Performance objectives

As part of the practical experience requirement (PER), you'll need to achieve performance objectives. The performance objectives and exams are closely linked. This means that the knowledge you'll develop through your studies are also relevant to the skills and techniques you'll use in the workplace.

Performance objectives are the benchmarks of effective performance. They describe the types of work activities you'll be involved with as trainee accountants. They also outline the values and attitudes you should demonstrate.

You'll need to achieve nine performance objectives in total:

• all five Essentials objectives, and 

• any four from 17 Technical objectives.

You'll demonstrate your achievement of the performance objectives by performing activities in the workplace. You'll then write a statement to provide examples of your experience which demonstrates to your practical experience supervisor that you have to achieved the objectives.

For more information on the performance objectives, download the performance objectives booklet (PDF, 724KB).

To learn more about how Performance Objectives link to exams, download the exams to objectives factsheet (PDF, 22KB).

Which objectives to choose?

You’ll need to achieve all 5 Essentials and choose 4 Technical objectives.

It’s best to choose Technical objectives that align to your role. You'll find it much easier to achieve the performance objectives if you focus on the objectives that link most closely to your every day work. 

For example, if you're not working in a specific Audit or Tax role you won't be getting the right level of experience to achieve these objectives. You should choose other objectives that are more relevant to your role.

You can use the ACCA career navigator to help you choose the right performance objectives. Explore the tool to find objectives that best align to your current role or the career or expertise area you aspire to. 

How are performance objectives structured?

There are three parts to a performance objective:

1. A description - This is a summary of the objective
2. Elements - Each objective has five elements which outline the tasks, skills and behaviours you must demonstrate to achieve the objective
3. A statement - You'll need to write a 200-500 word statement where you demonstrate achievement of the objective by providing examples of your work

To complete a performance objective you need to claim all five elements and write a statement. These are submitted to your practical experience supervisor for approval.

Your PER progress - the achievement of the performance objectives, and time spent in a relevant role, are all recorded online in MyExperience, which you access via MyACCA.

Performance objective exemption

Your employer may allow you to claim a performance objective exemption if:

• you work for an ACCA Approved Employer
• your employer holds trainee development approval at Gold or Platinum level.

This is because we recognise that some employers have training programmes which support their trainees to complete their objectives. So in these cases, you’ll achieve the objectives through the training you receive from your employer.