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All ACA, ICAEW CFAB and Level 4 apprenticeship learning materials are now digital only. Read our guide on how to access your learning materials on the ICAEW Bookshelf using the BibliU app or through your browser.

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Credit for prior learning or CPL is our term for exemptions. High quality learning and assessment in other relevant qualifications is appropriately recognised by the award of CPL.

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ICAEW Faculties are 'centres of technical excellence', strongly committed to enhancing your professional development and helping you to meet your CPD requirements every year. They offer exclusive content, events and webinars, customised for your sector - which you should be able to easily record, when the time comes for the completion of your CPD declaration. Our offering isn't exclusive to Institute members. As a faculty member, the same resources are available to you to ensure you stay ahead of the competition.

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With new requirements on ICAEW members for continuing professional development, we bring together resources to support you through the changes and look at the skills accountants need for the future.

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The Case Study exam will assess your understanding of providing advice on complex business issues in the form of a written report. The scenario may be based on a variety of different organisational structures or operations, and you will be provided with advance information ahead of the exam. The exam is four hours long and will consist of three requirements and an executive summary. The exam is available to sit in July and November and is open book and will permit you to take any written or printed material into the exam.

Exam guidance

We are here to support you throughout your ACA journey to ensure you have everything you need for your upcoming exam, from exam resources to free and confidential wellbeing support from CABA. Ensure you are fully prepared by reading our exam guidance  prior to your exam.

Advance information

The advance information for the Case Study exam will be available eight weeks prior to the exam. You will be able to access the advance information on this page. To confirm the dates when the advance information will be available, please visit ACA dates and deadlines . 

The advance information for past Case Study exams can be found below. The advance information can now also be added to your digital bookshelf. You can add the Case Study advance information to your bookshelf by visiting the ebookshop using the link below  and selecting the relevant edition. The digital version will not be added automatically, you must visit the link below for it to be available. The advance information is still available as a traditional PDF, which can be printed and taken to your exam.

• Get the Advance Information on your ICAEW Bookshelf

Please log in to access content.

Exam preparation

Learning materials.

These are designed to be used alongside the printed study manual and walkthroughs for Bux and True Taste.

Practice software

It's important that you get to know the exam software and its various functions before you take an exam. To help, we have created an online only practice exam software. 

Preparing for your Case Study

Presentation of appendix for requirement 1.

View this note which clarifies the presentation of appendices for Requirement 1 in the Case Study.

• Insight from the examiners: Case Study exam
• Exam highs and Lows - Advanced Level
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Case Study Marks Feedback

As the Case Study is marked slightly different to the other exams, the marks are calculated in a different manner. To fully utilise and understand the Case Study marks feedback you will need to refer to the Case Study feedback guide along with a copy of the relevant exam script.

• Case Study feedback guide

Exam study support

Introduction to the Case Study exam

Overview of the executive summary, how to approach the advance information for the case study exam, how to use the advance information during the case study exam, requirement one, two and three in the case study exam, how to prepare to retake the case study exam.

Read out this code to the operator.

Advanced Level

The study packs for Corporate Reporting and Strategic Business Management include a:

• self-test questions and worked examples;
• study guide;
• module syllabus; and
• skills and technical knowledge grids
• Question bank

The Corporate Reporting supplement is aimed at students who have studied Financial Accounting and Reporting UK GAAP and are moving on to study Corporate Reporting, which is based on IFRS.

The study pack for Case Study includes:

• Digital workbook containing
• Two Case Study walkthroughs (containing marking keys)

The advance information and exams for each walkthrough are accessed on the ICAEW exam resources page. Make sure to visit the Exam Resources pages where you can access questions within the practice exam software, articles, errata sheets, study tips, examiner guidance, and study webinars that help to put your learning into context.

Advanced Level Case Study

Buy Editions

Advanced Level Corporate Reporting

Advanced level strategic business management.

Pass In Training

Full tuition course - on demand.

