A key component of the ACCA Qualification is the practical experience requirement

(PER). The new PER will help ensure that ACCA members have the essential skills
required by employers worldwide, complementing the knowledge they gain through the
exams. ACCAs PER is designed to reflect international best practice in learning and
development.
Key features
Under the new ACCA Qualification, the 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. These describe the types of work activities trainees will be involved with
in addition to the values and attitudes they should demonstrate as they fulfill their
PER.
Performance objectives are divided into nine key areas of knowledge which are
closely linked to the exam syllabus reinforcing that any knowledge developed
through the exams process will have a clear application in the workplace. A student
will be required to achieve 13 performance objectives in total - all nine from
Essentials
(http://www.accaglobal.com/students/training_careers/professional/performance/esse
ntials/) and any four from Options
(http://www.accaglobal.com/students/training_careers/professional/performance/opti
ons/).
A student will demonstrate he/she has achieved a particular performance objective
by responding to a set of challenge questions' questions similar to those asked in
a performance review, interview or appraisal. This will help the student describe the
workplace achievements and encourage him or her to think about the quality of the
work they have produced. It will also encourage the student to evaluate how the work
he / she has completed has contributed to the workplace and benefited the
employer.

is goal driven, so trainees are encouraged to set targets, plan development, and
mark progress along with their employer

provides simple and clear progress-reporting tools, which will help both employees
and employers get the most out of the process

is underpinned by a new, online trainee development matrix (TDM) which will allow
employers to undertake a more proactive and purposeful approach to developing
trainees through tracking their progress and achievement towards goals

requires trainees to complete an annual return.

What remains the same as under current requirements: trainee must gain three years in
a relevant accounting or accounting related role.
What is new: must achieve performance objectives, these replace the current elements
of competence.
There is more emphasis on recording and reporting the PER with the introduction of
an online Trainee Development Matrix and an annual return.

Currently evidence is that many students and affiliates are not engaging in practical
experience. It is something that they only think about when applying for membership.
Practical experience (PE) is an important element of the new ACCA qualification and
effective engagement in PE actually helps the trainee to perform more effectively in the
workplace and if studying alongside in the exams to. So we want trainees attitude to
practical experience to change. There is an ongoing cycle that the trainee should
undertake when thinking about PER. They should plan the experience that they are able
to achieve:
Alongside the workplace mentor
Thinking about exams studying
Thinking about opportunities in the workplace for gaining experience
Thinking about ways in which they could gain further experience e.g. job
swaps, secondments, project work etc.
All helps them to target performance objectives.
Then they need to actually gain the experience again this may mean secondments or
job share in order to access a range of experience. This should be supervised.
They then need to demonstrate what they have done and achieved. Each performance
objective has three unique challenge questions attached to it, by answering challenge
questions, they demonstrate to workplace mentor and ACCA whether they have
achieved a performance objective.
Then trainee needs to, with workplace mentor, review the experience gained and get
sign off if the performance objective has been achieved.
Finally at least once a year the trainee must complete an annual return to ACCA, this is
a simple process and later on Ill explain what is required and how it is done. This
ensures that at least annually trainees are thinking about practical experience.
Within the TDM trainees will be able to drill down into detail on each performance
objective.
As well as a high level statement there is a paragraph explaining what is expected of a
trainee, examples of relevant activities, what they would need to do in order to perform
effectively and the key knowledge and understanding that they would have to have in
order to achieve the performance objective.
Also for each performance objective there are clear links to the relevant exam papers.
Therefore trainees will be able to effectively plan which performance objectives to work
towards based on the exams they are sitting, or plan which exams to sit based on
experience that they are gaining.
Details on Trainee Development Matrix TDM: this is a new online tool for recording
and reporting a trainees progress through practical experience.
It is accessed through MyACCA and each trainee will have their own personal TDM.
Through it, as well as being able to:
View all the details on performance objectives
Answer Challenge questions
Submit performance objectives for sign off

Trainees will also be able to:

