No, you must be a member to apply for the AQ but you can gain the required experience whilst on your journey to ACCA membership alongside your PER so you will be able to apply at the earliest opportunity after admission to membership rather than waiting a further two years.

No. To sign off audit reports you will be required to obtain a PC (see below) and responsible individual (RI) status (see below) in a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate from ACCA.

Examples of the narrative required for the audit competences statements are available within the guidance notes which can be found on the website here. These are for guidance purposes only - do not copy and paste them when completing your own AQEF. ACCA may use plagiarism detection software. Copying and pasting from the examples may indicate that you have not achieved the required breadth of experience towards the award of an audit qualification. Copying and pasting may also be regarded as supplying false, inaccurate and/or misleading information raising questions about your integrity, which may result in referral to ACCA Complaint Assessment department for consideration as to possible disciplinary action.

There are detailed AQEF guidance notes which contain detailed information about the behaviours that need to be demonstrated. They are available on our website here.

This should be the date that you achieved the element and not the date that you are completing the form. The dates should not all be the same or the same date that your employer signs off the form. Competencies are gained in stages over different periods. Your AQEF should show progression and development with some competencies gained earlier than others.

Your AQEF should be completed on an ongoing basis and not retrospectively. However, if retrospective completion is unavoidable it must be to the same standard and in the same level of detail as if your experience had been recorded on an ongoing basis.

The form must be signed off by your supervising principal, who must be a statutory auditor from a member state.

Yes, you will need to complete a separate form for each employer.

As a guideline, three years of full-time experience equates to 4,620 hours of working time (approximately 35 hours per week). ACCA, however, recognise that not all members work full-time hours. We want to ensure that members who work part time have equal opportunities to further their career and obtain an audit qualification. If you are working part-time you are still required to go through the same rigorous process as a member working full-time. However, more than three years of work experience in order to meet the time requirements. Guidance about part-time experience is available on our website here.

There is no fee for the AQ in 2025.

No, once awarded the AQ remains with you indefinitely.

No. You already hold the AQ so you will not need to re-apply for a standalone AQ. If you wish to be a responsible individual in the future or count towards the percentage control requirements for a firm’s auditing certificate you should indicate on the relevant application forms that you already hold the AQ for Ireland.

Nothing. You already hold the AQ.

The Irish AQ is only awarded to members so if you are not already a member of ACCA you will need to apply for membership and follow the standard requirements. If, however, you are a third country auditor and wish to be responsible for audit work in a firm holding (or applying for) an auditing certificate for Ireland you do not need to apply for ACCA membership or the Irish AQ but you will need to pass an aptitude test and apply for responsible individual status (see below) and regulated non-member status (see below).

The Irish AQ is only awarded to members so if you are not already a member of ACCA you will also need to apply for membership and follow the standard requirements. If, however, you are an auditor in another member state and wish to be responsible for audit work in a firm holding (or applying for) an auditing certificate for Ireland you do not need to apply for ACCA membership or the Irish AQ but you will need to pass an aptitude test and apply for responsible individual status (see below) and regulated non-member status (see below).

The Irish AQ is only awarded to members so if you are not already a member of ACCA you will also need to apply for direct ACCA membership.

If, however, you wish to be responsible for audit work in a firm holding (or applying for) an auditing certificate for Ireland you do not need to apply for ACCA membership or the Irish AQ but you will need to apply for responsible individual status (see below).

You do not need to apply for the AQ from ACCA too. However, if you intend to be responsible for audit work in a firm holding (or applying for) an Irish auditing certificate you will need to apply for a PC and RI status from ACCA (see below).

No. To sign off audit reports you will also be required to obtain responsible individual (RI) status (see below) in a firm holding (or applying for) an Irish auditing certificate from ACCA.

Yes, you can apply for both at the same time but separate authorisations will be issued if your applications are approved.

Nothing, you will be ‘grandfathered’ into RI status in 2025.

Your RI status will cease.

No, only a principal or employee in a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate can be an RI.

Ireland is an approved third country to the UK. Therefore, if you are already an Irish RI you may apply for UK RI status in a firm holding (or applying for) a UK auditing certificate by completing an aptitude test comprising the UK variants of ACCA’s tax and law examinations.

If you successfully complete the aptitude test you can apply to ACCA for UK RI status. If your RI application is approved you will not be awarded a UK AQ but as an approved third country auditor you will be eligible to sign off UK audit reports on behalf of the firm.

Please contact authorisation@accaglobal.com for further information about the aptitude test.

Yes, you do not need to be an RI to count towards the percentage control requirements for the FAC. RIs are those who are responsible for the signing off audit reports but they may not be principals in the firm or exercise any control in the firm. The requirement is that the firm must be controlled by ‘qualified persons’ which means an individual holding an appropriate qualification (ie an Irish audit qualification or a member state auditor or an approved third country qualification) or a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate.

Yes, the firm must be controlled by ‘qualified persons’ which includes approved third country auditors.

Yes, the firm must be controlled by ‘qualified persons’ which includes member state auditors.

Your firm will need to complete the firm’s auditing certificate application form for the UK and the RIs must complete the RI application form for the UK (see above). To be eligible for a FAC for the UK your firm will need to meet additional requirements, including control by qualified persons which means a person who holds an appropriate qualification (ie a UK audit qualification or an approved third country qualification) or a firm holding a UK auditing certificate.

Your firm will need to submit another application form but there will be no additional fee in 2025.

Yes. This is to check that your firm still meets the eligibility requirements to hold its FAC (e.g. control by qualified persons).

The Compliance Principal is a principal of the firm or a member of its management board and is responsible for the firm’s compliance with the ACCA Rulebook and any relevant obligations of a competent authority, and who is the primary contact with ACCA. Firms must notify ACCA of the identity of the Compliance Principal. For firms holding, or applying for, an auditing certificate the Compliance Principal must be a statutory auditor.

A regulated non-member is an individual who is a principal in a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate from ACCA who is not a member of ACCA or another RAB. A third country auditor who wishes to be a responsible individual in a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate but is not eligible for direct membership of ACCA because there is no Mutual Recognition Agreement between ACCA and the other country needs to hold regulated non-member status.

A firm that is a principal in a firm holding an Irish auditing certificate from ACCA that is not a member of ACCA or another RAB is also a regulated non-member (eg a corporate principal).

They must be fit and proper and complete an application form, available on our website here. Regulated non-members who wish to be RIs (eg third country auditors) must also apply for RI status.

In some firms the principals are other firms (eg corporate principals) rather than individuals. A firm is treated as a non-ACCA ‘member’ if it is not eligible to use the description ‘Chartered Certified Accountants’ i.e. at least half of the principals are not ACCA members and the ACCA members don’t control at least 51% of the voting rights.

The issue of fees is still under consideration. There is no fee for regulated non-member status in 2025.

The application form for the firm is the same as for an individual.