Practical Experience Portfolio (PEP)
Steve Daniels
Assistant Director, Students & Members
CIPFA Education & Membership
steve.daniels@cipfa.org
IPDS -> PEP
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First full review of CIPFA’s workplace experience
scheme planned as part of 2011 PQ syllabus review
& carried out in 2012
New IFAC standard, IES 5
Extensive stakeholder feedback accumulated
CIPFA’s international strategy
IPDS requirements much more extensive than
equivalent schemes of competitor institutes
Evidence that IPDS seen to be a deterrent to some
students/employers
Aim: to ensure robust completion of relevant
workplace experience with appropriate CIPFA review
– a competitive, fit-for-purpose scheme
PEP overview
PEP scheme portfolios should include:
 Log of 400 days of relevant workplace experience
 Three evidenced activities, including written content
on planning & execution, ethical considerations,
learning & supported by evidence for each activity…
 …plus an oral presentation as part of one of the
above activities
 General reflection and future learning goals
 Year 1 CPD Learning & Development Plan (students
of CPD-accredited employers exempt from this)
Submission at any point once passed final exams.
Results within 4 weeks: complete or incomplete
PEP – workplace experience log
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Little change compared to IPDS
Standard element of accountancy bodies’ workplace
experience requirements
400 days of relevant experience mapped across the
8 CIPFA Statement of Expertise (SoE) competency
areas (as required in IPDS) using templates from
CIPFA website
Students’ judgement as to which SoE areas to
allocate the days to
200 days for AAT qualified entrants
Logged days have to be directly related to role as a
CIPFA trainee accountant
Employer verification required
PEP – workplace experience log
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400 days mapped across the 8 CIPFA
competency areas (PEP Guide pp 26-28):
SoE
Leadership & Strategic Management
Strategic & Operational Financial Management
Financial & Performance Reporting
Governance, Ethics & Values
Audit & Accountability
Partnerships & Stakeholder Relations
Change, Risk & Project Management
Procurement & Contract Management
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Strong encouragement to ensure breadth of
experience across the 8 areas but no requirement to
demonstrate at least 20 days in at least 4 of the
areas in contrast to IPDS
PEP – evidenced activities
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Three activities to be evidenced in portfolios (cf 6 in
IPDS)
No more than one activity per SoE competency area
For each activity portfolio write-up to cover:
planning & execution; ethical considerations;
learning; evidence & employer verification
Summary sheet template from CIPFA website
At least one of the three activities should include an
oral presentation
Oral presentation considered a key professional skill
& should be an inherent part of a piece of ‘real work’
rather than a separate activity as it was in IPDS
Include in ‘learning’ any relevant reflection content,
but not a separate section as it was in IPDS
PEP – evidenced activities
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The evidenced activities may be developed from
some of the activities detailed in the log of
workplace experience or they could be additional
activities undertaken
When deciding which activities to select for PEP
should consider your own personal development
needs & also the needs of your organisation
Ideally the PEP activities would be pieces of work
that being done anyway & not undertaken
specifically to fulfil PEP requirements
Try to ensure that the oral presentation is a natural
part of the activity, not contrived
PEP guide includes guidance on words - not limits or
targets but likely to be appropriate for most cases
PEP activities – planning &
execution
Portfolio content should include:
 Choice of activity, criteria, link to work role,
relevance to organisation, link to SoE
 Planning undertaken, objectives, constraints,
resources,
timescales,
stakeholders,
risks,
evidence sources, student’s role
 How the activity was done, any problems, changes
to plans, involvement of others
 Outcome(s) from the activity
 Any applicable learning from PQ studies
 Key to focus on your role when writing up and
evidencing in the portfolio
PEP activities - oral presentation
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Important part of student development
Required to be undertaken as part of one of the
three evidenced activities
Should be a natural by-product of the piece of work
being undertaken as the PEP evidenced activity
Should be delivered in a fairly formal work setting to
at least three other people
Extra evidence needed in portfolio re the delivery of
the presentation and the student’s role in it
Student’s judgement on how to deliver it, eg degree
of formality, media used, format of materials,
feedback mechanism etc – less prescriptive than
IPDS
PEP activities - oral presentation
For the oral presentation portfolio content should
include:
 Determination of its focus
 Planning the session
 Preparation of materials
 Delivery of the session
 Reflection on how it went, including any feedback
 Any follow-up actions
Important to explain student’s role in the presentation
and explanation of why it was approached in the way it
was, with appropriate reflection thereon.
