At a glance
Sitting: March, June, September and December
Location: Exam centre or remote invigilation
Duration: 2.5 hours
Format: You’ll receive advance information eight weeks before the exam. This information will introduce the company you’ll be answering questions about in the exam and its background. The exam itself will consist of:
- Four compulsory questions.
- All questions are scenario-based, relating to the pre-seen advance information.
- Each question is split into multiple shorter requirements (usually 3-5).
- Individual requirements could be worth between 2 and 15 marks.
Pass mark: 55%
Syllabus weighting: The exam doesn’t have a standalone syllabus – it tests technical knowledge from Certificate Level, applied using Professional Level skills.
Each of the four questions is based on one of these technical areas:
- Accounting including accounting for tax (25-30%)
- Assurance and risk (25-30%)
- Business insight and performance (20-25%)
- Ethics, sustainability and the regulatory environment (15-20%)
Need to know
The Fundamental Case Study exam tests competence rather than specialist expertise. It acts as a bridge into later Professional and Advanced Level exams, introducing the style and demands in a more structured way. Questions are often shorter, more objective, and more tightly defined in other Professional and Advanced Level exams.
This exam tests your ability to apply existing technical knowledge within context. It mirrors a busy day in a professional role moving between tasks, prioritising issues, and delivering clear, practical responses under time pressure.
Just as you would approach a project in the workplace, you must clearly and confidently identify relevant issues within a situation and explain what you are doing and why.
Showing in-depth understanding matters more than simply memorising information: you should be confident in applying a rule appropriately and explaining your reasoning with clarity.
You’ll need to demonstrate your ability to:
- Integrate and use information from more complex scenarios.
- Structure problems and solutions logically.
- Apply judgement and prioritise key issues.
- Reach conclusions and make recommendations.
- Communicate clearly, linking answers back to the scenario.
Be careful not to underestimate the importance of professional skills, prioritise time management and ensure you adapt your technique to longer, written requirements.
How to approach the exam
Strong answers rely on consistent exam practice under timed conditions, and the best way to approach your exam practice is as if it were the real thing.
Remember, quality over quantity. It’s more about how you practice, rather than how much. To get the most value from practice questions, attempt answers before checking your workbook to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Review where you lost marks and understand why, then continue to full, timed practice exams, completed in one sitting.
On the exam day, read through all questions and then allocate strict time limits for your answers so you don’t run out of time. You can complete the questions in any order but remember to complete all requirements per question before you move to the next.
If a question feels difficult that’s because it’s supposed to be. This exam is designed to be challenging but achievable, so if you find a question hard or confusing, take a deep breath, move on and return to it later.
Top tips for success
- Manage your time carefully.
- Aim for one clear point per mark.
- Prioritise application over memorised detail.
- Attempt every requirement.
- Don’t chase perfection; good answers completed on time are better than perfect answers left unfinished.
Read more about Fundamental Case Study in the ACA Syllabus Handbook.