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Apprenticeship training course

Professional accounting technician (level 4)

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Information about Professional accounting technician (level 4)

Working as an accountant or bookkeeper for an accounting practice, business, organisations or HMRC.

Knowledge, skills and behaviours
View knowledge, skills and behaviours

Knowledge

  • The principles of professional ethics and codes of conduct in an accounting environment including approaches to interpreting ethics in complex situations.
  • Professional standards and legal regulations relevant to an organisation’s financial information such as accounting standards, ethical codes and internal principles.
  • The wider financial and accounting professional landscape including the role of accountancy, the requirement to stay abreast of changes in accounting technology and practice and awareness of the role of regulators and professional bodies.
  • Principles of double entry bookkeeping and accounting standards to create and report financial information to the users of accounts.
  • Principles of financial accounting for a range of single entities. For example, sole traders, limited companies or partnerships, adjustment and reporting including standard year end journal entries and the correction of errors.
  • Principles of management accounting for example, the purpose of management accounting, budgetary planning and control, costing, decision making.
  • Principles of interpretation of financial information for management accounts preparation or the drafting of financial statements, such as ratio analysis.
  • Systems of risk management and financial control, and identification of potential vulnerabilities that could lead to issues such as internal fraud or money laundering.
  • Principles of data analysis, data security and cyber security to support collation, analysis and compliant handling of data and working safely online in an accounting context.
  • The nature and importance of key climate, environmental and emerging sustainability challenges and their impact on service delivery in accountancy, such as sustainable business practices, risk, government regulation, and the benefits of economic sustainability for stakeholders.
  • The impact of equality, diversity and inclusion on service delivery within accountancy, for example enhancing organisational reputation with customers, investors, and staff, improving business performance, and growth.

Skills

  • Collate and analyse financial information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to support value creation within an organisation.
  • Apply accounting principles and adhere to legislation to ensure records are accurate and compliant with law or company policy when delivering accounting activities, such as the financial accounting of single entities, limited companies or partnerships or management accounting activities for an organisation.
  • Apply professional scepticism when undertaking accounting activities to inform and evaluate decision making on the content of true and fair accounts, being alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias.
  • Interpret financial information for accounting purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report or account for transaction or undertaking ratio analysis.
  • Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
  • Use software packages to assist with accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
  • Deliver accounting tasks with a critical eye to transactions and trends, demonstrating a ‘right first time approach’.
  • Use workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
  • Use accounting information to add value to the organisation through use of data visualisations, analysis and interpretation, and communicate financial information in a way that facilitates understanding for non-finance stakeholders.
  • Communicate accounting information through a variety of media to enable key stakeholders to understand what is required, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.
  • Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver accounting tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Behaviours

  • Actively engages in the wider business and provides information that contributes to influencing business decisions.
  • Applies a transparent, objective and sustainable manner to meet the ethical requirements of the profession and actively encourages this behaviour with colleagues in their team.
  • Committed approach to personal wellbeing and has an awareness of support and resources available.
  • Works collaboratively with others, contributing to cultivating an open, honest, and empathetic work environment, and actively encourages this behaviour with colleagues in their team.
  • 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 continuous professional development.
Apprenticeship category (sector)
Legal, finance and accounting
Qualification level
4
Equal to higher national certificate (HNC)
Course duration
18 months
Funding
£12,000
Maximum government funding for
apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
Job titles include
  • Accountant
  • Accounts payable and expenses supervisor
  • Assistant auditor
  • Assistant financial accountant
  • Assistant management accountant
  • Commercial analyst
  • Finance adviser
  • Junior analyst

View more information about Professional accounting technician (level 4) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.