CAT QUALIFICATION FAQS

CAT's Qualifications team has worked with examiners to put together a set of FAQs to help you answer any queries you might have. There are general questions about the CAT Qualification as a whole.

WHICH STUDY TEXT IS APPLICABLE FOR CAT AND FIA EXAMINATIONS IN 2012?

Study texts applicable to FIA examinations for FA1, FA2, FFA, MA1, MA2, FMA and FAB in December 2011 will also be applicable for these examinations in 2012. FIA option papers FAU, FTX and FFM will be first examined in June 2012 and therefore study texts for 2012 are relevant for these papers.

I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE ACCA REGISTER ALTHOUGH I STILL HAVE TWO MORE CAT EXAMS TO COMPLETE. CAN I BE TRANSFERRED BACK TO THE FOUNDATIONS IN ACCOUNTANCY REGISTER?

The reason you have been transferred is that you did not request to stay on to complete your CAT Qualification. Please note that there are now two transfer points to the ACCA register from the Foundations in Accountancy register which are free of charge. These are as follows:

1. On completion of the Diploma exams (FAB, FMA and FFA, formerly T5, T6 and T7). This is the automatic transfer unless we are notified otherwise
2. On completion of the CAT Qualification - that is completion of nine exams, Foundations in Professionalism and the Foundations in Practical Experience (FPER).

There is no longer a transfer point for students completing nine exams. Nor is there a single certificate to demonstrate that students have nine exams. The former "CAT graduate" status no longer exists.

So unless you are expecting to complete your FPER soon and become a full CAT holder, it is beneficial for you to remain on the ACCA register now. If you wish to be transferred after nine exams, but have not completed the CAT Qualification (including FPER), there will be a charge for a manual transfer at that stage.

(Please note the above information does not relate to students in Malaysia - please see specific guidance issued for your country).

AS A CAT STUDENT REGISTERED BEFORE JAN 1ST 2011, DO I HAVE TO COMPLETE THE FOUNDATIONS IN PROFESSIONALISM MODULE?

No, you do not need to do so, although you are highly recommended to take the module to improve your professional and ethical skills. If you successfully complete it, your student record will be updated to reflect this.

AS A CAT STUDENT REGISTERED AFTER JAN 1ST 2011, DO I HAVE TO COMPLETE THE FOUNDATIONS IN PROFESSIONALISM MODULE?

Yes you do. Any student registered on to Foundations in Accountancy must complete this module. This is a mandatory requirement in order to obtain any Foundations in Accountancy qualification, including full CAT status. If you successfully complete this module, your student record will be updated to reflect this.

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON PAYMENTS

CAN I REQUEST AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING FEES?

An invoice can be requested at any time from ACCA Connect. There is a facility onmyACCA for students and affiliates to print off invoices and receipts themselves. This service will be made available to other types of member in the future.

WHEN SHOULD I SUBMIT MY ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO ACCA?

A subscription fee is charged in addition to the initial registration fee in your first year as an ACCA student if you register before 8 May and therefore eligible to sit at both the June and December exam sessions. Thereafter the annual subscription fee is due and payable on or before 1 January each year you wish to remain an active student.

HOW CAN I MAKE PAYMENT?

The easiest and most effective way of making a payment is online via myACCA.

WHEN SHOULD I SUBMIT MY PAYMENT TO ACCA?

Payments are due 30 days after the date of invoice.

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON OTHER PROGRAMMES AND CERTIFICATES

WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON THE TUITION AND LEARNING MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR THE DIPLOMA IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING (DIPIFR)?

ACCA has developed Approved Learning Partner programmes through which we give recognition to both tuition and content providers who have been quality assured by ACCA. Providers need to meet a number of challenging quality assurance measures to become an Approved Learning Partner.

Details of ACCA’s Approved Learning Partners can be found on directories which also signpost other providers not quality assured by ACCA.

