Revised standard on the assessment of professional competence

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19 Nov 2012

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has released a revised International Education Standard (IES) on the how professional competence of an aspiring professional accountant should be assessed.

The new standard, IES 6 Initial Professional Development—Assessment of Professional Competence (link to IFAC website), prescribes:

  • A principles-based approach, specifying the requirements for the assessment of professional competence by the end of Initial Professional Development (IPD)
  • Principles for individual assessment activities used by member bodies to assess professional competence
  • A requirement that IFAC member bodies formally assess the achievement of competence of aspiring professional accountants prior to their admission to the profession.

A key change from the exposure draft issued in April 2011 is that IES 6 reflects that assessment principles should only apply in initial professional development to ensure the attainment of professional competence, so distinguishing it from continuing professional development.

The revised IES 6 is designed to assist IFAC member bodies and other professional accountancy organisations understand the learning and development requirements for assessing professional competence, and their obligations in upholding the standards.

IES 6 is a result of the IAESB's project to revise all eight IES based on new clarity drafting principles, and is effective from 1 July 2015.

Click for press release (link to IFAC website).

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