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AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting

Get the skills you need to become a financial team leader or set up your own practice with the AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting.

Accounting courses are a quality investment for your career – they are highly respected and valued by employers, globally recognised, and provide the right type of skills for immediate employment.

Three compulsory units will extend skills in cost management, resource allocation, accounting systems management, internal controls (fraud) and the drafting of financial statements.

Students must also undertake two further units which are likely to be: Personal Tax and Cash & Financial Management.

This course is for learners aged 19 years and over.

Course Info

Do I have to pay a fee?

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AAT Accounting Professional Diploma Level 4

Course Outline: Extends skills in cost management, resource allocation, accounting systems management, internal controls (fraud) and the drafting of financial statements.

Level	Level 4
Duration	50 Weeks (4 Terms)
Study Mode	Part-Time
Campus / Adult Skills Centre	Colchester Campus
Start Date	September 2025
Applications	Applications for September 2025 are now closed.
Attendance	Thursday (9am - 5pm)
Price	Full course: £2,573 (includes first exam fee)
Additional Cost Information	Individual modules: £650 (includes first exam fee) Additional fee for AAT membership will apply. (More information on AAT membership and current fees can be found at www.aat.org.uk)

Got a Question: Enquire Here Course and Application Enquiries Advanced Learner Loan Available Upcoming Open Events

Course Content

AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting (Q2022) modules include

Applied Management Accounting
Drafting and Interpreting Financial Statements
Internal Accounting Systems and Control

Learners must also undertake two optional modules, which are likely to be:

Personal Tax
Business Tax

The above modules may be available to study as standalone modules (under Q2022 standards) and are studied alongside students on the full programme.

Assessment

Assessment for the Accounting Diploma Level 4 is achieved by external computer based exams.

The AAT Accounting Qualification is universally respected and internationally recognised. Organisations such as Sainsbury’s, P&G, Morgan Stanley, the Ministry of Defence and many more continue to hire AAT qualified members for their knowledge, skills, diligence and enthusiasm, because AAT represents the highest standards of professionalism. We award around 90% of all vocational qualifications in accounting.

In short, an AAT qualification is a route to some of the most in-demand skills in the world, and provides you with a professional status you can be proud of.

Entry Requirements

AAT Diploma Level 3 or Level 3 Accounting apprenticeship.

AAT membership is mandatory for all full-time and part-time accounting courses, and you will be unable to sit the examinations without it.

Applicants enrolling on this course will be supported with obtaining their AAT Membership upon commencement of the course.

Fees and Funding

If you are aged 19 and over, in certain circumstances you may be eligible for a fee waiver and therefore you will not have to pay for your course.

Eligibility for a fee waiver will depend your age at the start of the course, your previous qualifications, your employment status and whether you claim certain benefits.

If you do not meet the criteria for a fee waiver, you may be eligible for some assistance from the College’s Bursary Funds, depending on the household financial circumstances.

If you do not meet the criteria for a fee waiver, and are not eligible for assistance from the Bursary Fund, you will have to pay for this course.

This programme may be free if you meet the eligibility criteria listed below. If these do not apply, you will need to pay a fee, and the published fee is located further down the course information page.

Do I have to pay a fee?

The information in this section applies to this course, and may not apply to other courses with different funding criteria.

You will not pay tuition fees if you are:

aged 19-24 on the 31st August 2026 and have an active Education, Health and Care Plan.

aged 19+ and employed, or self-employed and your annual gross income is below £25,750.

aged 19+, unemployed and not on benefits or in receipt of benefits with an income less than £952 a month or £1,534 a month with a joint benefit claim.

You will not meet the eligibility criteria if you:

are aged over 19 at the start of the course and you are employed, or self-employed and your annual gross income is over £25,750.

Therefore you will pay tuition fees.

In certain circumstances, the College’s discretionary bursary fund maybe able to assist with a contribution towards tuition fees. Eligibility to the fund depends on the household’s financial circumstances. Further information regarding the discretionary bursary fund can be found further down this page.

Please note that if you have to pay the full-cost fee, you are unable to access any financial assistance from the College Bursary Fund.

Other Additional Costs

Regardless of whether tuition fees apply, some of our programmes incur additional costs which could include:

Equipment costs – such as uniforms, kits, books and so on
Trips and enrichment activities
DBS checks (formerly CRB checks)
Occupational Health Screening

You will be informed of any additional costs associated with your chosen programme as early as possible to allow time for payment to be made.

Am I eligible for a bursary?