The full price of the course is £480 meaning our early student discount of £375 is fantastic value for money. The early sign up price of £375 is available through to 28th February 2023. Remember to join our Facebook Chat Group where there are exclusive discount offers for all our courses including this one! Prices are inclusive of any relevant taxes.

Why Choose Pass In Training

Pass rates of 98.5% and 99% during the last two sittings. The only Specialist Case Study experts with ICAEW marking team experience. Pass In Training is an approved ICAEW Partner In Learning.

We believe all students can pass the Case Study exam. However, you need to understand the exam, the company presented in the Advance Information and have the correct techniques. We build your individual approach for the examination to ensure your capitalise on areas you are good at and that you have the correct strategy to help you in areas you are less confident with. We are that confident you will pass with us, we offer our Pass Guarantee which means you get this course for free for as many sittings as you need to pass the examination. Contact Us If You Want More Information

Pass In Training - ICAEW Chat Group

Designated Case Study Facebook Chat Group where you have immediate access to tutors and other students.

We are the only tuition provider to have a Facebook Chat Group exclusively designated to the Case Study Exam. You will receive exclusive information and content to assist you with your exam. The group has access to special discount offers on all our courses, so join us now and become part of a fast growing network of Case Study students. You can access our group via the link below of by searching for Pass In Training - ICAEW Chat Group within your Facebook App. Join Our Facebook Chat Group Here

What Is Included

One of our key differences is that you receive tutor support consistently from the start of your course until you sit your exam. As specialists, we are not distracted by other subjects meaning we can concentrate wholly on ensuring you pass the ICAEW Case Study exam.

Seven sessions providing you with significant video content covering all areas of the Case Study

Access to our four highly realistic mock examinations - we have over 10 years of experience writing all the mocks for other Case Study specialist tutor firms and large professional training companies prior to setting up Pass In Training

Mock 2 exam marked by ICAEW trained Case Study markers with detailed feedback for you to use in Mocks 3,4 and the live examination

Advance Information & Exam Room Pack in a format you can add to and can print ahead of the exam

Covered by our Pass Guarantee scheme meaning in the unlikely event you fail, your resit is always free

Access to Steps To Pass In Case, the most comprehensive online book on passing the Case Study exam

Bench marked equivalent courses range from £795.00 excluding VAT. Our stated objective to is to bring the cost of studying down without compromising on quality.

How We Teach & Course Content

As one of our students, we will ensure you reach the key learning criteria of each session.

If you are unable to attend the sessions live, we will be recording and editing elements so that you are able to access the content online and on demand. The benefit of this course is that you will receive all the same advice and hints as the classroom based students, however, it will be significantly less interactive for you.

Regardless of whether you are accessing our full course as an On Demand student or are part of our live session, we believe every student who sits our course can pass the Case Study Examination.

Our method of teaching is to provide students with the correct knowledge and interpretation of the Case Study. With nearly 17 years of experience in marking the live ICAEW Case Study exams, writing mock examinations and tutoring students both in the UK and Overseas, we have a huge amount of experience to interpret the Case Study. We identify the key themes underpinning the Case Study and the likely strategic direction.

You must have the correct technique to give yourself the greatest opportunity to pass. Our course provides you with the tools for you to develop your technique and adapt based on the feedback you will receive.

To learn you must understand where you have performed well and areas you can improve on. We provide you a huge amount of feedback and identify how you ca overcome you weaker areas. Whether this is time management, writing technique, missing Applied Judgement marks, weak recommendations or being unable to generate ideas for Requirement 3. We will identify these issues and assist with your development.

What You Receive

You will receive 7 recorded sessions in order to build your knowledge over the course. The course design is structure to allow you to develop the required skill to pass the Case Study Exam and this cannot be achieved quickly or at the last minute.

