Centre for SAI Audit Professionals
Professional Certification
At one end are professional qualifications (such as the PESA), which require candidates to demonstrate competence across all key elements of professional development. At the other end are certificates (such as the AQMS), which focus on specific knowledge or skills and generally involve fewer workplace and post-certification requirements.
Professional Qualifications
A professional qualification (e.g. PESA) is a comprehensive certification that demonstrates an individual’s competence and readiness to perform effectively and ethically in a profession, for example as a compliance, financial, or performance auditor in a SAI. To ensure this, professional qualifications are typically structured around these six core elements: Competency Framework, Syllabus, Education, Workplace Experience, Assessment and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Together, these elements ensure that qualification holders:
- Master a defined set of competencies,
- Are workplace-ready through applied experience, and
- Can be held accountable via rigorous assessment.
Professional certificates
By contrast, professional certificates are more limited in scope. They are designed to recognise knowledge or competence in a specific area (such as Audit Quality Management) without requiring the full range of professional development elements.
Typically, certificates:
- Are aligned with a competency or knowledge framework but cover a narrower syllabus.
- Include structured education or training, usually shorter and more targeted than in full qualifications.
- Do not necessarily require stuctured workplace experience as a formal component.
- Assess learning through examinations, assignments, or practical projects.
- Do not impose CPD obligations after the certificate is awarded.
Certificates are therefore well-suited for professionals who need to build or demonstrate expertise in a focused area, but who are not seeking the full professional recognition of a qualification.
