Apprenticeship Summary
An accounts or finance assistant plays a vital role in organisations of all sizes, from small businesses to global enterprises. They can be found in various settings, including the accounts or finance departments of companies, solo-owned businesses, partnerships, and public sector institutions such as local governments, hospitals, schools, and colleges. Additionally, they may work within accounting firms, providing services to a diverse range of clients.
Their primary role is to perform a variety of accounting and financial tasks that support the work of other colleagues. Typically, they might undertake work involving financial data entry, reconciling figures, preparing trial balances, double-entry bookkeeping, and managing accounts payable and receivable.
This apprenticeship offers businesses both large and small the opportunity to grow their financial team from the ground up, whether as part of an internal finance department or as a financial services organisation in its own right. The apprenticeship is an assured and methodical way of training an entry-level team member in general accounting principles and in the specific approach taken by your organisation, giving them the scope to become a knowledgeable and valued employee. It is the ideal starting point for someone looking to develop a career in finance and offers a wide-ranging foundational introduction to the complex and detailed world of accountancy and financial management.
Entry Requirements
To make sure this qualification is right for you, we’ll undertake a short assessment session.
It’s preferable that you have English and Maths GCSE Grade 4/C or above.
Your prospective employer may have specific above and beyond those required for the study programme.
Apprenticeship standard dates
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Anytime
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University Centre
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Anytime
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University Centre
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Next steps
As an Employer
If you would like to offer this as an apprenticeship vacancy within your organisation, enrol one of your existing employees on this apprenticeship or simply find out more about supporting an apprenticeship within your organisation, please complete this form and a member of our Business Development Team will be in touch within 2 working days to advise you on next steps.
As an Apprentice
If you are interested in securing an apprenticeship as an Accounts or Finance Assistant, please visit our Vacancies page to check for any suitable roles.
If there are currently no roles available, please submit an enquiry form using the Enquire Now button above to register your interest. We will use this information to let you know when a suitable vacancy becomes available and also to advise you of any courses we offer that might advance your career goals in the meantime.
Key information
How will the Apprenticeship be funded?
As the employer
How your apprenticeship is funded will depend on whether or not you pay the Apprenticeship Levy. If you do pay the Levy, your apprenticeship will be funded out of this, provided you have sufficient monies available. If you do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy, 95% of the apprenticeship will be funded by the Government, with the remaining 5% being funded by you. There may also be some further incentives offered by the Government which we will be able to advise you of when setting up your apprenticeship. Either way, B&FC's Business Development Team will be on hand to help you navigate the funding arrangements and support you through this process.
As the apprentice
One of the benefits of an apprenticeship is that, as the apprentice, you are not required to fund your training. You will also receive a wage for the work that you do with minimum hourly rates set by the Government. Your employer can choose to pay you more than the minimum wage, but they cannot pay you less. For details of current minimum wage rates for apprentices, please visit the Government website.
What will my Apprentice learn?
Knowledge
By the end of their apprenticeship, your apprentice should understand:
- Legislation impacting accountancy, including company law, data protection and anti-money laundering regulations. and how it applies practically in an accounting and financial context.
- Professional ethics and codes of conduct in finance and accounting environments.
- Different business types and organisational structures and their relevance to accounting.
- Digital financial and accounting packages and applications including databases and spreadsheets.
- Principles of using and maintaining financial records including accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management and payroll.
- Principles of bookkeeping and controls, and the difference between financial and management accounting.
- Principles of cyber-security and working safely online within a finance and accounting context.
- Data handling including the significance of dates and the timing of transactions such as dates of invoice and pay.
Skills
Your apprentice should be able to:
- Record transactional data.
- Use the organisation’s standard tools and processes to examine data to identify transactional issues such as, reconciliations and inconsistencies between invoices.
- Recognise and rectify routine errors, escalating as necessary.
- Plan and review accounting and finance tasks.
- Communicate with stakeholders to deliver accurate and timely results, avoiding jargon, using language tailored to the audience and different media methods with an appreciation of the risks and benefits to the business of social media and other digital applications.
- Use finance and accounting software packages to accurately input and manage data to contribute to routine accounting tasks.
- Handle data and digital technology in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
Behaviours
Your apprentice should be:
- Able to provide support and collaborate with others to help achieve the goals of the organisation.
- Adaptable and respond constructively to changing work requirements.
- Self-motivated and able to seek and act upon feedback, displaying commitment to personal and professional development.
- Vigilant in their approach to accounting and finance tasks, paying close attention to detail and aware of the consequences of errors.
- Professional in their approach to their work and others to meet the requirements of professional ethics and codes of conduct.
- Focused on the importance of delivering excellent service, identifying, meeting or exceeding stakeholder expectations.
Expert Tutors
All tutors involved in the delivery of courses and apprenticeships within the College are approved to teach the subjects and modules they deliver.
Our recruitment process ensures that tutors delivering a given programme are suitably qualified and, where appropriate, possess relevant technical and industrial experience and a familiarity with professional practice. This is especially important for apprenticeships where off-the-job training needs to align with apprentices' on-the-job experience.
How will the Apprenticeship be delivered?
The apprenticeship will typically be delivered over a 12-month period with an additional 3 months to prepare for the End Point Assessment. Apprentices' time will typically be split 80:20 throughout the apprenticeship programme with four days a week spent at the employer premises learning on the job and one day a week spent off-site, undertaking classroom-based and workshop-based training at B&FC.
What support will I get from B&FC?
As the employer
Each employer is supported by an experienced member of our Business Development Team to set up their apprenticeship. For those employers who are completely new to the apprenticeship process, the Team will support them with all the necessary paperwork and administration to get their apprenticeship programme up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. For existing employers, their dedicated Client Services Manager will be an ongoing point of contact for all their apprenticeship queries, however big or small.
We can also help employers who are looking to recruit new apprentices by advertising their vacancy, finding suitable applicants and supporting them with the interview and selection process. Once an apprentice is onboard, our Curriculum Tutors and Apprenticeship Trainers and Skills Coaches also step in to support the employer-apprentice relationship and ensure the apprentice is on track to succeed.
As the apprentice
In the first instance, we aim to give potential apprentices all the support they need to find a suitable apprenticeship. That can mean working with them prior to an application to improve their CV, hone their interview skills and advise them of any additional training that may help them secure an apprenticeship vacancy.
Once they start their apprenticeship, we continue to support them with their off-site training and with regular meetings with our Apprenticeship Trainers and Skills Coaches to ensure they are progressing and acquiring all the knowledge, skills and behaviours that will ensure they complete their apprenticeship successfully.
How will the Apprenticeship be assessed?
What is an end-point assessment and why it happens
An EPA is an assessment at the end of the apprenticeship. The EPA is the apprentice's opportunity to show an independent assessor how well they can carry out the occupation they have been trained for.
The overall grades available for this apprenticeship are:
- fail
- pass
- distinction
When the apprentice passes the EPA, they will be awarded their apprenticeship certificate.
Assessment methods
Interview
The apprentice will have an interview with an independent assessor. It will last 60 minutes. They will ask the apprentice at least six questions, which will cover different aspects of their role with the aim of assessing whether the apprentice has satisfactorily acquired all the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the occupational standard. The apprentice must compile a portfolio of evidence prior to the EPA to enable to answer these questions effectively.
Knowledge and skills test
In the knowledge test the apprentice will be expected to answer questions in a controlled and invigilated environment.