ICAEW
The ICAEW ACA explained: stages, exams and study
6 min read · updated 2026-09-20
The three ACA levels, what a training agreement involves, and how to study for the exams.
The three levels
The ACA runs across Certificate, Professional and Advanced levels. Certificate covers the foundations — accounting, assurance, law, management information, business and finance, and principles of taxation. Professional deepens them into reporting, audit, tax compliance, financial management and business strategy. Advanced tests judgement across the whole syllabus in long case-study conditions.
It is more than exams
The ACA is usually completed under a training agreement with an ICAEW authorised employer, alongside recorded practical work experience and professional development. Exams alone do not make you a chartered accountant, so if you are not yet with an authorised employer, plan for that part as deliberately as for the papers.
How to study the Certificate papers
Certificate exams are computer based and heavily objective. They reward wide, accurate coverage rather than deep essays, which makes question practice the single most efficient use of your time.
- Cover the whole syllabus once quickly, then spend most of your time on questions.
- Use explained answers — knowing why the wrong option is wrong is what raises scores.
- Sit at least two full timed papers before the real thing.
What Mai Studies offers
We publish ACA study support programmes for Certificate-level subjects, each with full taught lectures, worked examples, explained question banks and timed mock papers, with more papers being added. We are an independent tuition provider and are not ICAEW.
Common questions
- Can I study ACA without an employer?
- You can study and sit Certificate-level exams independently, but the full ACA requires a training agreement with an authorised employer for the practical experience.
- Is the ACA harder than ACCA?
- They are both chartered-level routes with different structures and employer bases. Choose on the career and employer you want, not on rumours about difficulty.