ACCA Certified Accounting Technician

Course details

The Certified Accounting Technician Course (CAT) is suitable for anyone who wants a solid foundation in financial and management accounting. The award which offers maximum flexibility and employability provides all the technical skills and knowledge needed to perform an accounting-support role and work at a technician level.

Accounting Technicians are involved in the day-to-day practical work of accountancy and play a key operational role in producing reliable financial information. While they are not accountants, they can perform many of the same functions and are qualified to take accounts up to trial balance.

The Accounting Technician’s Qualification is also an entry into the Professional Accounting route.

The ACCA is the largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy body in the world, with nearly 500,000 members and students in 170 countries.

No previous academic or accountancy qualifications are required to study for this qualification.

Course Objectives

To develop knowledge and understanding of:

• The operation and maintenance of accounting systems and procedures at the level of transaction recording
• The operation and organisation of the office as the centre for information and administrative processes and procedures
• The techniques used in the collection and collation of information for the maintenance of accounts and financial records
• The operation and maintenance of accounting systems for the capture, measurement and reporting of cost-based information
• The operation of systems and procedures found within an information technology environment
• The application of techniques to prepare year end financial statements from a trial balance and the interpretation of financial statements for a range of organisational forms
• The application of management accounting techniques to support the management processes of planning, control and decision-making
• The audit process from the planning stage through to the reporting stage and the techniques used in the conduct of internal and external audits
• The operation of processes and procedures by which organisations plan cash-flows, optimise their use of working capital and allocate resources to capital expenditure projects
• The techniques, processes and procedures which are required to ensure the efficient and effective use and deployment of human resources

Course Content

Students must complete nine examinations unless they qualify for exemptions.

Introductory:

• Paper 1 - Recording financial transactions
• Paper 2 - Information for management control

Intermediate:

• Paper 3 - Maintaining financial records
• Paper 4 - Accounting for costs

Advanced:

• Paper 5 - Managing people and systems
• Paper 6 - Drafting financial statements
• Paper 7 - Planning, control and performance management

Optional papers (2 out of 3):

• Paper 8 - Implementing auditing procedures
• Paper 9 - Preparing taxation computations
• Paper 10 -Managing Finances

Students Must Also Complete:

A professionalism and ethics module: Foundations in Professionalism.

This can be completed on the ACCA website before or after the exams

Progression

After completing the Certified Accounting Technician Course you can transfer to the ACCA Professional course and start at F4.