IAB Professional Practice study plan
IAB Professional Practice · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Anti-Money Laundering Supervision
Map the AML supervision syllabus into a one-page concept web covering supervisors, regulated sectors, and risk-based approach
Define money laundering, terrorist financing, and predicate offences in your own words without notes
Explain the three stages of money laundering and match each stage to two detection red flags
Summarise the role and powers of the main UK AML supervisors and self-regulatory bodies
Your checkpoint
A one-page annotated concept map of AML supervision plus a 300-word glossary of core AML terms
Anti-Money Laundering Supervision
Apply the risk-based approach by ranking five client scenarios from low to high risk with written justification
List customer due diligence triggers, including when enhanced and simplified measures apply
Describe beneficial ownership identification and the checks needed for legal persons and trusts
Outline record-keeping, reporting, and suspicious activity reporting obligations and their timeframes
Your checkpoint
A completed CDD decision table for six client scenarios showing required evidence and escalation route
Bookkeeping
Distinguish cash, trade, and bank transaction records and state which source documents support each
Apply double-entry rules to record sales, purchases, and bank transactions in a practice ledger
Reconcile a bank statement against the cash book and explain each reconciling item
Prepare a trial balance from a set of ledger balances and identify errors that would not affect it
Your checkpoint
A reconciled practice ledger with trial balance and a written note explaining three reconciling differences
Bookkeeping
Explain the purpose and content of the books and records a business must keep
Post opening balances, accruals, prepayments, and depreciation adjustments to a ledger
Correct bookkeeping errors using journals and suspense accounts
Distinguish capital from revenue expenditure and record each correctly
Your checkpoint
A closed month-end ledger pack with adjusting journals and a corrected trial balance
Payroll
Identify the data needed to calculate gross pay, including tax codes, NI category letters, and pension contributions
Calculate statutory payments and explain eligibility conditions for each
Sequence a payroll run from input collection through to payment and reporting
Explain real-time reporting obligations and the deadlines attached to each submission
Your checkpoint
A worked payroll calculation for three contrasting employees with a step-by-step audit trail
Payroll & Accounting
Complete a full payroll cycle including deductions, net pay, and the employer liability summary
Reconcile payroll totals to amounts reported and paid to tax authorities
Prepare a set of final accounts from a trial balance, including adjustments
Explain the purpose of the main financial statements and how they interlink
Your checkpoint
A payroll reconciliation statement plus a draft income statement and statement of financial position from the same trial balance
Accounting
Calculate and interpret key ratios covering profitability, liquidity, and efficiency
Distinguish management accounts from statutory accounts and state the users of each
Explain accounting concepts and conventions and apply them to three practical scenarios
Identify ethical threats in an accounting or bookkeeping scenario and state the safeguards
Your checkpoint
A ratio analysis of one practice business with written commentary on three strengths and three weaknesses
Anti-Money Laundering Supervision & Bookkeeping & Payroll & Accounting
Consolidate weak areas by reworking every previously missed practice question to full accuracy
Complete two timed mixed-domain mock assessments under exam conditions
Review and update each week's glossary and concept map into a single revision sheet
State the key compliance obligations across AML, bookkeeping, payroll, and accounting from memory
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock assessments with a scored error log and a final one-page cross-domain revision sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 70% on a 30-question AML supervision set, and explain the risk-based approach and CDD triggers aloud without notes
Week 4: Produce a balanced trial balance from raw transactions with correct adjustments, and reconcile a bank statement without reference material
Week 6: Complete a full payroll run and reconcile it to reported liabilities, then draft final accounts from a trial balance within the time limit
Week 8: Average at least 75% across two timed mixed-domain mocks with no domain below 60%, and log every error with its corrected rule