ACCA PER PQ
Practical experience essential to qualify You can’t become an ACCA member just by sitting classes, says Linda Calder
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hile you are working so hard to pass the ACCA exams it is difficult to think ahead to the next stage. But exam success is just one of the many milestones on the road to achieving the ultimate goal of being a finance professional. This is particularly the case if you want ACCA or FCCA after your name. What is important for trainees to know is that it is never too early to think about their journey to becoming a fully-fledged ACCA member. Trainees – students and affiliates alike – will have to check off the following three key steps in order to become a fully qualified ACCA professional. They are: • Completing the ACCA exams. • Completing the Ethics and Professional Skills module. • Finishing the practical experience requirement (PER). It is often the case ACCA students complete their exams before achieving their PER, but if they have been working they may have already undertaken PER without even realising. What is PER? So what is PER and why is it so important? Passing the ACCA exams is a huge achievement, but membership is the final destination – it shows employers you have completed all the necessary components of the qualification. This ultimately benefits your professional growth and career potential by proving to employers you can apply all the technical knowledge you’ve acquired through exam preparation in the workplace.’ ACCA’s practical experience requirement enables trainees to develop professional knowledge, values and behaviours first-hand – vital to becoming a professional accountant. Employers also expect ACCA members to show high levels of knowledge and ability in the workplace, and to behave
PQ Magazine June 2018
ethically and PER enables students to achieve this. PER and its three components There are three components to PER, which are: • Achieving the five Essentials and four Technical performance objectives by gaining the experience required to achieve the necessary elements and complete a statement for each performance objective, which are signed off by your practical experience supervisor. • Completing 36 months’ experience in one or more accounting or financerelated role, which is verified by a practical experience supervisor. • Regularly recording the PER journey in the easy to use online My Experience tool, which can be accessed via myACCA. A practical experience supervisor supports and reviews trainees’ development and progress in the workplace. It is a student’s responsibility to find one. A supervisor must be a qualified accountant, recognised by law in their respective country or should be a member of the body International Federation of Accountants in order to sign off a student’s progress report. If a line manager is not qualified, a
student should ask another manager, a consultant, or the organisation’s external accountants or auditors to work with their line manager to sign off their objectives. Five ways to top it up The following tips can help a student make real progress with their PER and in turn realise their ambition of ACCA membership. 1. Secondments: these are a great way of varying a trainee’s work experience. Members of staff can transfer to other posts or teams for a fixed amount of time. This can be an excellent opportunity to gain a different aspect of responsibility. 2. Project work: it is generally a good idea for trainees to volunteer for project work as it could lead to opportunities not considered previously when originally putting together their performance objectives. 3. Shadowing: this can give a student invaluable new insight. It involves observing work practices of a more experienced colleague. Students can learn by listening to and observing fellow employees, and many people respond better to questions being asked to better demonstrate their own specialist skills. 4. Job rotation: this involves swapping roles temporarily with a colleague. After receiving clear instructions, a job rotation can allow trainees to perform new tasks autonomously. People who have undertaken rotations often develop fresh ideas and feel a new enthusiasm when they resume their original role. 5. Thinking creatively: this can help students gain more practical experience. It often pays to think creatively and be proactive with a practical experience supervisor and colleagues. And remember… ACCA’s PER policy is flexible, so if you’re moving to a non-accounting role for a while or taking a career break, don’t worry! Just remember to record and get signed off all your progress to date. This means when you’re ready to continue with your PER you can carry on from where you left off without having to go back to past employers to get your experience verified. PQ • Linda Calder is ACCA’s professional development manager
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