience-vs-objectives
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