Create a role profile
Create a development plan
Access word summaries of all their experience which can form the basis of their
CV
View their progress towards the ACCA requirements for membership
And at every stage there will be comprehensive guidance to support trainees, from
getting a workplace mentor to answering challenge questions or planning their
development, and links through to the exams and ethics modules.
Workplace mentors will also have secure access, where they can comment on Trainees
experience, view guidance to support them in their role and sign off performance
objectives achieved.
The TDM will also encourage more efficient conversion to membership as trainees will
be prompted when they have met the requirements, (i.e. passed the exams, completed
the ethics module, completed three years in an accounting or accounting related role
and achieved 9 Essentials and four from Options performance objectives.)
The online approach will also help ACCA identify where people arent getting experience
and look at ways of addressing that, helping us to help trainees get the experience
required for membership.
So once a trainee has gained their experience they will need to record their
experience and have this reviewed. How is this done?
The trainee completes the challenge questions on line in the Trainee Development
Matrix. They are then asked to enter the details of their workplace mentor this is
simply, their name, qualification and email address.
An email is then sent to the workplace mentor notifying them that they have performance
objectives for that trainee awaiting sign off. There is a link in the email which will take
them to a secure page where they can view all performance objectives awaiting sign off,
if they have more than one trainee then they will be able to see the details for all on one
page. They are then able to review and sign off or not depending on whether they feel
the trainee has achieved the objective or not.
If the workplace mentor cannot or does not wish to sign off online the trainee will print
the answers to the challenge questions and get paper sign off.
If the workplace mentor fails to log in and sign off after receiving the email from ACCA
the trainee will be notified. It is then their responsibility to ensure that they obtain sign off,
again this may be in paper form.
In order for the trainee/mentor relationship to be created in the IT system an email must
be sent to the mentor for the first performance objective logged. However from that point
on the workplace mentor can select whether they wish to be notified each time the
trainee enters another performance objective for sign off OR receive a monthly email
detailing all performance objectives awaiting sign off.

Annual Return this is a new element to the practical experience requirement. It is a

simple process through which, at least once a year, a Trainee will declare the
performance objectives that they have achieved and the number of months spent in a
relevant role. If they havent gained any experience or performance objectives for some
reason e.g. they are in a full time student or not in a relevant role then they will declare
this instead.
The annual return must be completed by 1st January each year with the first return due
on the 1st January 2008.
The return can be done online via the TDM at any point in the year or by paper as part of
the annual subscription process in the last quarter.
Under the current STR requirements there is a perception that trainees are not thinking
about their practical experience and it is only at the point of application to membership
that they are filling in the STR and getting this signed off.
Under the new practical experience requirements ACCA wants to move away from this.
Key to achieving that is the role of workplace mentor. The person that fulfils this role may
well be the same person that is currently undertaking the supervisor role in the STR
however we want to encourage them to support the trainee in their achievement of the
new PER.
The role of a workplace mentor is about development as well as appraisal. It is much
more holistic than that of supervisor. Whilst a workplace mentor will still review a
trainees progress and achievement they are also involved in planning and supporting a
trainee. They should aim to provide the trainee with opportunities to gain experience
where their current role may not be able to give the broad enough access.
Ultimately they must still evaluate the trainees experience and sign off performance
objectives if theyve been achieved, but doing this in the context of a broader role.
We are aware that not all employers are supportive of ACCA trainees and that it may be
perceived that this new role is an additional burden to employers. As such we have
created support and guidance for both the trainees and the workplace mentors in order
to help them fulfil the requirement. The focus of this guidance is on the benefits that
trainees, employers and workplace mentors as individuals will gain from planning
developing and supporting in relation to practical experience.

Trainees are more likely to be better at their jobs, more highly motivated and
engaged, resulting in more efficient, effective, productive employees.
This will give a company or organisation a better workforce, staff retention rates
are likely to be higher as will productivity, all great benefits to the employer.
The workplace mentor will be gaining new skills, ACCA has created fact sheets
on developing staff and giving opportunities to trainees, this support will broaden
the workplace mentors expertise making them more effective and employable
too. They will be able to foster a more effective team helping in their day to day
work role as well as the organisations success.

Also the new requirements have been designed to compliment best practice in the
workplace many employers already have appraisal systems in place the ACCA
requirements and challenge questions can be integrated by employers to avoid
duplication.

