10 top tips to help complete your practical experience requirement

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ACCA's practical experience requirement (PER) is an essential part on the road to becoming a member.

To complete PER you'll need to achieve 36 months of supervised experience. This should be in a relevant accounting or finance role. You'll also complete nine performance objectives - all five Essentials and four Technical objectives. You'll record your progress online within MyExperience and have your PER signed off by your practical experience supervisor.

To help you along the way, here are 10 top tips:

1. Read through the Performance Objectives booklet, paying particular attention to those you are considering selecting for your four Technicals. Then sketch out various factors that might help you successfully achieve each objective. 

2. Consider which Essentials performance objectives you will most likely be able to demonstrate that you have achieved with minimum hassle.

3. Think about which ones will be the most tricky, and why. How might you overcome these?

4. Which Technical performance objectives tie in most directly with your job? These might be easier for you to demonstrate that you have achieved them.

5. When are you going to concentrate on each performance objective? Think about how many you could feasibly handle at any one time.


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6. Ask yourself how you will know when you have developed sufficient expertise or competence in certain areas to be able to tackle the relevant challenge questions and obtain sign off from your practical experience supervisor.

7. Consider what resources there are available from ACCA that would help you. How can you access these resources? What resources are available for your practical experience supervisor?

8. When should you do the Ethics and Professional Skills module? Might you learn anything from the module that may smooth the path to achieving some of your other performance objectives?

9. Preparation is key. If the answers to the above leave you facing a scarily long action list, break down each task into its components. Plot your key milestones, building in ‘safety nets’ that allow you to get back on track if you fall behind.

10. Use the development plan in My Experience. It has been designed to help you focus your efforts and ensure you make the most of the time you spend working towards the PER.

PER support

Don’t forget that further support and advice on completing your PER is available on the ACCA website:​​ Access it now

This article was first published in Student Accountant in May 2022

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