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As of the 1^st of August 2023, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has updated the Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard. Funding bands have been revised and increased from £8,000 to £12,000 to reflect new content and increased costs of delivery.

For accountancy and finance qualifications, the AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting qualification has been mandated to the Level 3 Assistant Accountant apprenticeship standard of the AAT qualification. This applies to both levy and non-levy employers. The mandating of the AAT qualification means that the additional costs below are now included in the apprenticeship price:

• Student registration fee for level 3. (AAT no longer has a registration and membership fee for Q2022, it is all one registration fee for the qualification which should all be included in the funding)
• Exam fees for the first sitting of each module
• All costs associated with the delivery of the qualification (materials and training)
• All costs associated with the exams (admin fees)
• The cost of one mandatory resit exam

The increase to the AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting funding band is a big step forward in the right direction for training providers to continue to be able to deliver quality apprenticeships. Until this change, apprenticeship funding bands remained the same as when they were first set, despite substantial increases in the costs of delivering apprenticeships through rising salaries and operational costs.

The increase to the Level 3 funding band follows a change made by the government earlier in the year that saw the removal of the ‘cap on ten’ non-levy reservations for apprenticeships. This means non-levy employers are no longer limited to a maximum of ten new apprenticeship starts and can take advantage of hiring as many new staff as their business requires.

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FAQs

The start date of the new standard mandatory

• 1 August 2023

What has changed?

• Inclusion of duties in the standard
• Updated KSBs
• Mandated qualification
• New EPA assessment plan
• New funding band

What qualifications can be used?

• AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting
• Must be passed (and results achieved) before gateway

Which EPAOs are available to use?

• Currently, only AAT is confirmed. Drafts of their EPA specification and resources are to be available on 1 August 2023

Any considerations for the order of units?

• If BUAW is left until last this is an assessment with human-marked elements and a 6-week wait until results, so if this is the last unit at the level before gateway it could delay gateway. Ideally, this shouldn’t be the last unit in the apprenticeship plan

How much is the funding band?

• £12,000

What costs are to be included in the funding for the mandated qualification?

• Student registration fee for Level 3. (AAT no longer has a registration and membership fee for Q2022, it is all one registration fee for the qualification which should all be included in the funding)
• Exam fees for the first sitting of each module
• All costs associated with the delivery of the qualification (materials and training)
• All costs associated with the exams (admin fees)
• The cost of one mandatory resit exam

How do we deal with resit costs?

• This will possibly depend on the result of the clarification but is likely to be a price change (ideally one price change at the end if required)

The typical programme length

• 15 months

What is the EPA?

• Assessment method 1 – Knowledge assessment (fail, pass, distinction) 50%
• Assessment method 2 – professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio (fail, pass, distinction) 50%
• If one part is failed there are 6 months to resit this part

What is the overall grading?

• Fail, pass, merit, distinction

Is there still a portfolio?

• Yes – but there are some changes, it must be completed before the gateway

What should the portfolio contain?

• Typically 10 discrete pieces of evidence
• Mapped against KSBs
• Evidence can include:
  • workplace product evidence such as spreadsheets, working papers, email communications, meeting minutes, timesheets, screenshots of accounting dashboards and data analytics etc
  • appraisal and 1-2-1 objective setting,
  • job-related certificates
  • completed observation checklist and related action plans
  • worksheets, assignment projects and reports
  • record of any formal discussions
  • peer feedback
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Portfolio should NOT include reflective accounts or any methods of assessment. Employer contributions should be by observations, not opinion
• The portfolio is not assessed but must be full and complete, it will not gain an assessment mark or feedback

What is the knowledge test?

• 40 MCQ’s over 4 themes. Computer-based with a maximum of 25% multiple-choice questions where there is one correct answer and 3 plausible distractors and a combination of calculation-based questions, multiple mark short questions for example drag and drop, pick list etc, there will be no extended writing and all are computer marked
• Themes
  • Professional standards and ethics
  • Digital and data security
  • Financial investigation and queries
  • Financial statements and Bookkeeping
• 90 minutes assessment with an additional 60 minutes for preparation and reflection so 150 minutes in total
• Open book but no access to the internet
• 70% pass rate (35/40 to get distinction)
• Scenarios provided

Any challenges to consider with the knowledge-based test?