In addition you will have access to:

• Our Steps To Pass In Case Case Study Book / e-course
• Advance Information & Exam Room Pack
• All four mock examinations
• One mock examinations marked by us with significant feedback (Mock 2)
• Access to our forums to discuss with us and students
• Support from a highly experienced Case Study specialist with high industry high pass rates throughout the duration of the course

Key Dates & Sessions

Session 1: Understanding the Case Study Exam - 27th May 2023 live course, which you can attend OR with video content available from 28th May 2023

• Understanding the assessment criteria
• Developing your knowledge of the marking key
• Typical points gaining credit on the marking key
• Creating a strategy to gain sufficient marks on each element
• Introduction to each requirement

Session 2: Advance Information Session - 10th June 2023 live session which you can attend and video content available from 11th June 2023

• Full review of the Advance Information
• Understanding the current financial position and trends
• Developing a picture of the expected financial position
• Key financial themes underpinning the business
• Understanding how the business generates profits and cash
• Developing ideas for potential Applied Judgement points for R1
• Issues facing the business and possible R2 scenarios
• Strategic direction and opportunities and developing R3 scenarios

Session 3: Mock Exam 1 - V ideo only session - content available from 12th June 2022

• Full class based walkthrough of Mock 1
• Understanding and correctly interpreting the requirements
• Development of your exam day process - where to spend your time
• Developing correct concepts and ideas for R1
• Developing Appendix 1 suitable for use in all scenarios
• Development of an R1 plan
• Understanding how to construct your R2 appendix
• Understanding how to challenge assumptions
• Development of an R2 plan
• Understanding how to construct your R3 appendix
• Methods you can use to develop R3 Financial, Operational & Strategic points
• Development of the correct technique to answer Ethical & Business Trust points

Mock 1 is self marked and peer marked as it is important for you to understand how the exam is marked as part of really understanding the Case Study Exam.

Session 4: Mock 1 Debrief & Mock Exam 2 - Video only session - content available from 18th June 2023

• Debrief of Mock 1 write up
• Learnings / technique review ahead of Mock 2
• Development of your time plan / refining ahead of Mock 2
• Requirement 1 - Student planning
• Requirement 1 - Student feedback and development of all potential points to discuss
• Requirement 1 - Determining which points to discuss
• Developing a final Applied Judgement list for R1 to use in future mocks / real exam
• Requirement 2 - Student appendix and planning
• Requirement 2 - Student feedback and development of all potential points to discuss
• Requirement 2 - Determining how to choose which points to discuss and why
• Requirement 3 - Student appendix and planning
• Requirement 3 - Student feedback and development of all potential points to discuss
• Requirement 3 - Determining how to choose which points to discuss and why
• How to write good conclusions, recommendations and executive summary
• How to organise the information you take into the examination

Student mocks will be written up at home and then submitted for full marking review. This is a detailed marking process with on average it taking markers over 2 hours to mark your script with significant comment on your performance.

Session 5: Mock 2 Debrief & Mock 3 - Video only session - content available from 25th June 2023

• Debrief of Mock 2
• Learnings / technique changes ahead of Mock 3
• Mock 3 performed solo and to time during the course

Mock 3 is self marked, although you can opt to have this marked by us by purchasing the Mock 3 Marking Service.

Session 6: Key Concerns and Common Issues / Mock 3 debrief and Mock 4 - Students to sit their final mock by - Video only session with content  will be available to view from 9th July 2023. The key aims of this session is to discuss common issues and problems students are experiencing ahead of Mock Exam 4

Mock exam 4 is self marked although you can pay to have the mock marked by us by purchasing the Mock 4 Marking Service.

Session 7: Mock 4 feedback and final preparation for the real exam - 15 th July 2023 live session access with video content available immediately after the course.

