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New CIPFA Professional Qualification 2012

The new CIPFA Professional Qualification went live January 2012. Find out more about the changes that have been introduced.

Download the transition leaflet for more information or click below on the FAQs.

When do the changes come in?
Why has the qualification changed?
What has changed?
Comparison of the current and new syllabuses
Is the qualification less portable?
How does it compare to the other professional accountancy qualifications?
What are the new modules?
How can I see the full syllabus for each module?
What are the transition arrangements from the old syllabus to new?
What about previous exemptions?
When will the learning materials be ready?
Is IPDS changing?
Are the costs of studying changing?
What should I do next?
Who can I contact for more guidance?

When do the changes come in?
The syllabus will be taught from January 2012 and examinable from June 2012, with the final level examinable from December 2012.

Why has the qualification changed?
The syllabus is reviewed and updated each year but this is the most significant change in seven years, designed to make the qualification fit, strong and relevant for a new era of public services and equip students to meet the new financial, strategic and policy challenges.

What has changed?
All content across all current modules has been reviewed and updated with the changes including:

An increased emphasis on public service accounting, auditing and governance at all levels
Significantly more focus on commercial skills such as performance management, business change, strategy development, value for money, contract management and procurement
A greater prominence and strategic emphasis for leadership and innovation
A re-focusing of the tax content on the elements most applicable to public sector bodies
Better highlighted content on law and ethics
Substantial treasury management content
A more strategic new final level to reflect the skills needed for senior roles in public finance

In addition, we have renamed the modules and levels to better signal the content of each.

Comparing the current and new syllabuses

The information in the linked document below is intended to help you identify what you need to do in the light of exemptions you will be granted in the transition to the new PQ syllabus. Where you are granted an exemption from a module as a result of having studied and passed a current module, it is important that you note any content that you have not already studied (or have not studied in the required breadth or depth) that is relevant for other modules in the 2012 Professional Qualification that you will be studying in the future. If you were granted an exemption from a module as a result of previous studies (e.g. AAT or university qualifications), there may be additional topics within the syllabus that you have not studied previously – the linked document does not specify these as they will vary depending on which course you studied previously.

View the comparison document

Is the qualification less portable?

Not at all, the qualification still gives you skills that employers in all sectors value – technical accountancy skills, business strategy, leadership and so on – but with the additional benefit of public sector context relevant to your current role. Many of our members work across the private and public sectors and the new qualification, with its emphasis on business skills, will not change this.

How does it compare to the other professional accountancy qualifications?

The CIPFA Professional Qualification is the broadest of all the professional accountancy qualifications providing content on a wide range of topics including financial accounting, management accounting, financial reporting, tax, audit, law, ethics, strategy, leadership, innovation, governance, business management and public policy.

Part-qualified and fully-qualified members of the other professional accountancy bodies in the UK and Ireland are eligible for exemptions for CIPFA.

What are the new modules?

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

At the Professional Certificate stage Audit and Assurance is now included and the content of Financial Management Systems and Techniques has been updated, improved and reassigned to Financial Management and Business Management at Professional Diploma level.

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA

At Professional Diploma level there is a greater emphasis throughout on public services, ethics, law, and commercial skills. The content contained in Accounting for Decision-making has been updated, improved and is contained in the Financial Management and Business Management modules. Leadership and Management module content has been updated and with a more strategic focus can now be found in the Strategic Leadership module.

STRATEGIC

At the Strategic stage the emphasis on greater leadership, management and strategic skills for public services is more evident. The content of the Strategic Business Management module, previously at this level will be found in the middle level in the Business Strategy module

How can I see the full syllabus for each module?
The full syllabus information is available from here.

What are the transition arrangements from the old syllabus to new?
Exemptions are based on the exams already passed and our policy is to be fair, simple and clear. We have written to all students and the table and guidance below shows the exemptions.

Note no longer applicable.
The current syllabus Leadership and Management module will be available at the June 2012 diet in order for students who need to resit this module following the December 2011 exams to do so as the Strategic Leadership exam is not being examined until December 2012.
Public Finance and Taxation is a single module in the new scheme, replacing two half-modules. At the June 2012 exam diet the exam paper for this module will be in two parts, allowing students who have passed either Public Finance or Taxation to only sit the part they have not passed.
Students will be permitted to sit Business Strategy in the new scheme alongside the Strategic Financial Management exam at the Strategic level in December 2012 if they have completed the remaining modules in the current Diploma/new Professional Diploma.

What about previous exemptions?
Any previous exemptions given for modules will remain. If you are unsure of the exemptions you may have previously applied for and been awarded then contact the Student Support team.

When will the learning materials be ready?
All learning materials and courses for Professional Certificate and Diploma are now in place. Those for the Strategic stage modules will be ready for teaching in Autumn 2012.

Is IPDS changing?
No, the IPDS scheme remains the same. We continually review IPDS and update it when it is necessary to do so.

Are the costs of studying changing?
There are no planned increases to CIPFA’s fees, including the cost of purchasing exams, exemptions, registrations or subscription fees. Course providers separately charge for learning materials and tuition and their fees can be found on their websites: www.cipfa.org.uk/cetc and www.financial.kaplan.co.uk/cipfaenrol

What should I do next?
We advise students, particularly those part-way through Certificate or Diploma, to spend some time looking at which modules they plan to sit at future exam diets with reference to the exemptions table and guidance on this page.

If there are any queries regarding your next steps please contact either student support or your course provider, see below for contact details.

Who can I talk to for more guidance?
You can talk to our student advisers or your course provider, contact details as follows:

CIPFA Student Support
Tel:020 7543 5678
Email:studentsupport@cipfa.org.uk

CIPFA Education and Training Centre
Tel: 020 7403 4300
Email: cetc@cipfa.org.uk

CIPFA Northern Ireland
Tel: 028 9026 6770

Kaplan
Tel: 0845 873 6314
Email: cipfaliveonline@kaplan.co.uk