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Professional Accounting Technician - Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship (AAT)*

Apprenticeship Summary

The Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician Higher Apprenticeship is equivalent to the first year of a degree programme and as such prepares individuals for roles where they will be supporting senior colleagues and potentially mentoring junior team members either in a specialist financial services business, within a larger accountancy practice or within the finance department of a private or public sector organisation.

Day-to-day duties will involve the preparation of materials to support taxation returns for a range of internal or external stakeholders. Individuals will need a detailed knowledge of the regulations governing taxation, an appreciation of the various taxation cycles and a keen understanding of the compliance issues regarding the reporting of taxation. Tasks will often involve interaction with HMRC and ensuring that all work meets regulatory standards and complies with ethical and professional codes.

This apprenticeship offers businesses both large and small the opportunity to either recruit a dedicated taxation specialist or to add capacity to their existing taxation team. Whether you are looking to upskill an existing employee or employ another team member, the apprenticeship provides a structured programme of training to ensure that whoever the individual is they are thoroughly immersed in both the world of taxation and your company's culture. This is the perfect progression route for an individual looking to become a senior tax advisor, management consultant or chartered accountant, especially as it provides the apprentice with an industry-recognised accountancy qualification via the AAT.

*Subject to validation. For more information, please visit our dedicated validation page.

Apprenticeship standard dates

Start date Location Duration
Anytime
University Centre
2 Years
Anytime
University Centre
2 Years

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 a Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician, 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

Entry Requirements

Course Detail

As an apprentice, you would be employed to work for a minimum of 30 hours per week, combining on the job practical work experience, alongside the study programme, in finance and accounting related roles.   During your apprenticeship, you will be mentored in the workplace and gain specific skills, whilst having the opportunity to gain a recognised qualification.

All AAT higher apprentices complete an application form and research task to ascertain their qualifications, motivation for study, knowledge of Accounting, academic style of writing and to ensure they are operating in an Accounting environment, which has proved highly effective.   In addition, the apprentice is required to complete a skills scan to identify their training needs, with the imbedding of English and Maths into the weekly activities of the programme as required by British Values.

AAT is a brand that employers trust. At BFC we have a successful history of delivering high quality accounting and finance qualifications. The AAT qualification is an internationally recognised, tailor made qualification developed for the modern workplace, in conjunction with employers in developing and writing the content with their real-world experience and the qualities they look for in employees. This guarantees you will have the skills needed as a mark of competence and professional excellence.

To progress, the apprentice has to display practical competence being reflected on their CV to indicate to employers an understanding of accounting and finance knowledge and theory, having mastered the ability to apply it in workplace.

To achieve the expected standards, the course will seek to enhance knowledge, understanding and application of behavioural skills in support of the workplace environment and demands, including:

  1. Analytical competence – to effectively analyse data for decision making and added value purposes.
  2. Communication – the provision of information to appropriate stakeholders in verbal and written format.
  3. Leadership – proactively engage in personal development to reflect commitment to the job role and the accounting profession in collaboration with colleagues to maintain effective working relationships.
  4. Planning – in the light of changing priorities, to effectively plan and respond to work role demands.
  5. Qualitative and accurate information – to consistently deliver requisite data in a timely way.
  6. Systems development – to understand and proactively engage in requisite use of systems to maintain proficiency in the function and role.
  7. Ethics and Regulation – application of the expected ethical standards to personal and professional behaviour in respect of integrity, competence, due care and confidentiality; compliance with legal requirements for the provision of financial information.

 

Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting


Essential Skills

English and Maths

 

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:

