Transitional arrangements

The role of the accountant is changing. To ensure ICAEW Chartered Accountants are prepared for the future, we will be introducing changes to our qualifications from September 2025.  

These changes follow a consultation in which more than 100,000 ICAEW training employers, students, members and Partners in Learning across the world were invited to participate. 

As we update our qualifications, there will be two versions of the ACA running in parallel. Both versions of the qualification result in the same qualification for your students, the ACA.  

The version of the ACA your students follow will depend on their start date:

• Students who registered up to 30 June 2025 will complete the elements of the existing ACA. 
• Students who registered from 1 July 2025 will complete the elements of the Next Generation ACA.  

Throughout 2025-2027, existing ACA exams will be phased out and Next Generation ACA exams will be introduced. Transitional arrangements will apply to exams and the Ethics Learning Programme. 

Existing ACA students who do not complete the existing ACA exams by the final sittings will need to complete the equivalent Next Generation ACA exams according to the transitional exam arrangements.  

Transitional arrangements have been designed to be pragmatic, fair and avoid disadvantaging students with respect to completion. Progress will not be delayed and students should not be required to take extra exams if they follow the transitional arrangement guidance.  

The table below sets out the last sitting of the existing ACA exams, and the first sitting of the Next Generation ACA exams.  

	First sitting of Next Generation ACA	Last sitting of existing ACA
Certificate Level (ICAEW CFAB)	September 2025*  *Tax Fundamentals will be available from December 2025	March 2026
Professional Level	March 2026	September 2026
Corporate Reporting	N/A	July 2027
Strategic Business Management	N/A	November 2027
Case Study	N/A	November 2026
Next Generation ACA Advanced Level	July 2027	N/A
Ethics Learning Programme	N/A	December 2026

Availability of exam sittings will depend on a student’s start date and the qualification they are studying. 

The mapping below outlines the equivalent exams for students who sit a combination of existing and Next Generation ACA exams. 

Certificate Level (ICAEW CFAB) 

Existing exam	Next Generation ACA exam
No equivalent	Sustainability and Ethics
Accounting	Accounting Fundamentals
Assurance	Assurance and Risk Fundamentals
Law	Business Law
Principles of Taxation	Tax Fundamentals
Management Information	Business Insight and Performance
Business Technology and Finance	No equivalent

• Overall, students must pass six exams at Certificate Level. 
• The Business Technology and Finance exam and the Sustainability and Ethics exam do not have a direct equivalent. Students registered up to 30 June 2025 may sit either exam, noting the transitional arrangements for the Ethics Learning Programme below. Students registered from 1 July 2025 must sit Sustainability and Ethics. 

• See the Certificate Level transitional exam planning tool for students who started up to 30 June 2025 and are on the existing ACA or ICAEW CFAB

Ethics Learning Programme 

Students who register up to 30 June 2025 need to complete the Ethics Learning Programme which will be available until 31 December 2026. Students who do not complete the Ethics Learning Programme by this deadline will be required to pass the Next Generation ACA Sustainability and Ethics exam instead. 

Students who register from 1 July 2025 will not need to complete the Ethics Learning Programme, but will need to pass the Sustainability and Ethics exam. Read more about how sustainability, technology and ethics are integrated throughout the Next Generation ACA. 

 

Professional Level 

Current exam	Next Generation ACA exam
No equivalent	Fundamental Case Study
Financial Management	Corporate Financial Strategy
Business Strategy and Technology	Business and Digital Strategy
Tax Compliance	Tax Compliance and Planning
Financial Accounting and Reporting and Audit and Assurance	Assurance, Risk and Reporting and Corporate Reporting, Data and Assurance
Business Planning	No equivalent

• Overall, students must pass six exams at Professional Level.
• Students must pass either existing Financial Accounting and Reporting and Audit and Assurance or the new Assurance, Risk and Reporting and Corporate Reporting, Data and Assurance exams.
• Students who have passed Tax Compliance but not Business Planning by September 2026 will have to undertake some additional learning.
• Students who have not passed Business Planning by September 2026 will have to pass the Fundamental Case Study.  

• See the Professional Level transitional exam planning tool for students who started up to 30 June 2025 and are on the existing ACA

 

Advanced Level 

Current exam	Next Generation ACA exam
Corporate Reporting	Technical Case Study
Strategic Business Management	Strategic Business Management top-up
Case Study	Strategic Case Study

• Students must pass Strategic Business Management (SBM) by the November 2027 sitting, or complete the Strategic Business Management top-up available from 2027.

From September 2025, you will be able to switch your existing ACA students to the Next Generation ACA so they can complete the new professional skills and Specialised Learning.

Existing ACA students do not need to switch to the Next Generation ACA to complete Next Generation ACA exams. This is accommodated for under the transitional arrangements for exams and the Ethics Learning Programme.

If you switch your students from the existing ACA to the Next Generation ACA, students will need to begin the Next Generation ACA professional skills. Any progress they have made towards the existing 52 professional development ladders will be overridden. They will also need to complete 30 units of Specialised Learning. Any practical work experience they have logged will be converted to professional work experience and ethics review progress will be retained.

The switch process must be completed by the employer. Individual students cannot choose to switch to the Next Generation ACA.