The first task for a trainee to achieve his or her PER is to get the support of a workplace mentor, who plays an important role in the achievement of the trainee’s PER. A workplace mentors supports a trainee’s development in the workplace and reviews the trainee’s progress and achievement at work by helping the trainee identify which performance objectives they should aim to achieve. They also help the trainee plan the experience needed to achieve targeted performance objectives, evaluate the trainee’s progress on a regular basis, and review the answers to the trainee’s challenging questions. A workplace mentor also signs off the trainee’s performance objective.
A trainee’s workplace mentor should be someone who works closely with the trainee, who knows the type of work the trainee undertakes, and who also knows the quality of the trainee’s work. A trainee’s workplace mentor should be a qualified accountant, and if they are not ACCA members, they should be a member of a professional accountancy or audit body recognised by law in the country in which the trainee works. A trainee may also have more than one workplace mentor or several different workplace mentors over a period of time, all of whom are responsible for helping the trainee to achieve the different performance objectives.
As I am now working in the audit department of the Deloitte Shanghai office as an associate auditor, it would be ideal for me to choose one or more audit managers as my workplace mentors. My counsellor, an audit manager who helps me to plan and manage my own career through effective goal setting, and who is a member of The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, may be the most suitable individual to be my workplace mentor, because he supervises my work and knows the type and quality of my work. So I have decided to make an appointment with him to talk about the issues of being my workplace mentor.
In my opinion, no matter whom you choose as your workplace mentor, he or she must have the knowledge and experience to support you. Your workplace mentor will be assessing whether you have met performance objectives, so it is crucial he or she has the expertise to do this.
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