Students of HKIAAT/ JES
Q1. | What is the last examination session of current AAT examination and Professional Bridging Examination ("PBE")? |
The last examination session of current AAT examination is December 2018 and PBE is December 2019.
Q2. | What are the transitional arrangements under the new QP for students who are partway through their studies under the current system? |
Students who are partway through their studies under the current system including AAT Examination and PBE can claim cross-credits to the relevant modules of the new QP on or before 31 December 2021.
For AAT students/ graduates/ members
Existing AAT Examination paper
|
Credit for new QP module
|
||
1
|
Accounting and Computerized Accounts |
1
|
Accounting
|
2
|
Business Communication and Organization and Management |
4
|
Business Management
|
3
|
Management Accounting
|
2
|
Management Accounting
|
4
|
Business Economics and Financial Mathematics |
3
|
Business Economics
|
5
|
Principles of Taxation
|
|
-
|
6
|
Fundamentals of Business Law
|
|
-
|
7
|
Financial Accounting
|
1
|
Accounting
|
8
|
Principles of Auditing and Management Information Systems |
5
|
Information Management
|
Cross-credit for Module 1 can either be AAT Paper 1 or Paper 7.
AAT students who have completed all or certain of eight papers of the AAT Examination can be exempted from the corresponding first five modules of the new QP, i.e. Modules 1 to 5 of the Associate Level as specified in the above table. There is no paper-for-paper exemption for AAT Paper 5 "Principles of Taxation" and Paper 6 "Fundamentals of Business Law", as Modules 6 to 10 of the Associate Level are pitched at a higher level of competency for the corresponding papers.
For PBE students/ graduates
Existing PBE paper
|
Credit for new QP module
|
||
I
|
Financial Accounting
|
6
|
Financial Accounting
|
II
|
Management Accounting and Finance |
7
|
Financial Management
|
III
|
Auditing and Information Systems
|
8
|
Principles of Auditing
|
IV
|
Business Law and Taxation
|
9 10 |
Principles of Taxation Business and Company Law |
PBE students were AAT graduates who have completed all eight papers of the AAT Examination. Given PBE Paper IV "Business Law and Taxation" is a combined paper with law and taxation, cross-credit is available for both Module 9 "Principles of Taxation" and Module 10 "Business and Company Law" under the new QP. PBE students who have completed all or certain of four papers of the PBE can be exempted from the corresponding Modules 6 to 10 of the Associate Level as specified in the above table.
Q3. | As an AAT/ PBE student, do I need to apply for cross-credit for the relevant modules of the new QP or the HKIAAT will transfer my AAT examination results to the institute automatically? |
Current AAT/ PBE students or members need to indicate their wish to take the new QP in the 2018/2019 annual renewal and their personal information and examination results will be transferred to the institute automatically afterwards.
Past registered AAT/ PBE students or graduates or members need to reinstate their HKIAAT studentship by 31 August 2018 or register with the institute as a student on or after 1 September 2019; and claim cross-credits to the relevant modules of the new QP on or before 31 December 2021.
Q4. | I have ceased to be an AAT student / member and re-registration is no longer available after 31 December 2018. Am I still able to claim cross-credits to the relevant modules of the new QP? |
Yes, you are still able to claim cross-credits under the transitional arrangements. However, in order to facilitate your claim, you are strongly advised to contact the Qualifications Assessment Team (students.reg@hkicpa.org.hk) before applying the new QP.
Q5. | As AAT Paper 5 (Principles of Taxation) and Paper 6 (Fundamentals of Business Law) cannot get cross-credits in the new QP, can the examination policy requiring AAT students to complete all eight AAT papers before enrolling for the PBE be relaxed? That is, allowing AAT students who have completed AAT Papers 1 to 4 and 7 to 8 to enroll the PBE in the coming examination sessions. |
No, students who choose to continue with the existing AAT plus PBE route should follow the current policy, i.e. they are required to complete all eight AAT papers before enrolling the PBE. If they want to continue with the new QP for Modules 6 to 10, they are not required to complete all eight AAT papers.
Q6. | Will failed attempts at AAT Examination and PBE be counted towards the number of attempts for modules under the new QP? |
Failed attempts at the AAT Examination, the PBE and the current QP will not be counted towards the number of attempts for modules under the new QP.
The following options will be available to AAT members:
(a) Stay with the HKIAAT and maintain their membership status until 31 December 2029; and/ or
(b) Register with the institute and take examinations under the new QP. In such case, their status will be
transferred to the register of the institute. Same as AAT graduates, they will be exempted from the first
five Associate Modules of the new QP under cross-credit arrangement.
Q8. | I understand there is special concession for those AAT members who were on the HKIAAT Member Register as at 31 December 2015, and who opt to take examinations for Associate Modules 6 to 10 under the new QP after claiming the cross-credits to the first five Modules of the Associate Level. Can you tell me more about this? |
Such AAT members will need to register with the Institute for taking examinations under the new QP. They will then be eligible to obtain a "Certificate of Completion" of the Associate Level issued by the Institute once they have attained 5-year relevant work experience. A qualifying statement will be included in the Certificate denoting that:
(a) The Associate Level of the new QP is deemed to have been completed by a combination of the
qualification of AAT Examination plus 5-year relevant working experience under the Recognition of Prior
Learning; and
(b) The certificate holder who wishes to enroll in the modules of the Professional Level of the new QP will be
required to sit and pass a Gateway Examination.
The Gateway Examination will be a three-hour, closed-book examination and will be offered for four sessions commencing June 2020 until December 2021 with two sittings per year. The examinations will comprise essay type questions which are optional. Further details will be announced in due course.
The Gateway Examination covers substantially the knowledge areas and syllabuses of the Associate Modules 6 to 10 of the new QP. Please click here for the details of the "Module Outline and Syllabus" of Modules 6 to 10.
