Updates to the Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard: Finance and Accounting

As of the 1^st of August 2023, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has updated the Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard. Funding bands have been revised and increased from £8,000 to £12,000 to reflect new content and increased costs of delivery.

For accountancy and finance qualifications, the AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting qualification has been mandated to the Level 3 Assistant Accountant apprenticeship standard of the AAT qualification. This applies to both levy and non-levy employers. The mandating of the AAT qualification means that the additional costs below are now included in the apprenticeship price:

• Student registration fee for level 3. (AAT no longer has a registration and membership fee for Q2022, it is all one registration fee for the qualification which should all be included in the funding)
• Exam fees for the first sitting of each module
• All costs associated with the delivery of the qualification (materials and training)
• All costs associated with the exams (admin fees)
• The cost of one mandatory resit exam

The increase to the AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting funding band is a big step forward in the right direction for training providers to continue to be able to deliver quality apprenticeships. Until this change, apprenticeship funding bands remained the same as when they were first set, despite substantial increases in the costs of delivering apprenticeships through rising salaries and operational costs.

The increase to the Level 3 funding band follows a change made by the government earlier in the year that saw the removal of the ‘cap on ten’ non-levy reservations for apprenticeships. This means non-levy employers are no longer limited to a maximum of ten new apprenticeship starts and can take advantage of hiring as many new staff as their business requires.

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FAQs

The start date of the new standard mandatory

• 1 August 2023

What has changed?

• Inclusion of duties in the standard
• Updated KSBs
• Mandated qualification
• New EPA assessment plan
• New funding band

What qualifications can be used?

• AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting
• Must be passed (and results achieved) before gateway

Which EPAOs are available to use?

• Currently, only AAT is confirmed. Drafts of their EPA specification and resources are to be available on 1 August 2023

Any considerations for the order of units?

• If BUAW is left until last this is an assessment with human-marked elements and a 6-week wait until results, so if this is the last unit at the level before gateway it could delay gateway. Ideally, this shouldn’t be the last unit in the apprenticeship plan

How much is the funding band?

• £12,000

What costs are to be included in the funding for the mandated qualification?

• Student registration fee for Level 3. (AAT no longer has a registration and membership fee for Q2022, it is all one registration fee for the qualification which should all be included in the funding)
• Exam fees for the first sitting of each module
• All costs associated with the delivery of the qualification (materials and training)
• All costs associated with the exams (admin fees)
• The cost of one mandatory resit exam

How do we deal with resit costs?

• This will possibly depend on the result of the clarification but is likely to be a price change (ideally one price change at the end if required)

The typical programme length

• 15 months

What is the EPA?

• Assessment method 1 – Knowledge assessment (fail, pass, distinction) 50%
• Assessment method 2 – professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio (fail, pass, distinction) 50%
• If one part is failed there are 6 months to resit this part

What is the overall grading?

• Fail, pass, merit, distinction

Is there still a portfolio?

• Yes – but there are some changes, it must be completed before the gateway

What should the portfolio contain?

• Typically 10 discrete pieces of evidence
• Mapped against KSBs
• Evidence can include:
  • workplace product evidence such as spreadsheets, working papers, email communications, meeting minutes, timesheets, screenshots of accounting dashboards and data analytics etc
  • appraisal and 1-2-1 objective setting,
  • job-related certificates
  • completed observation checklist and related action plans
  • worksheets, assignment projects and reports
  • record of any formal discussions
  • peer feedback
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Portfolio should NOT include reflective accounts or any methods of assessment. Employer contributions should be by observations, not opinion
• The portfolio is not assessed but must be full and complete, it will not gain an assessment mark or feedback

What is the knowledge test?

• 40 MCQ’s over 4 themes. Computer-based with a maximum of 25% multiple-choice questions where there is one correct answer and 3 plausible distractors and a combination of calculation-based questions, multiple mark short questions for example drag and drop, pick list etc, there will be no extended writing and all are computer marked
• Themes
  • Professional standards and ethics
  • Digital and data security
  • Financial investigation and queries
  • Financial statements and Bookkeeping
• 90 minutes assessment with an additional 60 minutes for preparation and reflection so 150 minutes in total
• Open book but no access to the internet
• 70% pass rate (35/40 to get distinction)
• Scenarios provided

Any challenges to consider with the knowledge-based test?

• Open-book and flexible time
• Allow enough space
• Could require a separate session from other exams so as not to distract others

What will the professional discussion structure be?

• 60 minutes (+/-10%)
• 10 questions from a question bank (unseen)
• Video conference discussion

Can learners transition to the new standard?

• Yes as long as they have at least 6 months left on programme pre-gateway and in total at least 12 months
• Will be required to meet new KSB’s and EPA
• Will remain on previous funding band (£8k)
• Agreement between learner, employer and TP
• Must be fully aware of differences and learning must meet new standard version
• Updates to the apprenticeship agreement and training plan

What happens to those who are on a BIL?

• They can choose to remain on the old version of the standard or transition to the new