How to become an Authorised Training Office

All the information you need to help you understand the requirements of becoming an ATO and to guide you through the application process.

Please ensure you have registered your interest to Train a Chartered Accountant prior to applying for your organisation to become an Authorised Training Office (ATO).

Which organisations are authorised to train with ICAS?

An ATO is an organisation which has been authorised by ICAS to train CA Students in accordance with our Education Regulations and our regulatory obligations.

Organisations of any size can become an ATO with no additional fees. Our decision to authorise a training office depends on your organisation:

Demonstrating that it can meet the training standards.
Having an employee or partner who is a member, in good standing, of a full IFAC member body (for a minimum of 3 years) to act as the ICAS counselling member*.

What are the ICAS training standards?

To become an ATO, your organisation must demonstrate that it meets the ICAS training standards.

These set out requirements in the following areas:

TS1 - Establishment of the Organisation.
TS2 - Structure of CA training including supervision, mentoring and coaching.
TS3 - Relevant Practical Experience.
TS4 - Development of Professional and Ethical Attitudes.

*The counselling member plays a direct role in supervising, mentoring and coaching students. They also play a pivotal role in monitoring practical training and helping to prepare students towards becoming qualified CAs. They’re responsible for the Relevant Practical Experience logbook's final review and sign-off and can also be responsible for time and competency approval.

What is Relevant Practical Experience (RPE)?

An ATO must give a student a structured approach to training for the CA qualification over an agreed time and provide Relevant Practical Experience (or RPE).

RPE is a key component of the CA qualification. It’s not only a compulsory requirement for students to qualify and be eligible for ICAS membership, but an opportunity for students to develop skills and knowledge in a workplace setting.

RPE helps:

Build a student’s level of proficiency.
Support and identify areas of professional and personal growth.
Creates a learning environment to develop the relevant technical skills, attitudes, and ethics of a CA.

It’s therefore important that students receive practical workplace training, in related topics, to operate competently before they can become a qualified CA.

The experience is evidenced in the student logbook which must be regularly updated to show the student's progression through the training period.

Any RPE submitted as part of the UK Audit Qualification must be supervised by a senior employee who holds the Audit Qualification.

Learn more about RPE's role in the qualification

What is involved in the ICAS employer application process?

The application process usually takes between four to six weeks and follows a process as outlined below:

Organisation submits application form and training planner.
ICAS conducts a first review.
Application passed to Area Training Committee.
Authorisation visit conducted (60 minutes online or face to face).
ICAS Report Decision Form completed – initial approval made.
Formal approval by Qualifications Board.
Authorisation email and ATO certificate sent.

The first step in applying for your organisation to become an ATO is to complete our application form and the RPE training planner.

The form and planner ask for all the relevant information (including any required supporting documentation) to demonstrate your organisation meets each of our training standards.

All information submitted is kept confidential and only used in support of the application. ICAS Privacy Notice

What is the RPE Training Planner?

The RPE training planner is an essential part of your ATO application.

It supports the information required for ICAS training standards:

TS2 (Structure of CA training including supervision, mentoring and coaching)
TS3 (Relevant Practical Experience).

The planner outlines student's learning and development over the training period and how you intend to achieve the practical work experience required to complete the CA qualification.

It must also provide sufficient information about how students will achieve the 6 timelines and 39 competencies across their training period.

What is involved in the Authorisation Visit?

An authorisation visit forms part of the application process.
The visit will take place over Microsoft Teams, or at your organisation’s office, at an agreed time and date. It will normally last around 60 minutes.

It will be conducted by a member of our ATO Reviewer Committee member and, usually, a member of the ICAS learning team.
They’ll use this time to discuss your application form, any supporting information and ask any questions they have about the information provided. During the visit, they’ll also expect to meet with your proposed counselling member.

After the meeting, the reviewers will form an overall conclusion and recommendation as to the authorisation status of your organisation. This may include ‘conditions’ or ‘advisory actions’.
A recommendation is then provided to the next meeting of our Qualifications Board for formal approval – the final stage of the application process.

What is the effective date of authorisation?

Authorisation is effective from the date the full submission is received, allowing students to begin logging Relevant Practical Experience from their training period start date.

When will you hear if your application has been successful?

We'll inform you of the decision taken and send a digital Certificate of Authorisation for display within your organisation.

A member of our Business Development team will also contact you to arrange an onboarding call.

How does ICAS ensure that employers are offering high-quality training?

Once your organisation has been approved as an ATO, we’ll continue to support you and make sure that you maintain the highest standards of training.

To do this, we’ll carry out quality monitoring reviews. These checks relate to the responsibilities for monitoring and approving RPE recorded by students in their logbook, toward the CA qualification, and where applicable, the UK Audit Qualification. This includes a periodic sample review of your students’ RPE logbooks.

We’ll provide feedback based on our quality monitoring checks and highlight any action points.

As an ATO, your organisation must ensure it has robust review, quality, and compliance mechanisms in place. These include:

Maintaining adequate record-keeping processes related to training and competency assessment.
Ensuring students are regularly evidencing RPE with regular review and approval of RPE entries by the reviewer and counselling member.
Providing appropriate RPE that meets the requirements of the CA qualification.

Learn more about RPE's role in the qualification