The practical experience supervisor is a vital role that supports and develops trainees through the ACCA Practical Experience Requirement (PER) and on to membership.
What is a practical experience supervisor?
As a practical experience supervisor, you will be joining a network of ACCA members all around the world who use their knowledge, experience and expertise to develop the next generation of accountants. Being a a practical experience supervisor includes a great deal of mentoring and is an essential way of developing the profession. ACCA believes in so strongly in this that we have formalised the role in our approach to PER for trainees.
This section includes resources to help you become a practical experience supervisor, including useful case studies and guidance sheets.
PER Guide
The PER Guide is the definitive guide to everything you need to know about ACCA’s Practical Experience Requirement (PER). Familiarising yourself with ACCA's PER will help prepare you for being a practical experience supervisor for an ACCA trainee.
PER guide (PDF)
Performance objectives
Trainees need to complete a range of performance objectives - ACCA's indicators of effective performance - before they can apply for membership. As a practical experience supervisor you will guide and support trainees through their achievement of performance objectives and you can use this booklet to familiarise yourself with them.
Become a practical experience supervisor
ACCA’s practical experience requirement (PER) is a vital part of the ACCA Qualification; it enables trainees to apply the knowledge and techniques they learn while studying for their exams and develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours to be a qualified accountant.
Become a Practical Experience Supervisor (PDF)
FAQs about practical experience supervisors
A practical experience supervisor oversees trainees’ achievement of performance objectives. Their role is central to a trainee completing their practical experience requirement and achieving their qualifications in accountancy.
A practical experience supervisor should provide guidance and support to the trainee by:
- helping identify which performance objectives the trainee should aim to achieve
- setting timescales and targets for performance
- providing access to appropriate work experience and other development opportunities
- evaluating and reviewing their progress on a regular basis
- signing off their experience.
As an employer of ACCA students, you play an important role in ensuring those working towards ACCA or CAT qualifications gain suitable work experience. You also want to get the very best out of your trainees and the role of the practical experience supervisor is vital to trainees realising their potential within your organisation.
Trainees will need to have their performance objectives and time in a relevant role signed off.
To sign-off performance objectives you must be a qualified accountant or auditor. However, if you are a trainee's line manager, but you are not a qualified accountant, you can still sign-off the time they have completed in a relevant role. The trainee can nominate a second qualified supervisor to work with you to sign-off the performance objectives.
