The AAT Accounting Qualification

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NVQ/SVQ - Route:

Best for people who:

• are already working in a finance environment and can easily provide workplace evidence
• require the NVQ/SVQ certification
• are following the Apprenticeship route

The AAT Accounting Qualification is the ideal qualification for anyone wanting to work as an accounting technician.

This vocational course provides the knowledge and skills to perform the tasks demanded by this role; it offers you the chance to gain a useful and practical qualification, while learning at your own pace.

The course is based on two principles:

• doing the actual work, not just learning theory
• achieving competence to nationally agreed standards so that you and your employer have full confidence in the qualification

The structure of the scheme

The scheme has three stages:

• Foundation - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 2
• Intermediate - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 3
• Technician - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 4

Each level of the scheme represents a qualification in its own right, and you will be given a certificate for each level completed.

Flexibility

This qualification offers flexibility and can be tailored to suit your individual needs, allowing you to choose whether to do individual or groups of units from the scheme. And it's not compulsory to complete an entire level either; you will gain recognition for each unit achieved.

Who is it for?

The scheme is open to everyone; you can join regardless of your age and no previous qualifications are required.

However, assessments are generally conducted in English so you should be confident of completing assessments in this language. Reasonable numeracy skills are also required.

How will I be assessed?

Assessments are carried out through a combination of skills tests and more formal exams.

The skills tests are assessments of your ability to carry out practical activities and to operate effectively in the workplace, and may include evidence of skills gathered:

• in your workplace
• carrying out voluntary activities such as acting as treasurer for a local club

If you are not working in an accounting role you may not have access to specific types of evidence. To cater for this the AAT publishes ?simulations?. These are tests which simulate a workplace situation, and then require you to complete the sort of tasks that an employer would ask you to do. Each is tailored to the unit you are taking so that you can demonstrate the skills, knowledge and understanding that unit requires.

Exemptions

Student members holding certain UK qualifications may be able to join the scheme at Intermediate or Technician.

How long does it take?

The AAT Accounting Qualification is flexible and there are no time restrictions. In fact, the AAT encourages you to learn at your own pace, allowing you to pursue a part-time job or other career/personal interests. However, as a rough guideline you might expect to complete each stage over the course of a year. Check with individual AACs for more information.  

Unit titles and numbers for Foundation, Intermediate and Technician Stage are listed below.

The AAT has adopted the best features of the traditional and the innovative in its approach to education and training. The Scheme is unique in that it formally assesses Students' underpinning knowledge and understanding as well as their ability to carry out practical work-based activities. The aim of the Scheme is to ensure AAT trained accounting staff are confident, informed, motivated and, above all, able to do their job competently and with a solid base of underlying knowledge.

The AAT's Education and Training Scheme is designed to assess whether Students are competent in a range of accounting areas. Competence is "the ability to perform activities within an occupation to a defined standard."

Competence includes:

• the ability to transfer skills and knowledge

• the ability to organise and plan your work

• the ability to innovate and to cope with non-routine activities.

• the possession of those personal skills which are required in the workplace to deal with co-workers, managers, clients and customers

Training centres (known as Approved Assessment Centres, or AACs for short) are approved to make sure that Students know how to do each activity and they will decide when Students can be deemed competent for any one unit of the Scheme.

Skill tests and formal examinations (formerly known as Devolved & Central Assessments)

At each stage of the AAT's Education and Training Scheme there are two broad types of assessment. Students are assessed by a combination of skills testing (practical work activities assessed by Approved Assessment Centres) and formal examinations (written and marked by the AAT).

Because it is vocational competence which is being assessed, much of the evidence of competence will be obtained from practical activities which are assessed by qualified assessors in a training centre. Such assessment is referred to as Skills Testing . It is a means of collecting evidence of ability to carry out practical activities and to operate effectively to the standards required and may involve, for example, evidence from the workplace, from voluntary activities such as acting as treasurer of a local society or club, or from simulations of real work activities.

Students will be required to collect evidence for skills testing in an Accounting Portfolio. Detailed guidance on the construction of a portfolio is given in the Student Record, which will be received on registration with the Association. If you do not work at an approved workplace or attend a course at a training centre, you will need to contact a convenient training centre to arrange to have your evidence assessed.

The second type of assessment is referred to as Examinations. This consists of written assessments set and marked by the AAT. They are designed primarily to assess underpinning knowledge and understanding in certain key areas of accounting. Examination is an important part of the AAT's quality control of its qualifications.

As the Scheme is based on the standards expected in the workplace, a higher level of performance is required in assessment than is the case in traditional examinations. However, unlike many examinations in this field, plenty of time is allowed for Students to draft, present and check their answers.

