Business, finance and accountancy exams

The next generation ACA exams:

• Place more emphasis on equipping students with professional skills they will need to succeed in the workplace.
• Integrate the key themes of sustainability, technology and ethics throughout.
• Focus on equipping students with the fundamentals of business, finance and accounting.
• Are updated every year, ensuring content remains reflective of the external environment.
• Have been redesigned with a smooth and supportive progression journey to support student attainment.
• Feature three new case studies, preparing students to tackle complex real-world scenarios.

Over the next decade, sustainability, technology and ethics will be the three key themes impacting every accountant and business they serve. All three have been integrated throughout the ACA, creating forward-thinking business leaders ready for tomorrow’s world.

The refreshed ACA syllabus features brand-new core exams covering each theme and goes further than ever before in embedding these competencies at each level.

The new syllabus places more emphasis on equipping students with the professional skills they need to excel in the modern workplace, enabling the development of critical thinking, leadership and communication skillsets that complement emerging technologies.

It features three new case studies at different levels so that students gain practice demonstrating these crucial skills in a variety of different scenarios. The skills will then be assessed in multidisciplinary exams.

Greater focus is placed on teaching students the fundamentals of business, finance and accounting. The robustness of our qualification remains at the forefront of the new developments and ensures quality of teaching and learning.

Updated every year, the syllabus offers the most reflective and agile chartered accountancy training on the market. It remains fully flexible, with exams being able to be attempted in any order (excluding Strategic Case Study which must be attempted last), allowing employers to choose structured pathways for their students that match business requirements.

The syllabus has been redesigned to enable smooth, supportive and attainable progression from Certificate to Advanced Levels, providing more of a "step by step" journey.