• Full debrief on Mock 4
• Recap on the key themes for the business
• Recap on the main areas of the marking key to concentrate
• Session on R1 queries / concerns from students
• Contingency plans for R1
• Recap of the likely R2 scenarios and any other potential areas the examiner could discuss
• Recap on challenging assumptions
• Session on R2 queries / concerns from students
• Contingency plans for R2
• Recap of the likely R3 scenarios and any other potential areas the examiner could discuss
• Recap on how to develop good Financial, Operational and Strategic discussion points
• Session on R3 queries / concerns from students
• Contingency plans for R3
• Recap on ethical and business trust issues
• What information to take into the exam
• Final thoughts

Bundle includes

Here are all the courses that are included in your bundle.

All Courses, 3. Exam Room Pack, 4. Case Study Manual

Steps To Pass In Case - Online Book

FAR - Full Series

Learn how to ace the aca certificate level exams, financial accounting and reporting (far) , classroom tuition, online tuition.

• May 1, 2020

How to Pass the ICAEW ACA Case Study Exam

Updated: Feb 22, 2023

This article offers advice on how to pass the ACA Case Study exam. Written by a multiple prize-winning ACA tutor who scored 92% in the Case Study exam and won the ICAEW prize for the highest score in the world, this is essential reading for any student preparing for their Case Study exam.

How to Ace the ACA Case Study Exam

The Case Study is unlike most other ACA exams as there is very little technical content to learn. Therefore, students who are used to memorising technical concepts and then ‘smashing out the question bank’ will be perplexed when they are presented with 40+ pages of advance information and a Case Study exam paper seemingly testing nothing they have learnt in their other 14 exams.

However, the Case Study is actually very similar to the other ACA exams in that the three exam requirements are always the same, as are the mark schemes. By appreciating the consistency in the exam requirements and the mark schemes, you can develop your exam technique to ensure that you tick all the 'boxes' on the mark scheme and complete your ACA qualification in style.

In light of this, we believe that there are 5 steps to Case Study success:

1. Understand how Case Study is marked

2. Understand what each of the three requirements involve

3. Understand what information is provided in the Advance Information (AI) and what is provided in the exam

4. Learn the Case Study exam technique which ensures that you hit all the boxes on the mark scheme

5. Practice mock exams to master your exam technique

Step 1: Understand how Case Study is marked

The Case Study marking process is objective: there is a set marking key for each requirement and if a student’s report includes a point which is on the mark scheme, they will get the mark. This is not like an academic essay where the examiner forms an overall opinion of the piece of work and then decides whether it is good enough to pass; the Case Study marking grid is rigid. Whilst it can be frustrating that making a valid point which is not on the mark scheme does not score a mark, it does mean that the marking process is very transparent and easy to navigate. Below is an example from a Case Study mark scheme to illustrate what I mean by points and boxes.

Step 2: Understand what each of the three requirements involve

As explained above, the three requirements are broadly the same in each Case Study exam.

R1: Analyse the financial performance of the company

R2: Evaluate a financial proposal

R3: Evaluate an opportunity or issue

The mark scheme for each requirement is also the same. This makes the exam fairly predictable.

By having a look at recent past papers, you will soon start see the consistency in the requirements and build an understanding of what each requirement involves.

Step 3: Understand what information is provided in the AI and what is provided in the exam

In addition to the exam requirements and mark schemes being in the same format every time, the AI is also in the same format every time (albeit a different business with different issues).

By working through past Case Study exams, you will soon start to see that the AI always has the same exhibits with very similar types of information e.g. industry background, prior year accounts, key customers / suppliers, strategic goals and risks. Similarly, all the exams include the same exhibits with very similar types of information.

Having completed the exam, it is important to mark it and reflect on what information came from the AI and what came from the exam exhibits. You will soon start to see that the majority of mark scoring points come from the exam exhibits rather than the AI. You will also learn which types of information in the AI tend to be rewarded in the mark scheme and where in the mark scheme they are rewarded, i.e. which box.