  • Principles of professional responsibilities and ethics in a tax environment, including approaches to interpreting ethics in complex situations.
  • Principles of legal regulations relevant to an organisation’s tax affairs, such as tax legislation, and law affecting the tax affairs of stakeholders.
  • Principles of accounting relevant to an organisation’s tax affairs, such as accounting for taxation and double entry that may impact on business tax calculations.
  • The wider tax professional landscape, including the role of a tax technician, the requirement to stay abreast of changes in tax technology and practice, and awareness of the role of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and professional bodies.
  • Principles of personal and business taxation to prepare tax calculations.
  • Principles of personal and business taxation to prepare HMRC forms, including understanding and complying with filing deadlines.
  • Principles of a specialist area of taxation to be able to prepare specialist tax calculations.
  • Situations that may lead to additional tax, penalties, and interest arising, and the rules and procedures used by HMRC to calculate penalties and interest.
  • Systems of risk management and financial control, and identification of potential vulnerabilities, negligence, and deliberate actions that could lead to issues, such as internal fraud or money laundering or tax inaccuracies and errors.
  • The importance of applying a transparent, objective, and sustainable approach to meet the ethical requirements of the profession, such as how to apply Professional Rules and Practice Guidelines (PRPG), Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PRCT), and Standards for Tax Planning, and ensuring that HMRC is provided with all relevant information necessary to be assured that the stakeholder’s tax affairs are correctly stated.
  • Principles of data analysis, data security, and cyber security to support collation, analysis, and compliant handling of data, and working safely online.
  • Workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
  • Approaches used for building and maintaining collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver taxation tasks.
  • The nature and importance of key climate, environmental, and emerging sustainability challenges, and the impact on sustainable business practices, risk, and government regulation, leading to the potential tax benefits of economic sustainability for stakeholders, such as energy efficiency related to capital allowances and sustainability requirements for different sizes of businesses.
  • The impact of equality, diversity and inclusion on service delivery within taxation, for example improving the tax position of individuals and businesses by improving accessibility with the move to making tax digital.
  • The importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and keeping up to date with relevant statutory obligations and procedural best practice to help improve own professional practice.

Skills

Your apprentice should be able to:

  • Collate, analyse, and use financial information to support evidence-based, sustainable tax decisions for stakeholders, such as individuals and businesses.
  • Undertake taxation activities within the scope and limits of their role and tax specialism, such as the preparation of tax information for individuals, sole traders, partnerships or limited companies, escalating issues to more senior colleagues where appropriate.
  • Apply relevant principles and legislation when undertaking taxation activities to ensure records are compliant.
  • Apply professional scepticism when undertaking taxation activities, being alert to conditions which may indicate possible misstatement of information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias, and using those facts to inform and evaluate decision making in the context of providing accurate information to HMRC.
  • Interpret information for tax purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report transactions or items of income or expenditure.
  • Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
  • Use software packages to assist with taxation tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
  • Deliver taxation tasks with a critical eye to trends, demonstrating a ‘right first-time approach’.
  • Use workload management principles to plan, organise, and prioritise own tasks and manage time effectively, such as systems for managing key tax filing dates, penalty dates, and enquiry deadlines.
  • Use taxation information to add value to stakeholders through use of data visualisations, analysis, and interpretation, and communicate tax information in a way that non-tax specialist stakeholders can understand.
  • Undertake file management activities, such as preparing and collating information, making accurate file notes and managing version control.
  • Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver taxation tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Communicate taxation information through different media to facilitate stakeholder understanding, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.

Behaviours

  • Actively engages in the wider organisation to provide information that contributes to influencing stakeholders, such as peers, colleagues and clients.
  • Applies a transparent, objective, and sustainable approach to meet the ethical requirements of the profession and actively encourages this behaviour with colleagues within their team.
  • Committed to personal wellbeing and has an awareness of support and resources available.
  • Adaptable and accepts changing priorities and working requirements to enable self and colleagues the flexibility to maintain high standards in a changing environment.
  • Reflects on own practice and seeks learning opportunities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
  • Works collaboratively with others, contributing to cultivating an open, honest, and empathetic work environment, and actively encourages this behaviour with colleagues in their team.

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 36-month period with additional time required 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.

This apprenticeship also has a mandatory qualification to complete. The apprentice will complete the training for the qualification during the first 24 months of the apprenticeship. The final assessment for the qualification is integrated into the apprenticeship. This means that their final exam will take place during the EPA period and count towards both the apprenticeship and the qualification.

The overall grades avalable for this apprenticeship are:

  • fail
  • pass
  • distinction

When the apprentice passes all assessment methods for the EPA, they will be eligible for the qualification certificate and will be awarded their apprenticeship certificate.

Assessment methods

Professional discussion

The apprentice will have a professional discussion with an independent assessor. It will last 90 minutes. They will ask the apprentice at least 10 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 an extensive portfolio of evidence including case studies prior to the EPA to enable them to answer these questions effectively.

Knowledge and skills test

As part of this apprenticeship, the apprentice will be required to sit the Level 4 AAT exams which comprise three mandatory units: 

  • Applied Management Accounting
  • Drafting and Interpreting Financial Statements
  • Internal Accounting Systems and Controls

This is complemented by a further two options units chosen from: Business Tax, Cash and Financial Management, Credit and Debt Management, Audit and Assurance, Personal Tax.