• Open-book and flexible time
• Allow enough space
• Could require a separate session from other exams so as not to distract others

What will the professional discussion structure be?

• 60 minutes (+/-10%)
• 10 questions from a question bank (unseen)
• Video conference discussion

Can learners transition to the new standard?

• Yes as long as they have at least 6 months left on programme pre-gateway and in total at least 12 months
• Will be required to meet new KSB’s and EPA
• Will remain on previous funding band (£8k)
• Agreement between learner, employer and TP
• Must be fully aware of differences and learning must meet new standard version
• Updates to the apprenticeship agreement and training plan

What happens to those who are on a BIL?

• They can choose to remain on the old version of the standard or transition to the new

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Do you know about DORA?

How familiar are you with DORA? And no, we don’t mean the young explorer we were all subjected to by our children! DORA or Digital Operation Resilience Act is an EU regulation.  Whilst DORA is not a law in the UK, there is a strong possibility that it will still apply. There have also been hints from UK authorities that it may become UK law in the future. 

In short the Act is EU Legislation focused on cybersecurity resilience for financial organisations, which is set to into force on the 17th of January 2025.  This new legislation is the EU taking a more robust stance on the finance sector’s resilience to ICT issues. It contains prescriptive requirements for businesses and third parties (for financial organisations; it covers 21 types of financial organisations (called out in Article 2). It is worth noting it also covers ICT third-party service providers so is quite wide. There is a list of exceptions which I won’t list here; however, they can be found in Article 2(3) if you need more details.

DORA aims

DORA aims to achieve a high level of digital operational resilience for regulated financial entities. By resilience, it means the ability of financial entities to build, assure and review their operational integrity and reliability. This next bit is key - by ensuring, either directly or indirectly through the use of services provided by ICT third-party service providers, the full range of ICT-related capabilities needed to address the security of the network and information systems which a financial entity uses and which support the continued provision of financial services and their quality – another bit worth noting - INCLUDING THROUGHOUT DISRUPTIONS – DORA, 3(1). 

So compared to past requirements, and looking at the wording, DORA is now more about being able to be persistent through any form of disruption – if something goes wrong, financial organisations should be able to continue and maintain services, not forgetting it now also covers outsourced ICT risk management.

At a very top-level, financial entities need to meet the following requirements:

• information and communication technology (ICT) risk management
• reporting of major ICT-related incidents to the competent authorities and notifying, on a voluntary basis, of significant cyber threats
• reporting of major operational or security payment-related incidents to the competent authorities
• digital operational resilience testing
• information and intelligence sharing in relation to cyber threats and vulnerabilities
• measures for the sound management of ICT third-party risk
• requirements in relation to the contractual arrangements concluded between ICT third-party service providers and financial entities

You can take away from the above that there is a strong focus on risk management and having a framework in place – businesses must detail the things they have to protect, the organisation’s ICT – this is not just software or equipment, it is also data. All the DORA-related documentation will need to be maintained and kept available to relevant authorities.

Let’s not forget that DORA puts the ‘final responsibility’ to ensure that measures, policies, tools, and protocols are enacted to mitigate cyber threats on a business’ management body (i.e. its boards and directors). If they fail to do this, they could face reputational damage, shareholder litigation, regulatory fines, and even criminal sanctions.

If you think that this piece of legislation may affect your business, now is the time to start thinking about out, you may have been thinking about developing a framework for sometime, if that is the case be proactive and create one, but more importantly, update and test it!

If you need assistance with interpreting the requirements and applicability of DORA to your business, feel free to get in touch with us at CyberScale, we can help translate the requirements for your business into clear and precise guidance.

NOTE: This short note is not intended to provide legal guidance and is for ICT and Risk teams to help aid understanding – as stated this is not a current UK Law, but there have been hints it may become one in the future.

Since its launch last July, GetInVOLved Norfolk has become the go-to website for volunteering in Norfolk. Organisations use it to promote and seek volunteer opportunities across the county.

Charities and organisations have posted over 700 roles in the last 12 months, ranging from event organisers, student mentors, rabbit care assistants, sound engineers to gardening at a hospice, digital champions and Lego club leaders.

Laura Holland, Volunteer Coordinator at Voluntary Norfolk who oversees this service explains more. “This is an exciting development that’s gained a huge number of visitors to the website; around 5000 every month. There really is something for everyone, whether you’re looking to help at a one-off event, have an hour a week to make a wellbeing phone call, or are keen to share your skills, an interest or hobby.”