You can complete the Associate Modules 6 to 10 if you want to be admitted to the Professional Level of the new QP.
Q13. | For the 4 attempts under the Gateway Examination, does it require to be taken on a consecutive basis? |
No, the Gateway Examination does not need to be taken on a consecutive basis. However, the last offering of the Gateway Examination will be in December 2021.
Q14. | Can I enroll in the Gateway Examination and the Associate Modules 6 to 10 of the new QP at the same time? |
Yes, the Gateway Examination and the Associate Modules can be enrolled at the same time. There is no restriction in this regard.
Q15. | I enroll in the Gateway Examination and the Associate Modules 6 to 10 of the new QP at the same time. What if I passed Modules 6 and 7 but cannot the Gateway Examination by December 2021 session? |
Students will not be allowed to retake the Gateway Examination as the December 2021 session is the last session of examination. Students need to take the remaining modules (i.e. Modules 8 to 10) in order to complete the Associate Level.
Q16. | If I am an AAT graduate as at 31 December 2015 with 5 year working experience, can I enroll in the Gateway Examination? |
No, only AAT members who were on the HKIAAT Member Register as at 31 December 2015 and satisfying the relevant requirements are eligible to enroll in the Gateway Examination.
Q17. | I am an AAT member and I was on the HKIAAT Member Register as at 31 December 2015. If I do not register with the Institute for taking the examination under new QP, can I still be eligible to enroll in the Gateway Examination? |
No, you still have to register as a QP student with the Institute for taking new QP examination in order to be eligible to sit the Gateway Examination. However, you may wish to contact the Qualifications Assessment Team (students.reg@hkicpa.org.hk) to confirm your membership status before applying as a QP student.
Q18. | Do I need to maintain the AAT membership for obtaining the Certificate of Completion and enrolling the Gateway Examination? Does it require a continuous AAT membership until studentship being transferred to the institute? |
No, there is no need to maintain a continuous AAT membership to obtain the Certificate of Completion and to enroll in the Gateway Examination. As long as you were on the HKIAAT Member Register as at 31 December 2015, you can register with the institute and will be eligible to obtain a Certificate of Completion once you have attained five years of relevant work experience and to enroll in the Gateway Examination.
Q19. | Is the requirement of "5-year relevant working experience" for taking the Gateway Examination needed to be acquired from Authorised Employer (AE)/ Authorised Supervisor (AS)? |
No, the requirement is that the working experience is accounting related.
Q20. | What are the transitional arrangements under the new QP for HKSA/ ACCA Joint Examination Scheme ("JES") students? |
The JES students will be eligible for cross-credit arrangement of the Associate Modules based upon the results obtained under the JES.
The mapping table of JES papers for QP admission is as follows:
JES Examination Paper
|
Credit for new QP module
|
||
1
|
Accounting Framework
|
1
|
Accounting
|
2
|
Legal Framework
|
10
|
Business and Company Law
|
3
|
Management Information
|
2 3 |
Management Accounting Business Economics |
4
|
Organizational Framework
|
4
|
Business Management
|
5
|
Information Analysis
|
5
|
Information Management
|
6
|
Audit Framework
|
8
|
Principles of Auditing
|
7
|
Tax Framework
|
9
|
Principles of Taxation
|
8
|
Managerial Finance
|
7 |
Financial Management |
9
|
Information for Control and Decision Making |
JES students who have obtained exemption of Associate Modules 1 to 5 via cross-credit arrangement and have 5-year relevant work experience are also eligible to sit for the Gateway Examination.
Q21. | If I am a JES student and eligible to obtain cross-credits for Modules 1 to 7, will I lose my cross-credits of Modules 6 and 7 if I failed the Gateway Examination? |
No, the cross-credits will be retained regardless of the outcome of the Gateway Examination.
Q23. | I note that students are required to complete all the new QP within 10 years from the date of the first registration as a QP student. When will be the date of first registration for students under the following categories: (a) Active AAT students/ PBE students/ AAT members; (b) Past registered AAT students/ PBE students/ AAT members; (c) AAT/ PBE graduates. |
From the date of first registration as a QP student or the date of conversion to become a QP student.
Q24. | Will HKIAAT continue to grant the AAT designation after 31 December 2029? How about the reciprocal membership agreements ("RMA") between HKIAAT and other AAT bodies (e.g. in the United Kingdom and Australia)? |
AAT members will not be able to use the AAT designation after31 December 2029 since the HKIAAT will cease to operate by then. The HKIAAT will seek to renew the RMA with other overseas AAT bodies and the results will be announced in due course.
Q25. | If I commence study in an HKIAAT accredited sub-degree programme before 31 December 2019 but I am not an AAT student, will I be eligible for any module exemption under the new QP when I graduate? |
Students admitted to HKIAAT accredited sub-degree programmes on or before 31 December 2019 are eligible for module exemptions upon graduation irrespective of the outcome of our re-accreditation exercise on their programmes. These students are entitled to exemption of the relevant Associate Modules according to the cross-credits arrangements applied to graduates of the programmes enrolled in the AAT examination provided that:
(a) They fulfilled the exemption criteria of the accredited programmes as specified in the latest version of the 'HKIAAT Exemption Policy and List of Exemptions Awarded'; and
(b) They submit the exemption application and register with the Institute as a student within FIVE years upon graduation from the HKIAAT accredited programmes.
For example, for students who commence study in September 2019 and graduate in July 2021 in a HKIAAT accredited programme which has yet to obtain the institute accreditation status under the new QP, they are still able to get exemption of the relevant Associate Modules (Modules 1 - 5, max. all 5 of them) if they register in the QP on or before 31 July 2026.