Please click on the Approved Learning Partner - student tuition and Approved Learning Partner - content links (in the Related links box in the top left-hand corner of this page) for further information. 

HOW DO I ACCESS ONLINE COURSES SUCH AS THE CERTIFICATE IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING AND THE CERTIFICATE IN INTERNATIONAL AUDITING ONCE I HAVE REGISTERED?

On registration, you will be sent a user ID and password with instructions on how to access the course.

WHAT IF I FORGET MY USERNAME AND PASSWORD?

Email students@accaglobal.com and enter the name of the qualification you are studying in the subject line.

HOW DO I DOWNLOAD THE COURSE MATERIALS?

Go to the course 'Welcome' page. Click on 'Download a printable version of the course' then click on the disk icon to download.

DO I RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE ON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE ONLINE COURSE?

Yes. On passing the assessment, your certificate will be dispatched within seven to 10 days. Please note that this is sent to the address that you entered on registration.

CAN I TAKE TWO ONLINE COURSES AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes, but you must register using the same AD number eg AD12345 or the same ACCA membership/registration number.

I'VE HEARD THAT ACCA OFFERS THE CERTIFICATE IN INTERNATIONAL AUDITING AND CERTIFICATE IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING IN SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE, IS THIS TRUE?

Yes, please click on a link in the Related links box in the top left-hand corner of this page for more information. 

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CERTIFR, DIPIFR AND CERTIA QUALIFICATIONS?

Please visit the Our qualifications section for more information on these qualifications, including who they are for, how they work, syllabus details and application dates and fees.

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON TRANSFER TO MEMBERSHIP

HOW DO I APPLY TO BECOME A MEMBER OF ACCA?

We will invite you to transfer to membership as soon as your records indicate that you are ready.

This will be as soon as you have:

• completed the Professional Ethics module (where required)
• recorded 36 months' relevant experience in My Experience record
• and either answered the challenge questions for 13 performance objectives (all nine Essentials and any four Options) and had these signed off by your workplace mentor

or

• can confirm your employer has granted you a Performance Objective exemption because they are an ACCA Approved Employer - trainee Development stream, holding Gold or Platinum level.

or

• you have 'banked' your complete and signed-off Student Training Record (STR).

Please keep your contact details up to date so that we can get in touch as soon as you are ready to transfer to membership.

If you think that you are ready now, you can still apply for membership by downloading and submitting the application form (please see the Related documents section at the bottom of this page) - you do not have to wait to receive an invitation from us.

Alternatively, you may wish to apply for ACCA membership online via your myACCAaccount

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO PROCESS MY APPLICATION?

You will be transferred to membership approximately 12 working days after we receive confirmation of your acceptance - subject to the next available membership committee meeting.
Membership applications are normally processed within four weeks of receipt. We will contact you during this period should we require any further information. 

To quality assure the practical experience requirement (PER) process and protect the integrity of the ACCA Qualification, we carry out PER audits. You will be notified if you are selected for a PER audit as this may result in your transfer to membership being delayed. We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation on this.

HAS ACCA FORMED MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS WITH ANY OTHER ACCOUNTANCY BODIES?

Yes. We have formed mutual recognition agreements with several bodies including the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA Canada), The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).

For further information on mutual memberships, please click on the link in the Related Links box in the top left of this page.

WHERE CAN I CHECK THE PROGRESS OF MY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION?

Log into myACCA and click on the 'Track the progress of your application' link.

I HAVE RECORDED MY EXPERIENCE USING THE STUDENT TRAINING RECORD (STR). WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

When you are ready to apply for ACCA membership or when have you been invited to transfer to membership, please submit a copy (not originals) of your Student Training Records (STRs) to us for review. These will be used to verify that you have completed the practical experience necessary for ACCA membership.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE CONFIRMATION THAT MY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL?

Successful applications are reported to ACCA's committee members once a fortnight. Following this meeting, you will be sent a welcome pack including a congratulatory letter, a membership information booklet, a copy of our rulebook (CD format) and an invoice for the membership admission fee.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY ACCA MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE?

