ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship - a guide for students

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ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship - a guide for students This guidance document is designed to provide you with an overview of the Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship, the

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS Students will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours in the following areas over the course of their apprenticeship.

1 ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship - a guide for students This guidance document is designed to provide you with an overview of the Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship, the journey that a student will take, and how they will be assessed. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS Students will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours in the following areas over the course of their apprenticeship. These will be gained through a combination of off-the-job training and practical experience in the workplace. Knowledge Skills Behaviours Accounting Business and Finance Assurance Management Information Principles of Taxation Law Analysis Communication Leadership Planning and prioritisation Quality and accurate work Team working and collaboration Systems and processes Adaptability Adding value Ethics and integrity Proactivity Professional scepticism Once a student has progressed through the knowledge, skills and behaviours required of the standard, they will be able to qualify as a Level 4 Accounting Technician. For more information on these areas, please see the Appendix below or visit icaew.com/trailblazers OVERVIEW OF THE ASSESSMENTS Students undertaking ICAEW s Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship will be assessed through an on-programme and end-point assessment. Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 1 of 6

2 Students will complete the on-programme assessment as they progress through the apprenticeship. This consists of six exams, which make up ICAEW s Certificate Level of the ACA qualification. In addition, students will be required to maintain a training log and have quarterly progress reviews with their employer or tuition provider. Once they have completed this element and the employer verifies that they are provisionally competent, students will be able to attempt the end-point assessment. This is made up of a portfolio and a reflective statement, as well as a role simulation examination. On-programme assessment End-point assessment Accounting Business and Finance Principles of Taxation Portfolio and Reflective Statement Assurance Management Information Law Role Simulation examination Training log and quarterly progress reviews To find out more about what the assessments involved, please visit icaew.com/trailblazers ON-PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT Professional exams During the apprenticeship, students will need to pass six exams that cover the knowledge required by the Level 4 trailblazer standard. These are Business and Finance 1, Management Information, Law, Assurance, Principles of Tax and Accounting. The exams can be taken in any order, at any time throughout the year. For more information about what these modules involve, please visit icaew.com/cfab Training log Students will need to keep records of their professional development throughout their apprenticeship, using a training log. This will enable them to demonstrate that they have become competent in the required knowledge, skills and behaviours. Students will be able to do this using either ICAEW s online training file or their employers own accredited system. If an employer is not ICAEW accredited for professional development, students will use ICAEW s online training file. When a student registers as a Level 4 apprentice, they will be given access to a dedicated student area of the website, where they will be able to record their experience. This can be found at icaew.com/trainingfile 1 This module will be replaced with Business, Finance and Technology from Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 2 of 6

3 As students progress through their apprenticeship, they should record examples of the knowledge, skills and behaviours they have gained during their work experience, using the professional development tab of the training file. If an employer is ICAEW accredited for professional development, then the student will need to discuss with their manager or tuition provider which records they are required to complete as part of their apprenticeship training log. How fast a student progresses through this process is flexible and should be managed by the employer. There should be a review each quarter, where the employer or training provider reviews the professional development progress of the student. In these sessions, the student should be provided with feedback on the steps they have achieved and support with any further development they may need. END-POINT ASSESSMENT After a student has completed the on-programme assessment and spent a minimum of 12 months on their apprenticeship programme, the employer will assess whether they are ready to progress to the end-point assessment. Students are required to successfully pass both elements of the end-point assessment: a Portfolio and Reflective Statement; and a Role Simulation exam. Portfolio and Reflective Statement The portfolio and reflective statement demonstrate the student s competence in the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an Level 4 Accounting Technician. They are designed to demonstrate how the student has developed competence throughout their apprenticeship and require them to think about anything that they would have done differently, as well as what they have learned throughout the process. The training log that students maintain during the on-programme assessment will contribute to the portfolio and reflective statement. Students will be able to summarise relevant examples from their training log, which their employer will be able to verify. Once complete, the portfolio and reflective statement will be submitted to ICAEW for assessment. Content Section 1: for each knowledge, skill, or behaviour, students will need to describe briefly a situation where they demonstrated competence. Section 2: students will then select four skills or behaviours to discuss in more detail. For each of their choices, they will need to describe what they did, how they used the knowledge, skill or behaviour, what they learnt and how they would apply what they learnt if they were faced with a similar situation in the future. Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 3 of 6