Step 4: Learn the Case Study exam technique which ensures that you hit all the boxes on the mark scheme

Having understood what the exam requirements are and how they are marked, you need to develop an exam technique which ensures that your report includes the points which are included on the mark scheme. Fortunately for you, we have developed an exam technique which does this and it has resulted in two students winning the prize for the highest mark in the world (90% and 92%), another winning a prize for the highest mark in their region (88%) and another achieving the highest mark in their firm (81%)!

Given the practical nature of exam technique, it is not possible to explain this in text so you can watch a free class here which teaches you exactly how to ace Requirement 1 and get a prize-winning mark.

Step 5: Practice mock exams to master your exam technique

By this stage in your ACA journey, you will already know that question practice is key to success. Having learnt the prize-winning technique, you then need to practice mock exams on your case study business under exam conditions so that you master the technique and sign off your ACA in style!

Need Help Passing the ACA Case Study Exam?

Details of our live tuition, video tuition, mock exams and proforma reports can be found here .

About the Author

Kieran Doe is a Senior ACA Tutor at ACA Masters. Kieran won ICAEW prizes for his performance in Financial Accounting and Reporting, Tax, Financial Management, Audit, Business Strategy and Case Study. This is in addition to winning several prizes at university for various Accounting, Management, Business and Economics subjects.

Kieran’s tuition is based around the learning techniques and exam strategies which enabled him to win prizes for all the subjects he teaches. Under his guidance, several of his ACA students have also won ICAEW prizes.

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Case study mock exam pack. relevant practice..

As we have explained on the other Case Study pages on this website, Case Study is fundamentally unlike the other ACA papers because it is marked with a unique "closed form" markscheme in which you can only attract credit if the idea in your exam answer matches the points on the finalised ICAEW markscheme. This is a potentially harsh marking approach and without a good understanding of what points are likely to be on the markscheme, you'll be relying on luck to pass. The other important aspect of preparing for Case Study is that it is a long, 4-hour exam (the longest of all the ACA papers) and one where you must pass all the different elements of the examination (Executive Summary, Requirement 1, Requirement 2 and Requirement 3) or you will be failed by the examiners, no matter how brilliant the other parts of your response may have been. We have therefore created our live Mock Exam Pack to give you 5 opportunities to practise your planning, timing and general exam technique, all within the context of learning points which are likely to be given credit in your own exam. As experienced creators of Case Study Mock Exam Pack since 2013, we have a very good understand of what points are likely to score, so we build these into our full markscheme examples. We also provide example model answers where we write up all our ideas, under the right headings and making the points nice and snappy, creating examples that are actually achievable by a good candidate in the time available. We round off the Mock Exam Pack with detailed Tutor Debrief videos of all 5 Mocks, and a supporting set of over 400 quick-fire questions on the Advance Information so that you can actively learn the content rather than just reading and re-reading the Advance Information yet again! Scroll down the page to learn more about our Mock Exam Pack. July 2024 Mock Exam Pack release schedule Mock 1 - 7 June 2024 by 23.59 UK time Mock 2 - 14 June 2024 by 23.59 UK time Mock 3 - 21 June 2024 by 23.59 UK time Mock 4 - 28 June 2024 by 23.59 UK time Mock 5 - 5 July 2024 by 23.59 UK time The release dates for our November 2024 Mock Exam Pack will be 20 September, 27 September, 4 October, 11 October and 18 October 2024

Prepare to pass.

We have no idea why certain other tuition providers allocate so much course and homework time to past paper Case Study examples. Okay, so doing past papers is obviously of some benefit, but for us, it makes much more sense to focus on the live Case Study Advance Information which will provide the basis of your examination attempt. Using our Mock Exam Pack, you get 5 opportunities to hone your exam technique while also learning about likely scenarios for the real exam (simply not possible by doing past papers!). With our expertly-prepared markscheme grids, we can help you understand what sorts of point to make in your own answer, again all based on points that can actually be tested in your exam (simply not possible by doing past papers!). Our commentaries on our marking grids also explain how we put the Mocks together and what we were trying to test, enhancing your knowledge of the live set of Advance Information.