Membership certificates are officially sealed at the meeting of ACCA Council members. ACCA Council meets five times a year (dates vary). Certificates are sent out after each meeting.

WHEN WILL I ACHIEVE FELLOWSHIP STATUS?

Members will be awarded fellowship after five-years' continuous membership and full participation in continuing professional development. Fellows are entitled to use the letters FCCA after their names. Certificates are prepared and dispatched automatically to members; a formal application is unnecessary.

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON WORKPLACE MENTORS

WHO SHOULD BE MY WORKPLACE MENTOR?

• The workplace mentor:
  • should ideally be a qualified accountant recognised by law in your country and/or a member of an International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) body
  • must have knowledge of your work
• Your workplace mentor should be someone with whom you work closely, who knows the type of work you are doing now, and who also knows the quality of your work. Ideally this will be your line manager or the person to whom you report on particular projects or activities.
• Alternatively, are there any consultants or external contacts - not necessarily employees - who know your work, are qualified accountants and could act as your workplace mentor? For example, your organisation may have external accountants or the organisation's auditor might be willing to fulfil this role - but make sure they do not feel there is any conflict of interest if they agree to do this.
• If your workplace mentor is not qualified you will need to find a training supervisor who is qualified to countersign performance objectives.

HOW DO I FIND A WORKPLACE MENTOR?

• Make sure you are able to explain - to both your employer and your potential workplace mentor - the numerous benefits that will result as you achieve your performance objectives. For example, you will develop skills in areas such as communication and time management. There are also personal benefits for your workplace mentor, because the mentoring role may contribute to the continuing professional development (CPD) requirements of his or her own professional body.
• It is also a good idea to tell your employer how to save time by combining some of your PER activities with the firm's human resources (HR) systems and practices. Doing this will benefit your employer, as ACCA's PER is designed to fit in with organisational target setting, review and appraisal processes.
• ACCA has produced a brief guide that trainees can download and give to potential workplace mentors, explaining the reasons for taking on the role. Download a copy of Become a workplace mentor from the bottom of this page. 

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON MY EXPERIENCE RECORD

DO TRAINEES AT GOLD AND PLATINUM ACCA APPROVED EMPLOYERS NEED TO USE MY EXPERIENCE RECORD?

If your employer is a gold or platinum ACCA Approved Employer - trainee development stream, you may be exempt from achieving the Performance Objectives. You will still be required to complete 36 months’ experience and record this in My Experience. This is because we recognise that your employer already has a robust training and development programme in place which will equip you with the required competence. It is important to confirm that your employer has gold or platinum level approval and it is up to the employer if they want to allow you to claim the Performance Objectives exemption.

In summary:

• Please note that it is your employer - not you - who decides whether you can claim the Performance Objectives exemption.
• You will still need to use My Experience to record the 36 months of experience you gain.

AFTER MY WORKPLACE MENTOR HAS SIGNED OFF MY PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, DO I NEED TO PRINT AND SEND THEM BY MAIL TO ACCA?

• No. If your workplace mentor is using the My Experience record, there is no need to print or send anything.
• If your workplace mentor does not have internet access or chooses not to use the online My Experience record, you can ask them to sign your printed answers. They should then return them to you. Only then should you mark the relevant performance objectives as ‘achieved’ in your My Experience record. Keep the signed hard copies safe, because you will be asked to provide these when your transfer to membership is assessed or if you are selected for a PER audit.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I UPDATE MY MY EXPERIENCE?

ACCA recommends that you regularly update your My Experience record. One of the difficulties trainees often experience when they come to apply for membership is that they find they are missing vital information, such as employer details, or they have failed to gain sign-off for performance objectives achieved with a previous employer. A reminder pop-up screen will appear when you log into myACCA if you have not recently engaged with My Experience, as a reminder to update you experience details.

