ACCA has changed its Practising Certificate Experience Requirements (PCER) with effect from 1 January 2022, following feedback from members and employers.
The competency-based eligibility for a practising certificate remains in place, and members are still required to achieve three years of experience under the supervision of a suitably experienced principal, two years of which must be post-membership. However, an exemption from completing the Practising Certificate Experience Forms (PCEF) will be available to members who have gained their experience in employers that are registered under the ACCA Approved Employer Practising Certificate Development stream.
Approved employers
For some years ACCA has operated a Practical Experience Requirement (PER) exemption policy for admission to membership. Under this arrangement, an ACCA approved employer that has been awarded the trainee development (TD) stream has been assessed by ACCA as providing the required level of training, development and support to their students in order to meet their PER.
Working for an ACCA approved employer holding TD approval allows those trainees to claim the performance objective (PO) exemption.
A PCEF exemption policy is a streamlined method of demonstrating the achievement of competencies
Students are still required to achieve three years of experience and keep a record of it in their online ‘My Experience’ record. They should also record that they are claiming the PO exemption, and complete an ‘Approved employer PER confirmation form’ confirming the achievement of the POs.
This policy has now been extended to the PCER. A member working at an ACCA approved employer holding the practising certificate development (PCD) stream and their suitably qualified principal should complete a straightforward ‘Approved employer PCER confirmation form’.
The member should provide some basic information (eg dates of employment), sign and date the competencies listed on the form, and provide a brief summary of how they achieved the mandatory competencies.
The principal will sign a declaration that the member has achieved the relevant experience, followed the employer’s performance management and appraisal processes, and is eligible to claim PCEF exemption.
As with every PC application, all PCER exemption applications are assessed by ACCA’s Authorisation team.
Audit only
Members wishing to apply for the audit qualification (AQ) will also be eligible for PCEF exemption but only for the PC element. To apply for the AQ, they will still be required to complete part three of the current PCEF (ie statements of achievement for the audit competencies, time summary showing their audit hours, client sectors, client sizes and six-monthly reviews).
Monitoring
Employers that are approved under the PCD stream are rigorously monitored by ACCA to ensure high standards, which will mitigate any risk in the new process. Firms applying to train their ACCA staff towards the award of a PC are monitored within 12 months of their initial application. Thereafter, the firms are monitored on a six-year cycle.
There is also a three-year renewal process. The monitoring process confirms that the firm is meeting the requirements for approval. Following the visit, the firm receives a detailed report confirming the firm’s ACCA approved employer status and providing guidance to maintain its status and useful information for trainees and members.
If you’ve already started completing your PCEF then you can continue to do so. Alternatively if you’ve worked for an ACCA approved employer holding the Practising Certificate Development approval, you are eligible to apply for PCEF exemption. You cannot mix and match the approved employer PCER confirmation form and the PCEF.
A PCEF exemption policy is a streamlined method of demonstrating the achievement of competencies. It is consistent with the long-standing PER exemption policy, and rigour will be maintained through approved employer monitoring and the assessment carried out on every application by ACCA’s Authorisation team.