Skills testing may take place at any time which is mutually agreed between the student and the training centre. Examinations are held twice per year, in June and December, and are carried out under controlled conditions.

Examination Fees

Foundation Stage - £32 per exam (total £32 for 1 exam)

Intermediate Stage - £34 per exam (total £68 for 2 exams)

Technician Stage - £36 per exam (total £108 for 3 exams)

Foundation Stage (AAT Level 2 NVQ/SVQ in Accounting) 

The AAT was given accreditation to offer revised Standards in August 2000.

Because of the very different structure of the new units, there will be a clean break between the ‘old' and revised Standards and no transitional arrangements will be made. However, given that three further examinations will be offered and there will be a further two and a half years to complete skills tests, it is not anticipated that Students who have started under the ‘old' Standards will have any problems completing the scheme.

The NVQ level 2 in Accounting (Foundation Stage) has been revised and the new structure is seen on the following chart.

Units of competence	Method of Assessment
Unit 1 - Recording Income and Receipts (RIAR)	Skills Tests
Unit 2 - Making and Recording Payments (MARP)	Skills Tests
Unit 3 - Preparing Ledger Balances and an Initial Trial Balance (PLB)	Skills Tests & Examination
Unit 4 - Supplying Information for Management Control (SIMC)	Skills Tests
Unit 21 - Working with Computers(WWC)	Skills Tests
*Unit 22 - Contribute to the Maintenance of a Healthy, Safe and Productive Working Environment. (HSPE)	Skills Tests
Unit 23 - Achieving Personal Effectiveness (APE2)	Skills Tests

*Can be completed at any Stage of the Scheme.

Each Unit of Competence is broken down into Elements of Competence. Further details of each unit are available in the Student Record Book which is issued to students when they join the Education and Training Scheme.

For detailed syllabus of AAT Foundation Stage click ---here---

Intermediate Stage (AAT Level 3 NVQ/SVQ in Accounting)

Units of competence	Method of Assessment
Unit 5 - Maintaining Financial Records and Preparing Accounts (FRA)	Skills Tests & Examination
Unit 6 - Recording and Evaluating Costs and Revenues (ECR)	Skills Tests & Examination
Unit 7 - Preparing Reports and Returns (PRAR)	Skills Tests
**Unit 21 - Working with Computers (WWC) - If not already completed	Skills Tests
*Unit 22 - Contribute to the Maintenance of a Healthy, Safe and Productive Working Environment. (HSPE) - If not already completed	Skills Tests

** Unit 21 is common for both Foundation and Intermediate Level and need to be completed only once and the fees will be adjusted accordingly.

*Unit 22 need not be repeated if it has been completed at Foundation Level.

Each Unit of Competence is broken down into Elements of Competence. Further details of each unit are available in the Student Record Book which is issued to students when they join the Education and Training Scheme.

For detailed syllabus of AAT Intermediate Stage click ---here---

Technician Stage (AAT Level 4 NVQ/SVQ in Accounting)

Group 1 Core Units - All units are mandatory

Units of competence	Method of Assessment
Unit 8 - Contributing to the Management of Performance and the Enhancement of Value ( PEV)	Examination
Unit 9 - Contributing to the Planning and Control of Resources (PCR)	Examination
Unit 10 - Managing Systems and People in the Accounting Environment. (MSP)	Project
*Unit 22 - Contribute to the Maintenance of a Healthy, Safe and Productive Working Environment. - If not already completed	Skills Tests

*Unit 22 need not be repeated if it has been completed at Levels 2 or 3

Group 2 Optional Units - Choose one of the following four units

Units of competence	Method of Assessment
Unit 11 - Drafting Financial Statements (DFS) (Accounting Practice, Industry and Commerce)	Examination
Unit 12 - Drafting Financial Statements (Central Government) (DFS)	Examination
Unit 13 - Drafting Financial Statements (Local Government) (DFS)	Examination
Unit 14 - Drafting Financial Statements (National Health Service) (DFS)	Examination

Group 3 Optional Units - Choose two of the following four units

Units of competence	Method of Assessment
Unit 15 - Operating a Cash Management and Credit Control System (OCMC)	Skill Tests
Unit 17 - Implementing Auditing Procedures (IAP2)	Skill Tests
Unit 18 -  Preparing Business Taxation Computations (BTC)	Examination
Unit 19 -  Preparing Personal Taxation Computations (PTC)	Examination

Each Unit of Competence is broken down into Elements of Competence. Further details of each unit are available in the Student Record which is issued to students when they join the Education and Training Scheme.

For detailed syllabus of AAT Technician Stage click ---here---

Transitional Arrangements - old to new 2003 standards - Credit where it's due click ---here---

The Guide - the AAT's student prospectus [2.1 KB; PDF; Link will open a New Window]