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Training contracts

What the bodies ask for, and what to ask an employer.

By the TraineeAccountant.com team · Last checked 13 November 2026

A wooden and gold pen resting on a blank sheet of paper
Photo: Karolina Grabowska / Pexels

Most professional routes need practical experience as well as exams. Some employers wrap that experience into a formal agreement. Names differ: ICAEW calls it a training agreement with an authorised training employer, and ACCA calls it the Practical Experience Requirement. This guide explains what each body asks for and what to ask an employer.

What a training agreement or contract is

It is the arrangement between you and an employer under which you do the job and also train towards a qualification. The details come from the employer and the professional body. Always read the paperwork you are asked to sign.

What each body asks for

ACA (ICAEW)

To complete the ACA you must be in a training agreement with an ICAEW authorised training employer. You complete at least 450 days of professional experience and build professional skills in five competency areas. ICAEW says that students in a training agreement are generally supported with some or all of the costs by their employer. You can register as an independent student and start the exams first, but the experience still has to come from an authorised employer. ICAEW's own page links to its training vacancies: ICAEW's ACA page, which links to its training vacancies.

ACCA

ACCA's Practical Experience Requirement is at least 36 months of relevant work experience and 9 performance objectives. A practical experience supervisor signs off your time and objectives. ACCA decides what counts as relevant experience, so read its guidance.

AAT and CIMA

You study these qualifications with a training provider or, for CIMA, through its own learning programme. Check each body's own pages for any experience requirement attached to membership, as we do not set one out here.

Questions to ask an employer

  • Which qualification route do you use, and is there a choice?
  • Do you pay my registration, exam and tuition fees? What happens if I leave, or fail an exam?
  • Do I get paid study leave, and how much?
  • Who is my supervisor or training principal, and how is my experience recorded?
  • What work will I do, and will I get a mix of tasks?
  • What is the pay, and when is it reviewed? (Pay differs between employers; see salaries.)

If you do not have an agreement yet

  • Start the exams if the body lets you and you can afford it. For example, ICAEW allows independent students to begin, and ACCA's Foundation level has no minimum entry requirements.
  • Look at apprenticeships, which combine a job with training.
  • Build the CV and skills employers ask for; see CV tips.

General information only, not professional or financial advice. This guide does not recommend any course, employer or product, and does not give tax, accounting or financial advice.

Sources

Every fee, pay or exam figure on this page comes from the pages below. We read each one on 13 November 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the body's own page before you pay or decide.