ICAEW - ACA

The ACA is a world leading professional qualification offered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ICAEW is a professional membership organization with over 142,000 members around the world. The ACA provides a combination of technical knowledge, professional skills and practical experience. It equips talented individuals to perform at the highest level in accountancy, finance and business.

Today organisations of every size around the world depend on the skill and expertise of chartered accountants. They are respected for their understanding of complex financial information, and trusted for their strategic business advice. In order to becoming an ICAEW chartered accountant you do on-the-job training at one of the 2,850 authorised training employers around the world and complete the ACA qualification at the same time. On completion of the ACA you are accepted as an ICAEW member. You can then call yourself an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and use ACA after your name.

How is the ACA qualification structured?

The four essential elements of ACA training

There are four essential elements that you must successfully complete during your studies in order to gain the ACA qualification and qualify as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

These are:                                                                      

1. Fifteen exams
2. 450 days of Technical work experience (TWE )
3. Initial professional development (IPD)
4. Structured training in ethics (STE )

You can start the ACA independently and sit all the exams except the Advanced Case Study (ACS) outside of a training agreement. You will eventually need to find an authorized firm to employ you under a training agreement in order to gain your 450 days experience and be able to sit the ACS exam during your third year of training.