Everyone who works in audit will be aware of the complexities of the work and the scrutiny that naturally follows. This extends to gaining the Audit Qualification (AQ) – the first step in achieving Responsible Individual (RI) status.
The Companies Act 1989 established the AQ and (Schedule 12 at that time, subsequently Schedule 11 under the later 2006 Act) made it mandatory that qualifying experience for the AQ was gained in a training environment authorised by the Recognised Qualifying Body (RQB) that is awarding the AQ. ICAEW is an RQB and our Authorised Training Employer (ATE) status is our approved training environment.
Audit experience can be gained both during ACA training and post qualification.
ATEs are individually authorised by ICAEW, and each office will be issued with a training office number. This number is essential to claim audit experience for the AQ. If you have ACA students, you will be subject to a cyclical review process from ICAEW’s training team to ensure that the standard of training (including audit training) meets ICAEW’s Training Standards.
Please note that ICAEW no longer has Post Qualification Training Organisations (PQTOs). ATE status covers both pre- and post-qualification. You must be an Authorised Training Employer (ATE) in order for students and members to gain eligible experience for the AQ. Members who apply for the AQ where there has been no recent training review of the employer will be subject to greater scrutiny of their application, but they are still able to gain the AQ.
Please be aware that it has never been possible to backdate the awarding of Authorised Training Employer (ATE) status to claim prior audit experience, so if you have not had a training review in the last five years and are hoping to use audit experience for qualified staff working towards the AQ, we advise that you check the status of your training authorisation with ICAEW.
This can be done by emailing ATEaccess@icaew.com who will be able to provide the confirmation you need.