The new ‘My Experience’ has been launched by ACCA to make it easier for students to record their practical skills gained on the road to becoming a qualified accountant

A new online system for students to record their practical work experience gained in the accountancy and finance industries has been launched by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the global body for professional accountants.

The new system takes over from the Trainee Development Matrix (TDM) and the Annual Return forms needed to pass the ACCA Qualification.

Judith Bennett, director-service delivery at ACCA says: “An ACCA-qualified accountant needs to pass exams, complete an ethics module, and they also need to show they possess relevant, practical work-based experience. This programme helps them to demonstrate to ACCA that they have applied their knowledge to the workplace and that they have practical as well as technical skills. This practical experience can be gained before, during or after completing exams – but the whole point is to capture experience in 13 professional competences required by the qualification which must be gained over the 36 months required.”

 “My Experience is designed to make it easier for students to record their new skills and knowledge gained while completing the ACCA Qualification – it is literally a diary of performance.”

The new system was developed after consultation with students who used previous methods to keep track of their work experience needed to complete the ACCA Qualification.

Judith said: “‘My Experience’ will make it much easier for students to keep an accurate record of their work experience, and update their skills base. It is vital to keep this experience up-to-date so that students can get to full membership more quickly. Regular use of the product shows the experience already gained and shows how much more if left to complete to pass the ACCA Qualification fully.”

As the global professional body for accountants, ACCA has ensured that My Experience meets the practical experience requirements of the International Federation of Accountant’s (IFAC’s) International Education Standards on practical experience. 

Judith adds: “My Experience is not only an example of how ACCA is increasingly using customer feedback throughout the product development process, it is also an important part of the students’ journey to become a qualified ACCA member. Through My Experience, they can reap the benefits of the hard work they have put into getting their ACCA Qualification, which incorporates what ACCA calls the three Es – Exams, Ethics and Experience.”

The system will be supported by ACCA customer service staff who have been trained in using the system so they know first-hand how to answer any questions students may have about it.

More details can be found at this link

http://www.accaglobal.com/en/student/experience.html

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For more information, please contact:

Helen Thompson, ACCA Newsroom

+44 (0)20 7059 5759

+44 (0)7725 498654

helen.thompson@accaglobal.com

Notes to Editors

1. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.

2. We support our 147,000 members and 424,000 students in 170 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of over 80 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.

3. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.