Transitional arrangements for the Level 4 Diploma for Professional Accounting Technicians
These transitional arrangements exist to allow students who are registered on the Q2022 qualification to retain and transfer any relevant learning and assessments to the Level 4 Diploma for Professional Accounting Technicians (L4PAT).
The below table sets out how students registered on the AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting (Q2022) can transfer onto L4PAT. There is no limit on the number of units that can be transferred from Q2022, but students must complete a minimum of one L4PAT assessment to gain the qualification.
Until 31 July 2028, a £50 transfer fee will apply to transition to the new qualification. To be eligible, students must be registered on the Q2022 Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting.
| Q2022 Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting unit | Transitional arrangement | Level 4 Diploma for Professional Accounting Technicians unit |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting and Interpreting Financial Statements (90 GLH) | Student's achieved percentage transfers directly | Financial Accounting (80 GLH) |
| Applied Management Accounting (120 GLH) | Student's achieved percentage transfers directly | Management Accounting (110 GLH) |
| Internal Accounting Systems and Controls (60 GLH) + Audit and Assurance (60 GLH) | Student's average achieved percentage across INAC and AUDT transfers* | Audit and Internal Controls (75 GLH) |
| Business Tax (60 GLH) + Personal Tax (60 GLH) | Student's average achieved percentage across BNTA and PNTA transfers | Principles of Taxation (75 GLH) |
| Credit and Debt Management (60 GLH)/Cash and Financial Management (60 GLH) | No transfer | No equivalent |
| No equivalent | No transfer | Advanced Business Awareness (60 GLH) |
* Audit top-up assessment (AUTU)
For students who have achieved Q2022 Internal Accounting Systems and Controls (INAC), but not Q2022 Audit and Assurance (AUDT), an additional "top-up" assessment will cover audit topic areas from L4PAT Audit and Internal Controls.
Eligible students will be able to choose from taking the full Audit and Internal Controls (ATIC) assessment or the top-up assessment (AUTU).
Transitioning from AQ2016 qualifications to Q2022
We can only accept transitions from one qualification standard. This means assessments completed under AQ2016 will not transition to the Level 4 Diploma for Professional Accounting Technicians.
If this applies to your students, you should encourage them to continue and complete their current Q2022 qualification to avoid losing progress.
Exemptions for L4PAT
Exemptions are not transferred automatically to L4PAT, as previous exemptions may no longer meet current requirements.
If a student requests an exemption and meets the eligibility criteria, we can add it manually. If they have already paid for exemptions on the Q2022 qualification, we can apply the equivalent exemption to L4PAT free of charge.
Completion encouraged: Students currently doing their Level 4 qualification should be encouraged to complete it where possible.
Alternative options available: If completing the current Level 4 qualification isn’t possible, transitional arrangements will be available.
Unit transfer possibility: In some cases, students may be able to transfer results from current units to similar units in the new updated qualification.
