ICAEW Student News

ICAEW successfully completes transition to new ACA with Professional Stage exams

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is today announcing the results of the June ACA Professional Stage exams. The sitting was the last with two sets of exams – one for students on the 2004 ACA scheme and one for students on the ACA scheme introduced in 2007.

The June sitting marks the end of the transition to the more flexible ACA qualification syllabus and structure, which was introduced in September 2007 following a consultation with relevant stakeholders and changes in the financial and business environment to ensure the ACA maintains its worldwide reputation for qualify and relevance.

During the transitional period, the ICAEW has offered parallel exams, allowing students on the old structure to complete the journey they had started on to make sure no students were disadvantaged in the switch to the current structure.

Comments Mark Protherough, Head of Operations and Director, ICAEW Learning and Professional Development:

“We’re pleased to have completed the transition to the ACA structure introduced last year without any major problems. It has been demanding on a budgetary and organisational level, but it was important for us to give our students time to move to the new scheme to make sure nobody would be disadvantaged in the process.

“All our Professional Stage students will from now on be on the same ACA scheme, which is of great advantage both to students and their employers, as it is more flexible than in the past – with even greater focus on ethics and technical accuracy than the previous syllabus.”

Said Michael Walby, National Exam Training Senior Manager, KPMG: “At KPMG we are already seeing the benefits of the enhancements made to the ACA qualification in September 2007. Our trainees are taking advantage of the increased flexibility of the Knowledge papers and our clients are gaining value from their increased technical knowledge and skills.”

Nearly 4,000 students sat their Professional Stage exams in the June sitting, taking an average two exams each. Nearly 600 students completed the Professional Stage with this sitting.

The pass rates for the Application Modules of the June sitting are:
• Audit & Assurance: 83%
• Financial Accounting: 85%
• Taxation: 85%
• Business Strategy: 82%
• Financial Management: 81%
• Financial Reporting: 75%
• AAT Financial Reporting Top-up: 79%

For further information on the examination results visit http://www.icaew.com/examresults. For information on the ACA visit http://www.icaew.co.uk/students.