HOW DO WORKPLACE MENTORS SIGN OFF PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES?

• Once you have found someone who agrees to act as your workplace mentor, you should enter their details including their email address into My Experience, which you can access via myACCA.
• When you submit your challenge question answers, the workplace mentor will be sent an email. They will be asked to agree to act as your workplace mentor. They will be given access to review your challenge question answers and sign off your performance objective(s) via My Experience. Please note: the workplace mentor can review your challenge question answers but cannot see or change anything in yourMy Experience record.
• Please note: your workplace mentor only receives an email when you submit the challenge question answers to them for review. So, if it has been a long time between you asking the person to be your workplace mentor and you submitting your challenge question answers, it a good idea to explain that there will be an email coming from ACCA.

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STUDENTS' FAQS ON THE PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT

WHAT IS MY STATUS IF I HAVE PASSED ALL THE ACCA QUALIFICATION EXAMS BUT HAVE NOT YET COMPLETED MY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT (PER)?

If you have not completed the PER you cannot become a member of ACCA, are not yet qualified as a professional accountant and cannot enjoy the benefits associated with this status. To become a member of ACCA and qualify as a professional accountant, you must pass all the exams, successfully complete the professional ethics module and complete the PER.

In order to perform effectively as an ACCA-qualified accountant and to help you meet future career challenges, you need to develop your skills in the workplace. The PER helps you to:

• apply the knowledge and techniques gained through your studies in practice

• observe and be involved in real-life work situations that help you to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours that a qualified accountant needs

• develop your judgement, encouraging you to reflect on the quality of your work and how you may improve your work performance in the future.

Employers expect ACCA members to show high levels of knowledge and ability in the workplace and to behave ethically. PER enables you to confirm your effective and sustained high-quality workplace performance, making you a more valuable employee.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO COMPLETE THE PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT OF THE ACCA QUALIFICATION?

There are three components to the PER:

• completing three years' employment in an accounting or finance-related role(s)
• achieving nine Essentials and at least four Options performance objectives to the satisfaction of your workplace mentor
• recording and reporting your PER progress through the online My Experiencerecord.

For further information on the PER, please click on the PER link in the Related links box in the top left-hand corner of this page.

WHO IS A WORKPLACE MENTOR?

A workplace mentor is an individual who supports your development in the workplace and reviews your progress and achievements at work. They play an important role in the achievement of your PER. Your workplace mentor should guide and support you by:

• helping you identify which performance objectives you should aim to achieve
• setting targets in terms of performance and timescales
• providing access to appropriate work experience and supporting your development. This may mean helping arrange job rotations, project work or other opportunities to gain relevant experience
• evaluating and reviewing your progress on a regular and ongoing basis
• signing-off performance objectives you have achieved.

For more information about workplace mentors, please click on the link in the Related links box in the top left-hand corner of this page.

HOW CAN I AMEND MY WORKPLACE MENTOR DETAILS?

Your workplace mentor has the ability to update their contact details through theirmyACCA account.

However, if you have entered their details incorrectly and they consequently have not received an email notification from us to review your performance objective, you will be required to deactivate that workplace mentor. Once you have done this, simply add them back in as an additional workplace mentor (even if this is the same individual), entering the correct details.

HOW DO I ANSWER THE CHALLENGE QUESTIONS?

You should consider the following when answering challenge questions:

• Keep your answers concise, but relevant. As a guide, someone who doesn't know your work should be able to read your answer and fully understand and appreciate the work you have completed. Provide evidence and examples to help illustrate your answers.
• Demonstrate that you have met the performance indicators, on many occasions and over a period of time.
• Check back against the detail of the performance objective's indicators of effective performance. Have you met all the outcomes and shown that you have conducted yourself in an appropriate manner?
• Your workplace mentor and employer should obtain value from your answers to the challenge questions, as it should provide them with useful information about your workplace achievement and contribution.

