Accounting Exemptions

Obtain verification of your UL grades from your final transcript from the Academic Registry office.

Choose the professional body or bodies that you are interested in.  The four bodies that may grant exemptions are:

• Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Irish Taxation Institute (ITI)

• The links to each accounting/taxation body above provides details of the general criteria required to claim exemptions from that body.  In some instances, it may be necessary to access the body's website to determine your exemption entitlements in detail.

• Complete the application process as appropriate to each accounting/taxation body.  Note that there are strict deadlines regarding submitting your applications.

Unfortunately, this is the one area where we can't provide you with an answer! It may be the case that your future employer has already made that decision for you, by requiring you to train under an accounting/taxation body of their choice.

• Some of the accounting/taxation bodies do award exemptions solely on the basis of having your degree. However, in the majority of instances, getting an exemption from a particular paper will depend on you achieving a minimum grade (at least a C3) in specific UL modules that relate to the paper in question.
• For example, the exemption for ACCA paper F6 - Taxation - will only be given if you get at least a C3 in both TX4305 (Taxation Theory and Practice) and TX4407 (Corporate Taxation).
• To work out your exact exemption entitlements, follow the steps as set out above.

• If your QCA for the year is already 2.00 with no deficient grades (i.e. F, NG or I), but with one or more modules with a compensating fail grade (i.e. D1 or D2), you are still entitled to progress to the next year (or graduate, as the case may be) without needing to repeat those modules. This is because you have met the minimum standards of academic performance.
• From an exemptions perspective, however, the compensating fail may have an impact. As mentioned above, in the majority of instances, getting an exemption from a particular paper will depend on you achieving a minimum grade (at least a C3) in specific UL modules that relate to the paper in question.
• With this in mind, you should confirm the potential impact (if any) the compensating fail has on your exemption entitlements by following the steps as set out above.

• If the module on which you received a compensating fail does have an impact on your exemption entitlements, you should know that it may be possible to voluntarily repeat those modules, with a view to clearing the D1/D2 grade(s).
• If you are in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year, it may be possible for you to opt to clear the D1 or D2 grades (i.e. to upgrade them to a pass grade - capped at C3) by voluntarily sitting annual repeats (subject to satisfying certain criteria - please consult the Student Handbook). You may only do this in the August repeats for the academic year.

• If you meet the minimum standards of academic performance required to progress (i.e. graduate), your results will be presented at an exam board without further delay. Once your results have been presented at an exam board and you have been given an award, you do not have the opportunity to clear the D1/D2 grades.
• However, if you have failed to meet the minimum standards (and so have not been given an award), and are eligible for annual repeats you may be entitled to repeat the module(s) on which you received a compensating fail grade.
• Please consult the student handbook for further details.
• From the exemptions perspective, clearing 4th year compensating fail grades should impact positively on your exemptions; however, you should be aware of the potential knock-on consequences. For example, having to undergo annual repeats in 4th year will mean that you will not graduate until early in the following year. This may well delay your eligibility to apply for exemptions with the various accounting/taxation bodies.

• The exemptions granted by the various accounting/taxation bodies are meant to cover the bulk of graduating A&F/L&A students. However, where a student misses out on exemptions for reasons other than not achieving appropriate grades (for example, missing out on specific modules due to choosing to take part in the Erasmus programme - see below), it may be worth contacting the appropriate Institute on an individual basis, stating your reasons for seeking the exemption.
• If this avenue is not open to you, all is not lost! Some accounting bodies (e.g. CAI) permit students to sit their professional exams as an external student. This gives the student the opportunity to pass the paper(s) from which they were not exempted as a result of their University results.
• For more details, please refer to the information for the appropriate accounting/taxation body in 'How to Claim Your Exemptions'.

• Yes/Maybe! It is likely that if you go on Erasmus for a semester, you will miss one or more accounting modules that will impact on your exemptions entitlements. To confirm this, compare the module(s) you will miss (if any) with the exemptions requirements of the relevant accounting/taxation body.
• If it turns out that you will miss out on exemptions due to Erasmus, two potential options are available to you:
  • Check whether or not the relevant accounting body will give you the opportunity to pass the paper(s) they were not exempted from as a result of your University results (see the previous question for details)
  • If possible, you should try to replicate the UL accounting module(s) you are going to miss with the modules you are taking on Erasmus. It may well be worth confirming the suitability of the 'Erasmus module(s)' with the lecturer(s) of the UL accounting module(s) you are going to miss. But please note: the onus is on you to find the appropriate module and ensure as much as possible that its learning outcomes are the same as/similar to those of the UL accounting module(s) you are missing.
  • Once this is confirmed, it may then be possible for you to submit details of the Erasmus modules to the appropriate accounting/taxation body when submitting your exemptions application.

• Students from the Higher Certificate in Advanced Business are admitted into 3rd year of the BBS (A&F) course on the basis that the topics covered in the Certificate course provide similar coverage to the modules in 1st and 2nd year of the BBS. Accordingly, there should be no difference in your exemption entitlements, as long as you provide the relevant accounting/taxation body with the appropriate information.
• With this in mind, when claiming your exemptions you should provide both your UL transcript and your IT Tralee Transcripts together with a brief covering letter highlighting the issue.