The fact sheets and case studies and added value guidance will be accessible via the
TDM and on the ACCA website and will be added to on an ongoing basis. Any ideas for
further support that we can provide to workplace mentors and trainees are always
welcome.
Who is exempt from completing the TDM but not from sending the Annual Return?
Under the STRs there was the option for Approved Employers Trainee
Development at Gold or Platinum level to apply for an STR exemption. With the
introduction of the new practical experience requirements ACCA has reviewed this
exemption and made it automatic for all Approved Employers- Trainee Development at
Gold or Platinum level.
What does this mean:
All trainees working for Approved Employers- Trainee Development at Gold or Platinum
level are exempt from completing the current STRs and/or the new TDM from the date
their employer gained approval or the date they started working for that employer if after
the approval date. They will still have to do an annual return, on which they state that
they work for an Approved Employer- Trainee Development at Gold or Platinum level.
This exemption recognises that many employers have internal processes that identify,
assess and record the practical experience of trainees working for them. As such ACCA
does not want to make employers duplicate this. Therefore trainees are not exempt from
doing practical experience, they will still be doing it but following the employers system
rather than ACCAs.
Unlike the exams it has not been possible to do a like for like transition. As much as we
tried 68 elements of competence did not translate into 20 objectives! This is for a
number of reasons:
As mentioned before the new performance objectives are much broader than the
current elements of competence they describe a range of linked activities as
such one performance objective is likely to cover a number of elements of
competence.
Also the new performance objectives cover new areas not covered in the current
elements of competence.
Therefore trainees will have to make a judgement, based on the experience they have
gained and guidance provided by ACCA, regarding which performance objectives they
can claim.
All current students and affiliates will be receiving communications regarding this, a PER
transition notice should already have been received by all students. Articles have also
been published in Student Accountant and full information will be available on the ACCA
Horizon microsite by the end of the month.
Via the TDM the trainee will be able to view tables mapping the elements of competence
to the new performance objectives which will help the trainee identify performance
objectives that they may be able to claim. They will also be able to see the full
performance objective details.

Up until 31 December 2007 students and affiliates can still apply for membership using
the STR forms, and therefore will not need to transfer over. However any student or
affiliate who has not completed the STR by 31 December 2007 must transfer their
experience to the new performance objectives.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON PER
Who can be my workplace mentor/ sign off my performance objectives?
Your workplace mentor should be a qualified accountant or auditor. They do not have to
be ACCA qualified as long as they are a member of an accountancy or an audit body
that is recognized by law in the country in which you choose to work.
Your workplace mentor must also be familiar with your work and be available to provide
you with feedback on your work performance. This does not mean your workplace
mentor has to be located at the same place as you, as long as they have sufficient
contact with you and are able to see and learn about the quality of your work. For
example, this may be your manager who works at a head office in another city but you
have regular telephone and email contact with, and face to face meetings on a regular
basis.
It might be that an external auditor, external consultant or accountant, or someone else
who works with your organisation who is qualified may be able to fulfil this role. If this is
not possible, ACCA will allow someone who is familiar with your work and has
experience and/or a qualification relevant to the performance objective under review to
be your workplace mentor.
However, this should be on an exception-only basis and the trainee development matrix
(TDM) would highlight your records for possible audit, as not being reviewed or signed
by a qualified accountant.
If your workplace mentor is not a qualified accountant or auditor you can select to have a
training supervisor, who must be a qualified accountant recognised by law in the country
you work in, to countersign your achievement of performance objectives. Having a
training supervisor countersign performance objectives is not mandatory but advisable if
this is possible. Details of the agreed training supervisor can be entered onto the online
TDM either by you or your workplace mentor. The training supervisor will not be able to
access the online version of the TDM.
See section 2.3 of the PER guide for trainees.
Can previous work experience count towards my PER?
Experience gained before or at any point during registration as an ACCA student can
count towards your PER, provided that it was supervised and is relevant. You should
provide details of your former employer in the Your workplace section of the trainee
development matrix (TDM). You can include previous experience in the following ways:
record any relevant time (in months) you spent in a relevant role towards the 36
months required experience. You can do this by adding the previous relevant experience
to the number of months you are claiming this year as relevant experience in your
annual PER return. This will not require you to go back and get anything signed off by
your previous employer but you may be asked to provide proof of employment if
selected for a PER audit e.g. a copy of your employment contract.
where you have relevant experience and you believe that you would have satisfied
the requirements of one or more performance objectives, and still have contact with your
previous employer and supervisor, you should complete the process for having the
performance objective challenge questions reviewed and signed off. You will need to
complete the challenge question answers, ensuring you include all the relevant