For more information about challenge questions, please visit the PER support page (click on the link in the Related links box in the top left-hand corner of this page).

CAN I USE WORK EXPERIENCE THAT I GAINED PRIOR TO BECOMING AN ACCA STUDENT TO MEET MY PER? IF SO, HOW MANY YEARS CAN I GO BACK?

Yes. You can use experience from previous job roles (before or after registering as an ACCA student) to help you claim a performance objective. There is no specific time limit. However, a workplace mentor must be available to review and sign off the answers to your challenge questions. Also, as the profession continually evolves, consider carefully if experience gained more than five years ago is still relevant.

CAN LECTURING EXPERIENCE COUNT TOWARDS MY PER?

Yes. Up to 12 months' lecturing experience can count towards the PER for membership. The lecturing experience must be at a level equivalent to the Fundamentals level of the ACCA Qualification and cover basic accounting, business studies and finance-related subjects.

I AM STUDYING FULL-TIME. IS IT POSSIBLE TO USE A WORK PLACEMENT TOWARDS ACCA'S PER?

Yes. If your placement is in a relevant role then you may use this experience towards your PER, provided that the work experience is of sufficient breadth and depth to contribute towards achieving performance objectives and is properly supervised.

CAN I USE EXPERIENCE GAINED IN A PART-TIME OR TEMPORARY POSITION TOWARDS ACCA'S PER?

Yes, provided that the work experience is of sufficient breadth and depth to contribute towards achieving performance objectives and is properly supervised.

However, you may find that experience gained in a part-time or temporary position does not allow you to achieve many performance objectives and may not provide sufficient opportunities for career development. Also, work experience gained on a part-time basis can only count towards the PER for membership on a pro-rata basis. Therefore, wherever possible, it is advisable to obtain full-time work experience* that is relevant, supervised and meets the PER.

*As a guideline, ACCA considers full-time work experience to be 140 hours per month. 1,540 hours of part-time work equates to 12 months of full-time work experience. This discounts annual leave etc.

IS IT BETTER TO GET YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE IN A SMALL OR LARGE ORGANISATION?

ACCA’s PER can be achieved in all sectors and sizes of organisation. The first thing you need to do is find a workplace mentor you can work with to achieve your PER. 

CAN I GAIN MY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES?

Absolutely, you could start your qualification in one country and complete it somewhere entirely different - many of our trainees do. PER is completely transferable - across organisations, sectors and geographical locations.

To support trainees around the world, we have a network of national offices providing support and information for trainees including, in many cases, national websites.

HOW CAN I ACHIEVE ALL THE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES WITHOUT CHANGING ROLES OR COMPANY?

ACCA trainees work in every sector and size of organisation. Wherever you work, it is important to look for the opportunities to help you meet your PER and to obtain 36 months' experience in a relevant role or roles. Ideally, you should have a job where most of your time is spent on activities and tasks related to accounting, finance, audit and assurance, or in other related technical areas such as taxation, insolvency and forensic accounting.

If your role or organisation does not offer sufficient opportunity to achieve your performance objectives you have a number of options:

You can use experience from previous roles to help you claim a performance objective, including experience gained before registering with ACCA. (The person who supervised your work at that time must be able to review and sign off the answers to your challenge questions.)

You may start in a junior role where your exposure to different work activities is limited but you should aim to gain more responsibility and accountability over time. Examples include when:

• you are promoted

• your job changes in some way

or you may consider moving to a different organisation to allow you to take on increasing levels of responsibility and accountability.

You can achieve performance objectives outside of your employment. For example, you may act in a voluntary capacity as treasurer to a club or society.

To make progress, you should actively plan your career, setting yourself goals which should include the types of jobs you would like to do.

DO I HAVE TO WORK FOR AN ORGANISATION THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY ACCA?

No. You do not have to obtain your practical experience in an organisation which has been approved by ACCA.

