The professional accountant is evolving. That’s why our apprenticeships develop future-ready accountants with the digital skills, business acumen, ethical integrity and emotional intelligence to become trusted advisors and add immediate value to your business.
We’ve built a market-leading blend of professional skills into our world-class accountancy qualification. And ACCA apprentices are trained to the same standard as someone studying the traditional way. Their balance of time will be 80% on the job and 20% off the job, and it’ll be a mix of tuition, training, job shadowing and other learning methods.
Our apprenticeship in Wales is offered at Level 4. This covers the first part of the ACCA Qualification and gives people the finance and accounting knowledge to help them flourish as an accounting technician or see if they want to progress to chartered certified accountant status. Apprentices are trained to understand the structure and functions of different businesses and build the technical knowledge to support financial planning. They’ll also be able to create, verify and review accurate and timely financial information for you.
Your apprentice’s progress and performance will be assessed in terms of their skills, knowledge and behaviours through a mixture of practical work experience, technical learning and exams. Once all elements of the apprenticeship have been successfully completed, the apprentice qualifies as an accountancy professional.
Business and Technology
Business structures and how accounting contributes to the development of business
Financial Accounting
Principles and proficiency in the use of double-entry accounting techniques.
Management Accounting
Techniques to support management in planning.
Foundations in professionalism
Covering ethics and personal effectiveness
During the apprenticeship, apprentices study for and sit three ACCA exams and complete the ACCA Foundations in Professionalism module, at a time when you and they agree. This allows you to ensure that exams and study leave are compatible with the demands of your business and reduces the overall amount of time they’re away from their day-to-day role.
The delivery of your apprenticeship is flexible and can be tailored depending on your needs, no matter how large or small a business you have. You can also choose whether your apprenticeship provides training through a local provider on a day-release basis, self-study, online sessions or a combination of all three. We recommend that you talk to your chosen training provider about any requirements you may have, so they can design a programme to suit your business.
We can help you to choose an approved training provider from the Business Wales website.
There are no set entry requirements, but your apprentice must have GCSE passes in English and Maths. You might also want to set your own additional entry criteria. For information on how to recruit an apprentice, take a look at attracting the right candidates.
We understand that the cost of training can be a concern, but it shouldn’t be. One of the many benefits of ACCA apprenticeships is that the cost of training is subsidised through government funding. For more details, take a look at our funding page.
Students can choose to progress to the full ACCA Qualification and achieve ACCA chartered certified status via traditional study methods or through one of our approved training providers. This means they could become an ACCA chartered certified accountant within five years of beginning their Level 4 apprenticeship.
Once they’ve completed higher ACCA exams, they then have the option of progressing onto a degree:
By offering a route into this range of development pathways, you'll strengthen your employer brand, attract and retain talent, build loyalty and demonstrate your commitment to the highest professional standards.