Completing your PER

Let's go to work. The Practical Experience Requirement (PER).

You shone in exams, now show you’re a star at work. PER is a key component of the ACCA Qualification and demonstrates you have the relevant skills and experience in a real working environment.

You’ll need to complete 36 months in a relevant accountancy/ finance role and show you have the right mix of skills by achieving nine performance objectives (five Essentials and four Technical). You can choose performance objectives that easily align with the actual work you’re doing.

You’ll also need to find an IFAC qualified accountant to be your supervisor. The supervisor helps you plan your progress, signs off the PER you record and decides when you’ve met your performance objectives.

The 36 months doesn't need to be completed all at once, or all in the same role/job.

Many types of work can count as PER. Even work you did before becoming an ACCA affiliate.

Relevant PER work experience can include:

  • roles in any organisation or sector
  • part time work
  • partially relevant roles, where only some of your time is spent on accounting or finance work
  • internships and volunteering.

If you already have a relevant job, this should provide you with the range of experiences that let you shine and enable you to start achieving your PER.

If not, we’re here to provide expert advice, support and resources. As well as our comprehensive careers section and jobs board, there’s always someone passionate about helping you. 

 

The Practical Experience Requirement, explained

"I'd advise getting a great understanding of what's required to complete your PER. When I was working on mine I faced a lot of challenges, but I contacted ACCA and the information I got was so helpful."

Daniel - Financial Analyst at Comptroller NYC

Not working in a relevant role?

If you are not in a relevant role, you should still update My Experience to record details of your job, but you would not be able to achieve any time towards the 36 months PER. If your work is supervised by suitably qualified person you maybe be able to achieve some performance objectives if you are undertaking tasks directly related to the following objectives:

2: Stakeholder relationship management

3: Strategy, innovation and sustainable value creation

5: Leadership and management

Recording your PER

You’ll use the online MyExperience tool to plan and record all your PER and get everything signed off by your practical experience supervisor.

It’s important you invite your supervisor to register on MyExperience, as they can’t sign off anything without being registered.  Also, try to keep your PER record up-to-date, so you don’t get held back by chasing up sign-offs from previous roles.

You can access MyExperience through MyACCA

Resources