Some stats on our Mock Exam Pack.

The July 2024 edition of our Case Study Mock Exam Pack will be the 25th edition of the Mock Exam Pack since our first Mock Exam Pack was published in 2013. This means we have accumulated vast knowledge and experience, which we distill into our student-focused approach and realistic question papers.

>100,000

Taking into account our 5 question papers, 5 marking grids, 5 example student-standard model answers and our other tips and tricks content, each Mock Exam Pack contains over 100,000 words of content (about the same length as a novel!). All lovingly prepared under extreme time-pressure to help you as much as possible.

Practice makes perfect.

Since passing Case Study is all about exam technique rather than technical brilliance, it is vital that you do plenty of practice before the exam to work on things like time management, writing style, interpretation of the question and, most important of all, understanding the points that are likely to be on the final ICAEW markscheme. Because if your idea doesn't match the final ICAEW markscheme, you won't get any credit for your point! Harsh, we know, which is why we have got your back through our Mock Exam Pack.

Fully updated for 2024

As always, we will carefully work through the learning points from the 2023 past papers to ensure that our advice and example markschemes are fully up-to-date, ensuring that you are exposed to points that are likely to score. The Case Study examiners are always subtly evolving the examination so it is important that we keep on top of this "cat-and-mouse" game!

Key Points Summary

To make the most of the "open-book" nature of the Case Study exam, we will provide you with our Key Points Summary PDF, an alphabetically-organised summary of key "re-useable" points from the Mock Exam Pack. This will avoid you taking too much content into the exam as everything will be nicely condensed and organised for you. On the day, you must of course use your judgement when using any pre-prepared ideas, but our Key Points Summary PDF will put everything at your fingertips so that you can make your choices as quickly as possible!

Supporting video content

Making the most of advances in technology, recent editions of our Mock Exam Pack have been provided with supporting video content, allowing us to go into certain areas in a bit more detail than in a purely PDF format. Our online platform also allows us to provide over 400 quick-fire questions on the Advance Information so that you can learn it inside-out.

What our students say.

I bet your tutor team are probably feeling more of a strain than us students when it comes to the Case Study exam, seeing the huge amount of work that fits into six weeks. It's rather impressive, particularly with the Mock Exam Pack,  the on-demand videos and the patience of the tutor, to go through things over and over again. I honestly feel that you leave no stone unturned for Case  Study. I find the on-demand videos so useful. I feel it helps to refresh points in my head. Thank you as always.

I have just got my results for Case Study and I'm really happy to say that I managed  to pass with 60% on my first attempt. I am really glad that I came to you guys for my first attempt, which allowed me to adequately prepare myself both content and skill wise for the exam day. Thank you very much for all your  help (via TIS and e-mail conversation) throughout the past month and a half!

Thank you, and in particular to my tutor, for helping me pass my Case Study resit in November. The approach to technique and having 5 different Mock Exams based on the live set of Advance Information really helped and I felt so much more prepared going into this exam than the first time. I've already recommended the book and technique to others in my office. Thanks again.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for your help and materials over the last three exams, as I had some great news on Friday that I passed my Case Study exam first time!! I was delighted to pass with 63% and found your books, Mock Exam Pack and TIS scripts really helpful towards this result. I shall be thoroughly recommending you to my colleagues!

Finally passed the Case Study exam. Thank you so much for all of the content, especially the Mock Exam Pack. Thank you again!

My son passed his Case Study exam and it went really well. He qualified on Friday, so very proud! He said without a doubt, that the Cracking Case book and Mock Exam Pack got him through. We only found out about you near to the exam day,  but he only read your book and studied the Mock Exams. Thank you so much, I wish everyone knew about you!

I passed the Case Study exam with 58% - thank you very much for the help!

Thank you for the tuition course. I managed to pass Case Study with a score of 78%, an improvement from 46% on my first attempt. I will recommend your course to fellow colleagues. Thanks again.