If you are aged 19 at the start of the course, unemployed and not in receipt of benefits, or employed and earning over £25,750, you may be eligible for assistance with your tuition fees from the College Bursary Fund.

Bursary funds are targeted at households with a net income of under £25,750.

If you are assessed as being eligible for a bursary award to assist with your tuition fees, the award will not exceed 75% of the fee payable and you will be responsible for paying the balance of the fee.

Students can apply for assistance from the bursary fund for other course related costs, such as transport, meals, books and equipment.

The bursary fund cannot assist with any general living costs nor can it be used as an attendance incentive.

Applications to the fund are not normally considered if the household income exceeds £30,000 but may be considered in some instances if the household is experiencing severe financial hardship.

When can I apply?

******Applications for student funding for learners who started in September 2025 are open. Applications can be made from this page using the button below.*****

For courses starting in September 2025, applications should be made by 1st November 2025. If you find yourself in financial hardship after this date it is important that you still contact Student Services. Applications received after 1st November will be considered on a pro-rata basis subject to need and the availability of funds.

Full details of the bursary funds can be found here:

19+ Bursary Information

Payment Options

Payment should be made in full at the time of enrolment. Acceptable payment methods include Debit Card and Credit Card (excluding American Express). Please note that we are no longer able to accept cash or cheque payments.

Can I pay in instalments?

Yes, you can spread the cost of fees. Any student of the College who pays his/her own programme costs is entitled to do so on a monthly payment plan basis, providing the total course fees exceed £200 and the student is aged 19 years, or over, on 31st August in the current academic year.

Where total course fees exceed £200 you (or your employer, if they are paying your course fees) can choose to pay your fees in instalments through a monthly payment plan and 40% of the fee or £500 (whichever is lower) will be payable at enrolment.

The balance must be paid within 6 months or by the end date if the course is less than 6 months in duration.

The monthly instalment payments will also be set up at the point of enrolment, or if you are enrolling using our online enrolment process, a member of our Finance team will contact you to set up the instalment plan after you have submitted your online enrolment.

In order to pay through monthly instalments, students must sign the Colchester Institute Instalment Payment Plan terms and conditions!

If a student fails to sign up to an instalment plan at enrolment all fees will become due for payment within 30 days.

Failure to fulfil any terms and conditions of an instalment agreement will result in you becoming immediately liable for the full outstanding balance and you may not be entitled to pay any future fees by instalments.

Please download and save the form below, then fill it in and sign it. These forms can either be emailed to registry@colchester.ac.uk prior to enrolment, or if you are completing an online enrolment you can upload these documents during the enrolment process.

Further Education Fee Instalment Student Terms and Conditions

Employers who are funding a student’s fees must complete and sign an authorisation form which must be submitted either prior to or at enrolment together with an advance payment of 40% of the course fee or £500, whichever is lower. This can be paid via the online store prior to or at the point of Enrolment.

If the advance payment is not made prior to or at Enrolment the student will not be eligible to attend college.

Further Education Employer Authorisation Form, Instalment Plan, Terms and Conditions

The application window for part-time courses starting in September and October 2026 opens in January 2026, and we start processing applications from this date.

Applications for this course are made via our online application form and you will be able to access it from this course page.

Once you are ready to apply then please click the ‘Apply Online‘ button from January 2026.

Upon successful submission of an application you will receive an acknowledgement email from our Admissions team. If you do not receive this you should contact the team to check that your application has been received.

During the second half of the summer-term (May and June), applicants will start to receive further correspondence from the College about the next stages of the admissions process. These will include details about interviews with the course tutor or any pre-assessments and trades tests.

Once applications are open, if you have any further questions about the application process or next available start date, want to check the progress of your application or if you are unsure about anything please contact us using the enquiry line or enquiry form.

Other courses in this area

Level 2 Courses

Level 3 Courses

AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting

Disclaimer

All fees, prices and funding information shown on this page are for courses starting in the 2025-26 academic year unless stated otherwise, and are correct at the time of entering/printing information, however these may be subject to change due to factors outside of our control. The College cannot accept legal or financial liability as a result of any such changes.

Courses fees are generally not confirmed for September until June / July due to the above factors.

The course information describes programmes offered by Colchester Institute. The College takes all reasonable steps to provide courses as described, but cannot guarantee provision. The information is for guidance and does not form any part of a contract.

The College reserves the right to update and amend information as and when necessary. Colchester Institute will do its best to provide the courses shown, but may have to modify or withdraw a course depending on customer demand and other factors.