AFTER COMPLETION OF MY STUDIES, DO I HAVE TO WORK IN EVERY EMPLOYMENT SECTOR IE INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC PRACTICE IN ORDER TO GAIN THE NECESSARY PRACTICAL WORK EXPERIENCE?

No. ACCA trainees can chose to work in any business sector or combination of sectors to gain their PER, providing they work in a relevant role and are able to get a range of experience.

I AM SELF EMPLOYED, HOW CAN I ACHIEVE MY PER?

In order for work experience to count towards the ACCA Qualification practical experience requirements, it must be supervised and verified by a suitably qualified person. While trainees can provide basic book-keeping and certain other services direct to the public, this cannot constitute ”approved accountancy experience” and therefore may not count towards the practical experience requirements for the ACCA qualification.

However, basic bookkeeping and other accountancy work undertaken under supervision (eg on a sub-contract basis) may constitute” approved accountancy experience”.

MY ORGANISATION DOES NOT EMPLOY A PROFESSIONALLY QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANT. WHO CAN I GET TO VERIFY MY WORK EXPERIENCE AND ACT AS MY WORKPLACE MENTOR?

If you work for a small organisation or are the most senior finance person in the organisation, or your organisation does not employ a professionally qualified accountant who can act as your workplace mentor, you could consider the following options:

• Are there any consultants or external contacts – not necessarily employees – who know your work, are qualified accountants, and could act as your workplace mentor? For example, your organisation may have external accountants or the organisation's auditor might be willing to fulfil this role – but make sure they do not feel there is any conflict of interest if they agree to do this. A trainee could act as your workplace mentor. ACCA requires that the trainee fulfilling the workplace mentor role be in a more senior role to the trainee they are supporting. This seniority should derive from them having progressed further in their development and having acquired greater experience. It is not sufficient for the workplace mentor to have the same level of experience as the trainee that they support or simply more years in a similar role at the same level.

• ACCA manages the associated risk by classifying any trainee with another trainee as their workplace mentor in a higher risk category for PER audit. This risk is further mitigated by requiring a second level of sign-off for performance objectives by a suitably qualified training supervisor.

HAVE YOU ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT PER?

Watch the Student Engage video to see Catherine Edwards, head of qualifications, ACCA and Paula Quinton-Jones, graduate resourcing and development manager, Standard Chartered Bank answer questions and provide guidance and advice around gaining practical experience.

IF I AM A CAT STUDENT AND WAS REGISTERED BEFORE JAN 1ST 2011, HOW DO I COMPLETE MY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT?

You can either complete the Technician Training Record and submit it by December 31st 2011 or if you are planning to use the new Foundations in Practical Experience Requirement (FPER) then you can submit this at any time.

IF I REGISTERED AS A CAT STUDENT WITHIN FOUNDATIONS IN ACCOUNTANCY AFTER JANUARY 1ST 2011, HOW DO I COMPLETE MY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT?

I must complete and submit the new Foundations in Practical Experience Requirement (FPER) by completing the FPER Record and Summary.

IF I WORK FOR A CAT APPROVED EMPLOYER, CAN I GAIN EXEMPTIONS FROM FOUR OF THE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES IN THE ACCA PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT (PER) , EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATED THEM IN THE FPER RECORD AND SUMMARY?

Yes, as long as the employer is formally recognised by ACCA as an approved CAT or ACCA employer, these exemptions can be carried forward into the ACCA Practical Experience Requirement.

IF I WORK FOR A CAT APPROVED EMPLOYER, CAN I RETROSPECTIVELY CLAIM EXEMPTIONS FROM THE FIRST FOUR EXAMINATIONS IN THE CAT QUALIFICATION, IF I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATED THE TECHNICAL COMPETENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE EXAMINATIONS IN THE FPER RECORD AND SUMMARY?

No you cannot. The only people who can claim these exemptions are those who have actually demonstrated all the necessary Technical Competences associated with the exams for which exemptions are being claimed and have had them signed off by their workplace mentor. 

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