information for your previous supervisor to recall your work performance at that time.
You can then submit these to your previous supervisor by nominating them as your
workplace mentor in the TDM, providing all their details as usual; ideally you should
include their email address so they can review and sign off your performance objectives
online. Your previous supervisor will then be invited to review your challenge questions
answers. After considering whether you satisfied the quality and type of work activities
expected by the performance objective, they will decide whether to sign off the
performance objective as achieved. If they agree you did meet the performance
objective whilst working for them, they will be able to confirm this. If your previous
supervisor does not wish to use the online TDM process, you will need to provide a
printed copy of your challenge question answers from the TDM and the detail of the
performance objective(s). After their review and sign-off, you can confirm a paper signoff in the TDM. You must ensure you keep any paper copy signed off performance
objectives.
Do I need to fill out an STR as well as the TDM?
If you have not recorded any practical experience using the student training record
(STR), then you should record your experience using the trainee development matrix
(TDM). Anyone who registered as a trainee after 1 January 2007 will use the TDM.
If you have recorded some or all of your experience using the STR, then view the
transition guidance on the ACCA website.
How does a workplace mentor sign-off performance objectives?
Once you have completed the challenge question answers for the performance objective
and clicked on the submit button you will be invited to provide the details of your
workplace mentor.
Ideally you should include their email address so that their review and sign-off can be
done online. Your workplace mentor will receive an email from ACCA to invited to review
your challenge questions answers. After considering whether you have satisfied the
quality and type of work activities expected by the performance objective they will decide
whether to sign-off the performance objective as achieved. If they agree you did meet
the performance objective, they will be able to confirm this. If your workplace mentor
does not wish to use the online TDM process, you will need to provide a printed copy of
your challenge question answers from the TDM and the detail of the performance
objective(s). After their review and sign off you must ensure you keep any paper copy
signed off performance objective, and update your TDM as having a paper sign-off. You
can view guidance on adding a workplace mentor, submitting challenge questions
answers for review and other related information in the TDM video guidance.
See section 2.2 of the PER guide for trainees for more information about how a
workplace mentor reviews your performance objectives.
How do I submit my annual PER return?
You can submit your annual PER return online via myACCA using the trainee
development matrix (TDM). You will need to log on to myACCA using your student
number and password. You can also complete the paper annual PER return, which was
sent to all trainees in November 2007.
The online process is very simply where you will be taken through a few screens to
answer some questions about your expereince to date. Even if you have no relevant
work experince to declare now, for example if you are studying full time or not employed,
you must still complete the annual return.
View TDM video guidance on how to complete annual PER return online.

When is the 2007 PER annual return deadline?

You should make your 2007 annual PER return to ACCA by the end of January 2008.
This will enable your progress towards achieving the PER to be reflected in your
February Examination Results and Status Report.
If for any reason you do not make your return by the end of January, ACCA will allow you
to make your 2007 annual PER return up to 31 March 2008. If you do not make a return
for 2007 by 31 March 2008 you will need to include all of the experience you have
achieved in your 2008 annual PER return. It is important that you do not forget to record
relevant experience to meet the PER so ACCA recommends you make at least one PER
return each year.
Is it mandatory to do PER?
Yes. In order to achieve the ACCA qualification, becoming a fully qualified professional
accountant and ACCA member, all trainees must complete the practical experience
requirement (PER). In order to meet ACCAs PER you must complete 36 months in a
relevant role and achieve the required number of performance objectives. You are
required to achieve 13 performance objectives in total all nine Essentials plus any four
Options performance objectives. You should use the trainee development matrix (TDM)
to track and record your achievement of the performance objectives and update ACCA
on your progress by making a PER return each year. The TDM can be accessed via
myACCA.
How do I check that my STR has been banked correctly?
If you have made your 2007 annual PER return to ACCA by the end of January, banking
your STR, this will be reflected in your February Examination Results and Status Report.
What kind of experience do I need?
To achieve your PER, you need to be working in an accounting or finance-related role.
Ideally, this means that you have a job where the majority of your time is spent on
activities and tasks that are accounting, finance, audit and assurance related, or in other
related technical areas such as taxation, insolvency, and forensics.
You will also need to gain experience that enables you to achieve the required number of
performance objectives. See section 1.4 of PER guide for trainees.
Where can I find more information about PER, transition and the annual PER
return?
The following resources are available to help trainees understand and achieve the PER
requirements:
PER guide for trainees see student accountant October 2007 or available in
myACCA
PER interactive case studies
TDM guidance videos
User guide to the TDM available in myACCA
Support sheets and case studies available in myACCA