Successful launch of new practice experience tool for trainee accountants

At the beginning of March 600,000 trainee accountants across the globe, were given access to a new e-assessment tool which they are using to demonstrate their eligibility to become members of a leading accountancy professional body. Most of the trainees already had captured some evidence and recorded time on the old tool and therefore it was a significant task to add this data to the new tool. This task was made doubly difficult by the fact that changes had been made to some of the assessment methodology.

The fact that the launch passed off without incident was a testimony to the skills of the Axia Interactive Media team and the robustness of the NOW.net platform that the company uses.

The Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) like other accountancy professional bodies requires their trainees to produce a record of their practice experience as well as take exams. This record is set against a list of required competencies and time spent on practicing as an accountant is also captured. It is then assessed by a workplace supervisor.

The ACCA did previously have an online practice experience tool however the new tool brings many new features and benefits. It can be accessed on all devices using a browser and automatically resizes to fit each device. The ‘learning journey’ that trainees take is easily mapped out for them and they can see at a glance the progress they have made.

The benefits to the ACCA is they have a tool that can be easily authored and administered. Changes to the site can be made without the need to involve the company and the comprehensive administration tool provides easy access for the ACCA administrators to all parts of the tool.

The opportunity to extend this e-assessment approach to other qualifications that are currently paper based is now being actively explored.

This project is further evidence of how agile and innovative small e-assessment companies can successfully provide a great solution to one of the largest professional bodies.

About Axia Interactive Media

Axia Interactive Media is a market leader in creating ‘E-Portfolios for a Purpose’

Our sites………

• support Professional Bodies and Schools with their CPD systems
• enable Universities to assess their work based courses using electronic instead of paper based records
• enable FE Colleges and training providers to assess NVQs electronically
• support deliverers of IAG to meet national standards.