New to the qualification? Here’s everything you need to know about how the ACA is structured, and how best to approach it.
The ACA consists of three elements: exams, Specialised Learning, and professional skills and experience (find out more about professional skills). Integrated throughout are the key themes of sustainability, ethics and technology.
Exams
You’ll sit a total of 14 exams over the course of your training, six at Certificate Level, six at Professional Level and two at Advanced Level (find details of them all here, and in-depth guides to the Certificate Level exams here). These are unlike any exams you’ve sat before at school or university, designed to test your skills as much as your technical knowledge. “The first six exams focus on the core aspects of all the different pillars you need to become an accountant – accounting, basic tax, legal skills,” explains Shaun. “Without the core fundamental skills, it’s difficult to build those higher-level skillsets.”
As you progress through the Professional and Advanced Levels, your knowledge will build – and, more importantly, so will your skills. The exams at the higher levels, particularly the three case studies, are not about memorising technical content, but rather how you use your knowledge to interpret and question the information in front of you – replicating the real-life skills you’ll be using in the workplace. “We’re not testing your memory,” says Shaun. “It’s about how you react and what your opinion is on things – because that’s the skillset we’re looking for.”
Without doubt the best way to approach the exams is practice, using the workbook, question bank and past exams. Again, this is an approach that may differ from what you’re used to. “It’s so different to school or university,” says Fiona Hodgkin, Director, Client Relationships and Business Development at ICAEW. “I was definitely one of those students who would do lovely, pretty diagrams and rewrite my notes in different colours again and again, thinking it was all going in! That approach absolutely does not work in the ACA.” She also advises being prepared to work hard, something that can be challenging when juggling the demands of a new job. “You’ve got to put the effort and the time in. It’s not enough just to listen at college and then be able to pass an exam.”
The time factor is important, Shaun agrees. “You can’t cram skills,” he says. “It’s a behaviour you’ve got to learn.” He recommends getting into question practice as quickly as possible – and embracing your mistakes. “Make a mess, make lots of mistakes and learn from those mistakes,” he advises. “When you get something wrong, think about why. Students often say, ‘I don’t know enough to answer a question’ – but you’ll find out by doing the question how much you don’t know.”
Specialised Learning
A new element for 2025, Specialised Learning brings greater flexibility to the ACA. Over the course of your training, you’ll complete 30 e-learning units – the equivalent of around 30 hours – chosen by you and your employer from an ever-expanding range of courses. “It makes everybody’s ACA unique to them,” Shaun explains. “There are different areas: virtual skills, sectors such as farming or music, technical aspects like new IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] or tax updates, and ‘breaking news’ – trade wars and tariffs, for example.”
The content – an engaging blend of articles, videos, quizzes and interactive activities – will expand over time, incorporating feedback and requests from students and employers, to make the offering as rich as possible. “It’s a more agile way of learning,” Shaun says, “and a much more mature one. There’s nothing to ‘pass’ – it’s the doing that’s important.” This replicates more closely what you’ll experience with continuous professional development (CPD) as an ICAEW member, where you’ll be responsible for your own lifelong learning.
Shaun likens it to being a musician, with the tuition and exams providing the fundamental knowledge and skills that every chartered accountant needs, and Specialised Learning offering the opportunity to find your niche. “We know that everybody’s got the core information, and they can top it up with how tax works for farmers, or how financial reporting works in the US,” he says. “It’s like a musician – you’ve all got to do music theory and be able to read music but then you specialise into your genre later.”
You’ll probably do more Specialised Learning as you progress through the ACA rather than at the start, but don’t leave it all until the end, he cautions. Taking away the pressure of a high-stakes exam means you can focus on the benefits – and enjoyment – of learning. “The reason you’re here is because you enjoy being stimulated and you enjoy the learning aspect of it all, so to take the stress away and just focus on the learning in a nicer environment has got to be a good thing.”
Words of wisdom
As you embark on the ACA, Shaun’s best advice is to see it as a marathon, not a sprint. “Slowly but surely wins the race. Pace yourself and balance your stakeholders. You’ve got your employer, your family, your partner – but your career is one of those stakeholders now. It’s not going to come just like that; it’s a three-year experience.”
Bear in mind, too, that everyone around you wants you to succeed, adds Fiona. “Your employer wants you to, we want you to, your tuition provider wants you to,” she says. “There’s so much support there for you, so take advantage of it. No one’s trying to catch you out or trip you up, it’s in everyone’s best interest for you to have the best experience.”