I passed Case with a mark of 61. Thank you for all your help and support - will definitely recommend you to others!

I passed my Case Study exam!! So happy and relieved, thanks very much!

I have passed Case Study at the first attempt only because of your company. Coming from academia, I had tremendous trouble accepting what the other tuition providers were doing or how they attempted to provide tuition. The combination of the Cracking Case book and the Mock Exam Pack can yield results if the student is willing to spend the required preparation  time.

I received my Case Study results today and achieved a pass mark of 74 which is higher than I ever imagined!! I didn't even think I would be able to pass let  alone anything else. The skills and techniques you taught were invaluable. The Mock Exam Pack was incredibly useful to get plenty of practice in before the main exam and the ERP was a very helpful summary of the Advance Information which saved me so much time in the exam. This was my first time sitting Case and I am so glad I chose to invest in the materials that you  provide.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, having passed my retake Case Study exam in July 2018. I took your online course and I will definitely recommend TIS to any student. I feel the feedback on a real time Mock Exam was very helpful. I got a good idea of how to hit points in the markscheme and how to write precise short points, in order to stick to the tight time window for this exam.

Happy to confirm that I passed Case! I found it a particularly tough exam so I don't know where I would have been without your mocks and guidance! Thank you again for all of the help!

I passed the Case Study exam and now have no more ACA exams to take!! Thank you so very much for the Mock Exam Pack, as well as the very useful TIS feedback that you gave me for the July 2018  sitting. I learned so much about the Case Study exam technique from your Mock Exams and am very grateful for all the help you have given me. Thank you again.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for your Case Study materials/Mock Exam Pack/TIS marking & feedback and personalised help - I passed with 63, compared to the 38 first attempt that I had with [XXXXXX]. Many thanks again!!

Many thanks to you. I purchased your Mock Exam Pack for the November 2019 sitting. I succeeded in my Case Study exam and increased my mark from 32 to 57. Thanks  a lot!

I bought your Cracking Case book and your Mock Exam Pack and they were worth every penny. I passed Case Study first time around. They gave me lots of tips about the best way to tackle the Case Study and what examiners wanted me to produce on the day. I would definitely not have passed the Case Study with just the notes and training I received from my previous tuition provider. I would recommend your books and Mock Exam Pack to anyone. Thank you for all your  help. Much appreciated.

I failed Case twice (with another provider) and did the True Taste Limited Case in November and finally passed! The course that you offered was exceptionally useful as the hints and tips provided by [tutor name] allowed you to get under the business and treat it as if it's your own. The Mock Exams also allowed me to stick to time and practice over and over again and gave me good  guidelines on how to set the Appendices and the markscheme gave you a good indication on whether I'm hitting those dreaded 40 Boxes.

I'm delighted to say that I passed my resit with the result of 65. I purchased your Cracking Case book, Exam Room Pack, Mock Exam Pack and TIS service for 2 Mock papers. Many thanks for your very helpful study materials and advice! Your methodology is indeed far superior to what I have seen previously.

I have purchased the Cracking Case book and the Mock Exam Pack. I cannot thank you enough for helping me pass Case Study following the process mentioned in the book (gospel-holy bible) along with taking a personal positive attitude and determination whilst attempting the 5 Mocks. I cannot stress enough how thankful I am since this was my sixth attempt, and your company was there for me at every query I made, showing a high level of professionalism.

I found Cracking Case and the Mock Exam Pack very useful in my preparation for my  exam!

Thank you! I am now a newly qualified accountant after passing my Case Study exam last Friday with 81% (first time). The Mock Exam Pack and techniques you taught me on the course really helped boost my confidence going into the exam.