4 Students will be provided with a template to help them to complete the portfolio and reflective statement and structure their responses. A sample completed portfolio and reflective statement will also be made available to download on the ICAEW website. The situations apprentices choose to include in their portfolio and reflective statement should be examples from their training log. Students may have been involved in client work and should therefore ensure that they do not include any confidential or potentially sensitive information. Students are advised to use a different situation for each of the knowledge, skills and behaviours in order to show the breadth of experience that they have obtained during their apprenticeship. Length The expected length of the portfolio and reflective statement is: Section 1: a brief description of competence in each knowledge, skills and behaviours from the standard. Students will have to write a maximum of 50 words per example. Section 2: four skills or behaviours will need to be explored in more detail and reflected on. Students will have to write a maximum of 500 words per example (not including the requirements). Students will be expected to be able to summarise this information concisely. No further marks will be awarded once a limit of 10% over the expected length is reached. Submission Once the student has completed their portfolio and reflective statement, they will submit it to ICAEW for marking. Once it has appeared in ICAEW s marking system, it will be referred to the employer for sign-off. The employer will confirm that the information and evidence provided by the student is authentic and that their answers are drawn from their training log. The employer is not making a judgement on competence or whether they think that the student s portfolio and reflective statement will pass. Assessment There are 100 marks available for the portfolio and reflective statement in total. A maximum of two marks are available for each 50 word description of competence in Section 1. A maximum of 32 marks are therefore available for this section. A maximum of 14 marks are available for each of the 500 word reflections in Section 2. A maximum of 56 marks are therefore available for this section. In addition, a maximum of 12 marks are available for good presentation and style. The overall pass mark is 55% ROLE SIMULATION EXAMINATION The role simulation is a two and a half hour, invigilated examination which tests the knowledge, skills and behaviours that a student will have developed during their apprenticeship. Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 4 of 6

5 Six weeks before the examination, students will be provided with a web link to approximately pages of information. This could typically include background information on a company, a recent set of financial statements and an organisational hierarchy. Students will be expected to familiarise themselves with this information before the examination, with the support of their tuition provider. On the day of the role simulation examination, students will be presented with some additional information about the company, as well as a number of tasks which they will be expected to work through. The Government s assessment plan states that the pass mark is 70%. Students who score 90% or more will receive a distinction. Submitting the portfolio and reflective statement There will be three sessions for the end-point assessment, held in December, March and June. Students will need to submit their portfolio and reflective statement for marking, and book their role simulation exam, during the booking window for the session they wish to sit. It is important for apprentices to remember that their submission must be in their own words. In line with academic practice, ICAEW will use anti-plagiarism software to check students portfolios and reflective statements. Results Results for all elements of the end-point assessment will be released at the same time. This means that apprentices will know whether they have been successful in passing the ICAEW Accounting Technician Apprenticeship end-point assessment. ICAEW will notify the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) once all elements of the apprenticeship are completed. The IfA will then post the apprenticeship certificate to the employer. Resits There are no maximum number of attempts at the portfolio and reflective statement and the role simulation. If students are unsuccessful in any element of the end-point assessment and wish to re-sit, they must re-attempt and pass within 12 months. The maximum number of attempts a student will be allowed for the portfolio and reflective statement will therefore be determined by how many exam sessions there are in the 12 months after they have passed their role simulation (or vice versa). If this period of time expires, apprentices will have to re-attempt both the portfolio and reflective statement, as well as the role simulation examination. Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 5 of 6

6 Appendix The skills and behaviours that an apprentice will need to demonstrate are shown below. Skills Analysis Communication Leadership Planning and Prioritisation Produces Quality and Accurate Information Team Working and Collaboration Uses Systems and Processes Behaviours Adaptability Adding Value Ethics and Integrity Proactivity Professional Scepticism What is required Create and interpret information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to add value to the organisation. Effectively communicate relevant information across the organisation and to appropriate stakeholders in both written and verbal formats. Proactively manage their own development and is committed to the job and their profession. Work to tight deadlines and respond to changing priorities. Effectively plan and prioritise time and coordinate the input of others in order to meet both deadlines and changing priorities. Apply accounting/tax knowledge to consistently deliver high quality, accurate data and information in a timely fashion. Work effectively in a team and with others, maintaining effective, professional working relationships both internally and externally across organisations. Understand the systems and processes of the organisation sufficiently, as applicable to the role. Proficient in the IT systems applicable to the role. What is required? Willing to both listen and learn and to accept changing priorities and working requirements and has the flexibility to maintain high standards in a changing environment. Actively engage in the wider business, as appropriate, and look to provide information that positively contributes to influencing business decisions. Continually strive to improve own working processes and those of the organisation. Honest and principled in all of their actions and interactions. They will respect others and meet the ethical requirements of their profession. Takes responsibility. Demonstrates the drive and energy to get things done, even under pressure. Demonstrates an attitude that includes a questioning mind, being alert to conditions which may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud. Guidance for ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician Apprenticeship Page 6 of 6

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