The content included within the qualification is driven by the market. An ongoing conversation which is happening all the time, helping the qualification to reflect what a chartered accountant needs in a modern world.
The process of an ACA update
The approach to developing the ACA includes:
- Updating the ACA syllabus and skills grids every year, including looking for areas where content needs to evolve, especially technical content.
- Undertaking regular controlled development of the ACA based on research and stakeholder consultation.
The aim of the annual update is to ensure that the syllabus remains fit for purpose and can include amendments to cater for technical changes, clarification of learning outcomes, inclusion of new areas of knowledge impacting ICAEW Chartered Accountants, removal of content for subject areas where there is there duplication, repetition or content no longer relevant within the qualification. The process includes a consultation with all key stakeholder groups and covers the skills, learning outcomes, and technical knowledge grids of each module.
The key questions that we ask stakeholders to consider are:
- Do you think there are any subject areas that should be included in the ACA syllabus, which are currently not covered?
- Do you think there are any subject areas of the syllabus that are not sufficiently covered?
- Do you think there are subject areas where there is duplication, repetition or content no longer relevant within the qualification?
- Do you think there are any subject areas that might impact the syllabus in the near future?
The second development process that we follow happens once every five or six years, where we have a major consultation with as many of our stakeholders as possible.
The most recent of which took place in 2019. These consultations took the form of:
- Roundtables and interviews with over 300 employers, academics, Partners in Learning and students both in the UK and in ICAEW’s international regions.
- Survey of 90,000 members.
- Survey of 374 universities and tuition providers.
We gained over 2,200 responses from our partners around the world, including; employers, students, members, Partners in Learning and examiners.
Following the feedback on the proposed changes to the future of the qualification, a set of actions and timeframes were created and shared with stakeholders for their further comment.
The contents of this are then combined to create a plan as to how we’re going to develop the ACA over the coming years.
The essential DNA
The 2019 update highlighted five key areas that appeared to be crucial to the development of chartered accountants. We call this the essential DNA.
- Ethics and integrity –We ensure that ethics are embedded throughout our qualification, and, more recently, we have even enhanced our focus on that. We updated and launched a new Ethics Learning Programme in 2021 which all ACA students must complete and pass. We’ve also embedded ethics within the learning materials and exams, with some of the more topical issues, such as the impact of technology, featuring in our syllabus.
- Skills and behaviours – these have always been a core part of the training of a chartered accountant. However, after a major review of the core skills of a chartered accountant in 2019, we agreed we should position our exams to more reflect the workplace - upskilling the trainee accountants in data analytics and data storytelling.
- Professional scepticism – you don’t always accept what you’re told. Which is why, increasingly within exams, we have introduced elements of professional scepticism. For example, students may be given conflicting pieces of information in an exam question, and they must determine which is appropriate and what to do with it. More recently we have also re-introduced statistical techniques so students can determine whether the data they’re using is valid or not.
- Technological change – this has always been a big part of what a chartered accountant must manage. The key differences are the speed of change and the increase in volumes of data that chartered accountants are having to deal with. So, we’ve introduced new technology into our exam platform to try to reflect as much as possible what students will be working on within the workplace.
- Technical knowledge – a chartered accountant must be as up to date as possible in all areas of knowledge expected, which is why, throughout our annual syllabus updates, we ensure all technical content is current and relevant.
Although it doesn’t sit within the five key areas of essential DNA, it is always worth noting the topic of sustainability. Going back 15 years, we spoke a lot about ‘the sustainable ACA’ and were already starting to embed content in relevant areas. Those relevant areas to date, have tended to be around the business models, risks, and governance aspects of sustainability.
For 2023 there has been a complete review of the sustainability content of all the learning modules. A framework has now been created to try and focus more on how we embed sustainability aspects and has around 9 different areas, such as, reporting, measuring, assurance, risk management, governance, and strategy.
Data analysis within the ACA
Chartered accountants have had to deal with data analysis for many years, and in the past, we have spoken about it in a theoretical approach. This is mainly due to not being able to provide significant quantities of raw data in exam questions.
As part of our recent update, we have introduced data analytics software. In our Audit and Assurance and Corporate Reporting exams, data analytics software is embedded in the exam platform and a data set is provided that students must interrogate to answer the exam questions. Each data set has 10,000 to 20,000 transactions based on a live company. Students will be expected to use their data analytic skills to interrogate the data and identify areas of concern or items which warrant further investigation.
We have also introduced pre-populated spreadsheets, expecting students to use some of the functionality to help do the sorts of calculations they would be doing in the workplace.
In addition to that, we’ve introduced more content around data bias. Really upskilling students to be aware that they shouldn’t just except things at face value and should understand a bit more about why the data that they’re using may or may not be inappropriate. Ensuring the application of professional scepticism in all areas of data capture, distribution, and analysis.
Our data analytics software is very similar to other audit software packages, however the one we utilise for ACA training:
- Is used by practices globally.
- Is tried and tested by students with good feedback about the software’s intuitive nature.
- Offers students support materials before they see it in the exam.
We’re not training students to become experts at this software, we’re training them to use tools they will come across in the workplace, and therefore be able to transfer the skills to different problems.
Learn more about offering the ACA
If you're interested in offering ACA training in your organisation you can find out more about the qualification, benefits and requirements here.