News Update - March 2008:

Important News - AOSG and FSSC Integration

From the 1st April 2008 AOSG will hand over responsibility for Accountancy and related areas to the Financial Services Skills Council. From 1st April all certification claims should be sent to the Education Administrator, FSSC, 51 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HQ.

All claim forms must be accompanied by payment by cheque or Bacs. Cheques for £30 should be made payable to Financial Services Skills Council. Please make bank payments to - Sort Code: 18-00-02, Account Number: 08377022 and enclose a copy of the remittance advice with the certificate request form. Please note certificates will not be issued until payment is received in full. Certificates will be issued within 6 weeks of receipt.

Relevant documents and claim forms will continue to be made available via this website after the 1st April 2008 whilst integration takes place.

Click here to view the FSSC website.

News Update - February 2008:

AOSG and the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) - Future Integration

AOSG & the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) are pleased to announce details of the planned integration and absorption of Accountancy and related areas into FSSC's footprint. For more information please click on the links below.

Letter from Ken Gill AOSG Chairman.

Letter from Teresa Sayers FSSC Chief Executive.

News Update - October 2007:

AOSG & FSSC working together to develop 14-19 diploma

AOSG is pleased to announce that it is working with the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), on the development of the 14-19 diploma in Business, Administration and Finance.

Click here for further information.

News Update - October 2007:

Extending the Accreditation Period of Work-Focused Qualifications: AOSG Updates its Policy

The AOSG Board has endorsed a recent recommendation from its Assessment Committee that policy on the extension of accreditation for NVQs, SVQs and other work-focused qualifications should be updated. Current organisational uncertainties within the sector network make it improbable that a major review of the national occuptional standards for accountancy could be achieved before 2009. Indeed, 2010 may be a more likely target date for implementation. This does not, of course, preclude small adjustments being made to ensure that the standards continue to meet the needs of employment.

An updated policy statement has, accordingly, been prepared and disseminated. Awarding bodies are free to quote it in any application they may make to the regulatory authorities regarding extensions to the accreditation period of work-focused qualifications.

Extending The Accreditation Period of Qualifications

News Update - September 2007:

Welcome to the new AOSG website. If you have any feedback please use the contact form on the Contact Us page.

Please also note that there are new FMA & AMA application forms for use when submitting claims for apprenticeship completition certificates. These can be found in the Document Library.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGY FOR ACCOUNTING AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS:

Modifications Approved to Comply with Age Discrimination Legislation

The National Occupational Standards Board’s UK Coordinating Group (UKCG) recently asked SSCs and other recognised standards-setting bodies to remove references to age and time (including expectations regarding length of experience) from assessment strategies. UKCG requested the action in the light of legal advice about the implications of the age discrimination legislation introduced in October 2006.

The current assessment strategy for accounting and related occupations was approved in September 2005. The section of the strategy concerning the competence of assessors and verifiers required review in the light of the UKCG advice.

AOSG’s Assessment Committee considered the issue in March 2007. The Committee contains representatives of all UK awarding bodies that offer NVQs or SVQs in accounting. SSDA and the UK regulatory authorities are assessors to the Committee.

The Committee agreed that some small modifications should be made to paragraphs 19 and 21 - material concerned with assessor and verifier competence. The proposed changes offer a more direct focus on competence and avoid implications of ‘time served’. They bring the assessment strategy into line with UKCG guidance. They have the support of the AOSG Board and were approved by the UKCG in July 2007 for immediate implementation.

The revised strategy can be found here.

AOSG

July 2007

News Update - August 2007:

Please note we have moved. All correspondence should now be sent to the following address: 140 Aldersgate Street, London, EC1A 4HY.

Our new telephone number is: 020 7397 3046.

News Update - February 2007:

The strategy aims to keep qualifications provision closely matched to evolving skills needs. It must be capable of adaptation to reflect changes in economic circumstances and in the associated demands for skills.

AOSG's Board and Assessment Committee oversaw the development work. A consultative document 'Future Skills Needs in Accountancy: Towards a Sector Qualifications Strategy' emerged from these rounds of input and was distributed widely. The consultation included employers of all kinds, learning providers (colleges, universities and private training providers), professional institutes and awarding bodies. The feedback shaped the material now posted for information.

The material does not yet constitute a formal policy statement, but rather an evolving document subject to refinement and amplification. Further thoughts from stakeholders - in particular regarding the analysis of future skills needs, the suggested implications for qualifications and proposals for development work - would be most welcome. Please send your observations to keithweller100@aol.com.

Subject to any further thoughts on validity and manageability, the activities proposed in the outline qualifications strategy will inform AOSG's next resource and development plan. This plan and any associated funding will influence the work programme from Autumn 2007.

Sector Qualifications Strategy February 2007

News Update - January 2007:

The National Occupational Standards Board approved updates to the occupational standards for accounting and payroll administration in November 2006. The modifications - which are limited in their scope - reflect legislative and other systemic changes impacting on workplace practice. The changes should be implemented and incorporated in qualifications by 3 July 2007.

Copies of the revised standards for accounting and payroll can be found at the links below along with a summary of the approved changes.

Revised Accountancy Standards - November 2006

Accounting - summary of changes November 2006

Revised Payroll Standards - November 2006

Payroll - summary of changes November 2006

News Update - April 2006:

UPDATING NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS:
ACCOUNTING and PAYROLL ADMINISTRATION

The current national occupational standards for both Accounting and Payroll Administration were approved in 2002. The standards can be found on this website.

During 2005, the Accountancy Occupational Standards Group (AOSG) asked key stakeholders whether the standards remained fit for purpose. The response was positive, though possible areas for improvement were identified in each case.

AOSG has since worked collaboratively to identify some relatively small ‘incremental’ adjustments that will clarify each set of standards and help to keep them in tune with employment needs. Just one recommendation (regarding Unit 15 for Accounting) is more structural in nature.

Suggestions for more substantial future work were also identified in each area. Comment on these ideas will help AOSG to shape the continuing standards development programme.

The generic units for both sets of standards (21, 22 and 23) were not included in the investigations at this stage. They will be considered in a future full-scale review.

Separate papers setting out recommended updates and areas for future work for each occupational area have been sent for comment to representative samples of employers, learning providers, professional institutes and awarding bodies across the UK. The papers – plus associated questionnaires are also posted on this website.

Should you wish to comment on the recommendations for Accountancy and/or Payroll Administration, you are invited to tick the appropriate responses, add any comments you wish and send a copy of the relevant, completed questionnaire(s) to keithweller100@aol.com by 2 June 2006, for AOSG’s attention. Or alternatively, via post to: Keith Weller, AOSG, 154 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5AD.

Incremental Change Accountancy Proposals April 2006

Incremental Change Accountancy Questionnaire April 2006

Incremental Change Payroll Proposals April 2006

Incremental Change Payroll Questionnaire April 2006

News Update - March 2006:

Extending The Accreditation Period of Qualifications (superceded, see revised info News October 2007)

National Occupational Standards - Alignment With Employment Needs