PEP activities - evidence
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Two pieces of evidence per activity likely to suffice,
including employer’s validation report, though can
provide a third piece per activity if required
Aim to validate the activity took place, student’s role
in it and outcome of the activity
For the activity incorporating the oral presentation a
total of four pieces of evidence needed, up to two of
which to relate to the oral presentation
Prescribed format for employer’s validation report
from CIPFA website
Evidence can be documents provided for other
reasons (eg minutes, appraisals) or directly related
to PEP (eg feedback on the presentation)
PEP activities - ethical
considerations
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Desire to build PEP around strong core of ethics &
ethical behaviour
IFAC Code on Ethics & IFAC IES 4
CIPFA SOPP on Ethics & ‘Ethics & You’ from CIPFA
website (membership section)
PQ must have a strong coverage and assessment of
ethics, including professional values & attitudes
PEP provided opportunity to further strengthen focus
on ethics in the PQ to complement the examined
elements in modules like GPPE in a work setting
Structure portfolio content around the five
fundamental principles in the CIPFA SOPP on Ethics
& potentially the seven Principles of Public Life?
PEP activities - ethical
considerations
 Issues should be personal reflections & dependent on
the activity/context, so guidance on approach &
portfolio content cannot be too prescriptive
 Most/all of the Code of Ethics principles are likely to
be at least potentially relevant & thus merit some
consideration & discussion
 Tangible ethical issues & dilemmas may not always
be identified for each activity, but still need to
discuss potential issues and how they were handled
(planned & actual)
 (Potential) ethical considerations may be relevant at
any stage of the activity, from the planning to
outcome stage
PEP activities - ethical
considerations
Consider issues like:
 Different potential approaches to completing a task
 Behaviour of individuals during an activity
 Your own behaviour, appropriate actions & possibly
what might not be appropriate
 Some reflection on whether these ethical issues
were appropriately identified & handled
 Embedding of learning on ethical behaviour,
including professional values & attitudes
If it is felt that there were no identifiable ethical issues
this needs to be demonstrated in the portfolio, that
potential issues have been identified and dealt with.
PEP activities - learning
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Learning is an integral part of PEP as in IPDS
Personal reflection encouraged
When reflecting be as open & honest as possible,
highlighting achievements and less successful
aspects
How the learning took place
Was learning constrained by any identifiable factors?
Might these factors be better managed in future?
Have other learning & development needs been
identified as a result?
Forms link to the general reflection & future learning
goals section of PEP
PEP – general reflection & future
learning goals
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Effective reflection is a key aspect of professional
development
Reflection on the whole training experience
Consider links between learning from PQ studies and
workplace experiences
Learning in relation to role & responsibilities of a
CIPFA professional
Application of professional values, ethics & attitudes
in the workplace
Development as a learner
Skills/practices to develop => future learning goals
derived from evidenced activities’ learning sections,
presented as an action plan
PEP – CPD Learning &
Development Plan
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CPD is a requirement of CIPFA membership & PEP is
designed to provide a smooth transition to CPD
In the PEP submission should include the CPD
Learning & Development Plan, form available from
CIPFA website
Year 1 CPD goals should be derived from the section
on future learning goals
Students of employers who are CIPFA CPDaccredited do not need to submit this plan with their
PEP, but still need to submit the previous section on
general reflection & future learning goals
PEP – submission
3 copies – 2 for CIPFA
Include PEP submission form (from CIPFA website)
Purchase PEP submission via online CIPFA Shop –
soon to be purchased via CIPFA website as with
exams & exemptions purchases
 Secure binding (not ring binder or lever arch file)
 Send copies by secure, recorded delivery to:
PEP submissions
CIPFA Student Support
215 Borough High Street
London
SE1 1JA
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PEP – CIPFA review process
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Either: ‘complete’ => apply for membership
Or: ‘incomplete’ => feedback report to guide rework and re-submission
Students going through a sound work programme
and approaching PEP in an organised, disciplined
way should be confident in completing PEP
successfully => high complete rates expected
Small number of trained reviewers using same PEP
Guide
CIPFA quality assurance to ensure consistency
Check for completeness of portfolio
Review to assess whether content meets the criteria
to an appropriate standard…
PEP – review criteria
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For each element of each evidenced activity
(planning/execution;
evidence;
ethical
considerations & learning), the oral presentation &
the general reflection/future learning goals (14
items) review criteria (A/B/C) to be applied
A = criteria satisfied
B – content marginally below required standard
C – content missing or well below required standard
PEP complete if all required elements included and
either all above items reviewed as A’s or
insignificant number of items reviewed as B’s
Otherwise portfolio reviewed as ‘incomplete’
PEP – benefits cf IPDS
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Fewer activities to complete/write up/submit
Required activities likely to fit more closely with
work plans – relevance and manageability
Underpinned by strong focus on ethics
Greater flexibility in completing the log of workplace
experience
No set submission deadlines - submit at any time
after passing all required exams
Quicker review of portfolios and issue of results (4
weeks from receipt, sometimes quicker)
Faster track to membership
Improved guidelines
PEP – further information
 PEP guide, FAQs & transition guidance:
http://www.cipfa.org/Training-andQualifications/Current-students/PEP
 Updates:
http://www.cipfa.org/Training-andQualifications/Current-students/Student-News
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Contact studentsupport@cipfa.org or 020 3117 1870
for PEP advice & queries