Since the pandemic, many charities and community groups have lost long-term volunteers. Attracting people back has been a challenge, so creating a dedicated space for volunteers to find a variety of opportunities that fit in with their lifestyle has been a priority.

Volunteering strengthens our communities

The Library Service have been using the new portal to advertise for volunteers to help with various clubs and sessions across Norfolk: “We’ve had lots of volunteers express an interest in our roles, most of which have gone on to volunteer with us. Overall, I’d say that the portal is easy to use, visually appealing and a great way to recruit volunteers. I highly recommend it.”

There are many personal and social benefits to volunteering within your local community. Alongside gaining new skills and experiences which can be ideal if you are looking for new job opportunities, many people feel an increased sense a purpose by supporting people and projects locally.

Pat joined Voluntary Norfolk as a Meet and Greet volunteer at Norwich Community Hospital in April last year. “Volunteering has been a great help to me since I lost my husband as it can be hard being on your own suddenly. It is an environment that I feel comfortable with. I was a Nurse for over 40 years at the NNUH. Volunteering has given me more confidence. It helps me keep my mind and body active and it has given structure to my week, it is getting me back to being me.  I hope that I make people feel at ease and help to address any anxiety that they have about their visit to the hospital.  The regular patients at the Hospital are getting to know me as well, which is just lovely.”

Join the GetInVOLved Norfolk platform

Laura said:

“The design of this new volunteer portal is very intuitive. You can search by location, cause, interest and add in filters for under 18’s and employer supported volunteering. I can highly recommend visiting the GetInVOLved Norfolk website. I have no doubt you’ll find something that excites you!”

Visit Volunteering opportunities in Norfolk | Get InVOLved Norfolk. So far over 2000 people have signed up already. They have found some of the exciting roles that do so much to strengthen our communities. You can also find volunteering roles with Voluntary Norfolk or through GetInVOLved here.

Images provided by Voluntary Norfolk.

We know that cyber threats are a risk to your business but appreciate that you may need help in understanding the specifics.

Let us introduce you to our One Day Cyber Assessment specifically designed for micro businesses and small businesses.

Our One Day Cyber Assessment includes;

✅ An interactive workshop with a cyber specialist
✅ We will translate threats into simple language
✅ We will identify what you need to be secure
✅ Professional report specific to your business
✅ Clear action plans
✅ Realistically priced to help you control your costs

We will help you clearly understand how to;

✅ Understand your risks 
✅ Improve security 
✅ Improve resilience 
✅ Protect your business 
✅ Become more cyber aware

The delivery of the One Day Cyber Assessment is flexible to suit your business, in house or remote are available, you choose your preferred option.

COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown is disrupting the way that most businesses operate. Many companies have shifted focus from long-term to short-term to survive this unprecedented situation and returning back to normal will be a challenge for all involved.

One of the biggest challenges managers face is being able to manage and lead their staff from a distance. For employees, especially those furloughed, it can be difficult to remain engaged with their employer. Employees are a company’s most valuable asset and their skills and abilities will be vital to being able to succeed and thrive once the lockdown ends, therefore progression of staff at this time can only be an advantage.

Turning Factor can now offer a range of online courses, providing structured CPD for all levels of staff. Many courses are also suitable to support completion of accredited qualifications offered by major awarding bodies.

FREE Course: COVID-19 Management Our online Coronavirus awareness and home working training course is designed to help educate on infection avoidance and remote working best practices.

This course is FREE with the purchase of any Pathway.

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Short Courses

We have over 120 short courses (between 20-45 minutes in duration each), grouped into 18 business relevant CPD pathways. 

Unique logins enable you to access your CPD through the ULZ via PC, Laptop and mobile devices. Learn at your own pace with 6 months access to each pathway, or 12 months access if you decide to study all subjects.

Pricing:

1 Pathway – £80 + VAT All Pathways – £120 + VAT

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CPD Pathways Change Management

Communication & Social Skills

Customer Service

Workplace Wellbeing

Without understanding your risks can you successfully define your objectives and achieve them?

Our specialist Cyber Security Consultants can help you gain a holistic view of your business and identify your risks.

Get in touch today 01603 339550