EPA Standard
Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician
Level 4 
£8,000 18 months
1. What the role entails
A Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician is responsible for creating, verifying and reviewing accurate and timely financial information for their organisation or for another organisation. This is in order to meet relevant ethical, professional and legal standards, and will use the individual’s knowledge of the business systems and processes, as well as standard accounting and tax practices. The role may exist in an accounting practice, a professional services company, HMRC or the accounting function of a business or other organisation.
2. On-programme assessment
Before entering Gateway, the apprentice must complete the following onprogramme assessment requirements:
- Professional exams and/or a work-based assessment
- Level 2 English and maths.
3. Gateway requirements
The employer, independent training provider (ITP) and apprentice make the decision to take the apprentice through Gateway. The apprentice must complete all of the on-programme elements before they enter Gateway, including a Portfolio of Evidence.
4. End-point assessment
The EPA for Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician contains two methods of assessment:
Portfolio of Evidence including Reflective Statement
The Portfolio of Evidence demonstrates competence in the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) identified in the standard. The apprentice will gather these from practical experience in the workplace. They must then produce a Reflective Statement about this Portfolio, either through a written statement, presentation or structured discussion with an Independent End-Point Assessor (IEPA). Written statements should be 2000 words (+/- 10%) and presentation or discussion based statements will last for one hour (+/- 10%).
Grading: the Portfolio of Evidence with Reflective Statement is ungraded above a Pass. To be awarded a Pass, the apprentice must achieve competence in all KSBs requirements of the standard.
Role simulation
Apprentices will be given pre-seen information about a fictitious organisation 4 weeks prior to the Role Simulation. On the day of the assessment, the apprentice will receive more information about the fictitious organisation and will be asked to complete a series of short tasks. We’ll mark the Role Simulation out of 100 and this will last for 2 and a half hours.
Grading: the Role Simulation is graded Pass, Fail or Distinction. The Pass mark for the Role Simulation is 70%. The apprentice must achieve a mark of 90% or higher to achieve a Distinction.
5. Grade aggregation table
|
Assessment Component |
Grade |
Grade |
Grade |
| Portfolio and Reflective Statement | If an apprentice fails any assessment, the EPA will be deemed an overall Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Role Simulation | Pass | Distinction | |
| Overall grade | Fail | Pass | Distinction |
6. Completion and certification
We’ll activate certification once the apprentice has successfully completed all EPAs, and the IEPA has verified this. Working with the apprenticeship certificate issuing authority, we’ll ensure the apprentice receives their certificate.
7. What next?
Completing the Professional Accounting or Taxation Technician EPA may lead to the apprentice receiving credits towards Chartered Accountancy/Taxation qualifications provided by the relevant professional bodies. It may also result in credits being awarded towards relevant undergraduate degree programmes.
Why NCFE?
We’re an approved End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) specialising in EPA delivery across health, education, early years, digital, social care, finance and business apprenticeship standards. We offer flexible and reliable EPA solutions supported by sector expertise, guidance documents and proactive service and support.