Incorporated Public Accountant/ Incorporated Public Accounting Technician/Certified Accounting Supervisor

 

The IIPA's Flagship Qualification.

Qualifying as an Incorporated Public Accountant can be achieved faster than any other accounting body. We have carefully created a syllabus that combines the knowledge and skills needed to operate as a Professional Accountant in practice, industry or the public service. Qualified IPA's may also qualify to receive a practice certificate which will allow them to operate as "Registered Auditors.

The syllabus consists of three parts which total 14 modules. These are as follows:

Professional 1

• Accounting Framework
• Economics
• Company and Business Law
• Taxation
• Management Accounting
• Business Information Systems

Students who successfully complete Professional 1 will receive the award "Incorporated Public Accounting Technician" and will be entitled to use the designation letters "IPAT".

Professional 2

• Auditing
• Financial Accounting
• Advanced Taxation
• Strategic Management

Students who successfully complete Professional 2 will receive the award Certified Accounting Supervisor and will be entitled to use the designation letters "CAS" .

Final Admitting Exam

• Advanced Financial Accounting
• Audit Practice
• Advanced Management Accounting
• Financial Management

Students who successfully complete the Final Admitting exam will receive the award Associate Incorporated Public Accountant and will be entitled to use the designation letters "AIPA".

Post Qualification Progression

A range of options are open to qualified AIPA's once they have qualified. If you wish to practice as a "Registered Auditor" you must complete two years post qualification experience, within which you are working on audit related matters at least 50% of the time.

You may also wish to specialise in the ever expanding area of Information Technology Audit. The IIPA offers a 1 year post-qualification Higher Diploma in IT Audit. The Diploma is described in more detail below. Incorporated Public Accountants who successfully complete the exams of the Higher Diploma will receive the award "Professional Information Technology Auditor" and will be able to use the designation letters "PITA"

 

 

Higher Diploma in Audit and Assurance

For the Professional Accountant who wishes to qualify as a Registered Auditor

Many professional accountants do not choose to take the "Registered Auditor" route when they initially qualify. However many would like to later in their career - this may be because as their practice gets bigger, so do the companies they have as clients; it may be that they do work for clients such as Banks, Insurance Brokers and Credit Unions, or they might just value the perception of authority that the designation "Registered Auditor" brings.

The IIPA has recognised this need and has developed its Higher Diploma in Audit and Assurance to meet the requirements of such accountants. The HD consists of four modules as follows:

• Audit and Assurance Theory
• Advanced Audit and Assurance Practice
• Auditing in an Information Technology Environment
• External and Internal Audit in the Public Sector (including and introduction to the public sector financial system)

Subject to certain simple requirements participation on the Higher Diploma is open to members of all Prescribed Accounting Bodies in Ireland (as designated by IAASA). Members of accounting bodies from other jurisdictions may also be granted admission to the course subject to assessment.

 

A Note of Public Sector Audit

Over the last number of years the Irish Government has been outsourcing a large number of audits on a contract basis to accountants and auditors who work in the private sector. These contracts are won through a tender process in which it is generally a key requirement that the auditor has an understanding of public finance and audit in the public sector. While there are similarities between private sector and public sector finance, there are also considerable differences.

The aim of module 4 is to bridge that gap for auditors and accountants in Ireland.

On completion of the Higher Diploma in Audit and Assurance and subject to certain experience criteria, members will be entitled to receive an Audit Practice Certificate from the IIPA.

Higher Diploma in Information Technology Audit

IT Audit Qualification for the Professional Accountant

Information Technology is now the backbone recording, processing, decision-making, notification, reporting and storage and retrieval system in the vast majority of organisations. Reliance on these systems carries a range of risks, many of them are familiar to the auditor and accountant, however a significant number are extra or differ from those covered in a statutory audit.

The compliance and control assurance statements required of Company Directors, Secretaries General and Accounting Officers are now a standard part of reporting and compliance procedures world-wide. An auditor or accountant who can bring knowledge of financial controls and IT controls to their accounting, audit and assurance work is in a position to provide significantly higher levels of assurance to their clients.

 

Aims of this course

The key aim of this course is to take the existing knowledge of processes and controls and build on them so that they will understand how the financial audit concepts that they are so familiar with apply in an IT environment. It will also introduce and develop an understanding of the technological, systems, database, network, and application and systems development issues relevant to a greater understanding of enterprise computing control among course participants. Students who complete this course will also be capable of using Computer Aided Audit Techniques (CAATs), network security testing tools, Information Systems Audit Programs.

 

Course Structure

This is an online programme that can be commenced at any time. It is completed at your own pace, and exams are completed on-line, and again can be undertaken at any time. This flexibility is designed to allow accountants or auditors in full-time employment or in practice complete the course in their free time.

• Technological innovation process audit. The aim of this audit is to construct a risk profile for existing and new projects. The audit will assess the length and depth of the company's experience in its chosen technologies, as well as its presence in relevant markets, the organization of each project, and the structure of the portion of the industry that deals with this project or product. organization and industry structure.
• Systems and Applications: An audit to verify that systems and applications are appropriate, are efficient, and are adequately controlled to ensure valid, reliable, timely, and secure input, processing, and output at all levels of a system's activity.
• Information Processing Facilities: An audit to verify that the processing facility is controlled to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient processing of applications under normal and potentially disruptive conditions.
• Systems Development: An audit to verify that the systems under development meet the objectives of the organization, and to ensure that the systems are developed in accordance with generally accepted standards for systems development.
• Management of IT and Enterprise Architecture: An audit to verify that IT management has developed an organizational structure and procedures to ensure a controlled and efficient environment for information processing.
• Client/Server, Telecommunications, Intranets, and Extranets: An audit to verify that controls are in place on the client (computer receiving services), server, and on the network connecting the clients and servers

Why Study for an IIPA Qualification

• Fastest way to a Professional Accounting Qualification
  The IIPA's offers the fastest route to becoming a finance professional. You can qualify as an Incorporated Public Accounting Technician (IPAT) in 18 months to 2 years, or as an Associate Incorporated Public Accountant (AIPA) in 4 years.
• Widest Range of Study Options
  We aim to provide the most flexible route to your Professional Accounting Qualification. So you can choose between distance learning, accredited colleges or online. You can even blend these options over over your study.
• Get Paid while you Study
  There is a long tradition in the accounting and finance professions of working while you study. This means that the profession is attractive to school leavers, those who choose not to go to college, and those who wish to change careers.