I am pleased to say I passed with 80 marks! I can’t be more grateful your team for all the help in the study materials and I couldn’t imagine a better way to prepare! I have been a loyal user of your materials (esp the Exam Room Notes) for the Advanced Level examinations and they’re SUPER useful (scored 81 for  CR, 70 for SBM and CS score abovementioned), so a HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to the tutors for the hard work and dedication especially with such a challenging  time for the Case Study paper.

I recently purchased your Case Study Mock Exam Pack – brilliantly written and very funny! Thanks!

Many thanks for your help. The Mock Exam Pack and the TIS was very useful.

I got a 78 overall first time thanks to purchasing your Case Study materials! Definitely much more on the ball and clued up about the requirements and how to pass than my other provider. Will definitely recommend you to anyone doing Case Study.

Thank you so much, the Case Study Mock Exam Pack materials have been most helpful. Appreciate all your hard work.

Thanks for providing all the Case Study Mock Exams - they've been really helpful

Thank you so much for writing these Case Study Mocks (particularly during these unprecedented times). I have used your materials for BPT and all my Advanced Level exams and have always found them incredibly helpful!

The Mock Exam Pack was really helpful for my preparation – thank you!!

I’d just like to thank your team for their support and assistance in preparation of the August Case Study Exam. Through your help I managed to obtain a first-time pass (62%) and your Mock Exams were a real game changer for me, helping me feel extremely prepared when sitting for the exam. Due to the Mock Exams, I was extremely familiar with the Advance Information and was very comfortable under exam conditions too. Thanks so much!

I just wanted to personally send a note to express how grateful I am for your service! I bought the 5 Case Study Mock Exams for my resit. Confidence was at an all-time low after I failed the first time round with a 44% result, but the Mocks were massively helpful in my revision. The variety of questions were excellent for practice and the answer packs and markschemes were very thorough, targeted and exam technique focused and because of your help, I managed to get 80% in the Beal exam!

I found the Exam Room Pack very useful. In fact, once I’d read through it and could navigate it fairly proficiently, I didn’t really use anything else in the actual Case Study exam! The Mocks were invaluable too as the scenarios which came up in the real exam appeared in the Mocks in some way, shape or form. Thanks again.

I just wanted to send a massive thank you for helping me with the Case Study exam - I passed with 73%! Thank you so, so much for all your support ... of course, the 5 Mock Exams are THE KEY as these truly helped me so, so much in the exam. Doing the exam was just like doing Mock 6 for me and I was so well-practiced that it didn’t seem daunting, but just another practice test! I have already been suggesting to my juniors to definitely reach out to you when their Case Study exam time comes!

Thanks so much for the book and the Mock Exam Pack. I got 78% and could not have done it without your business. The book made sense and the Mock Exams got me match fit.

Having tried and failed with one of the Big Two providers I was very worried I would never pass. I was recommended your "Cracking Case" book and Case Study Mock Exam Pack and I am happy to say due to you, I have received a regional prize and cannot thank you enough. I would recommend you to anyone sitting the Case Study exam. The Mock Exam Pack is fantastic - I actually enjoyed doing them as I knew they were productive practice and I couldn't have felt any more confident when entering the exam room thanks to you.

I will certainly be recommending your resources - I don't think I would have been sufficiently prepared had I not purchased the Mock Exam Pack.

I have found your resources to be of great help and I will gladly pass on my recommendations to other ACA students.

Hope I pass Case Study using your book and Mock Exam Pack. I am using another tuition provider's Mock Exams but luckily last week I bought your Case Study  Mock Exam Pack. They are very very helpful and I believe the best.

I passed my Case Study exam which was my 2nd attempt (first time  with you) and scored 66% compared to my 1st attempt in November 2018 scoring 34%, so almost doubled my mark! The Cracking Case book was invaluable, I used it to create all my plans for the Mock Exams and used the key tips going forward for the actual exam. It really helped and it's amazing how you compile so much into one book. Everybody should purchase this book!

Both of the exam scenarios were in your Case Study Mock Exam Pack which was really helpful.

I just wanted to say thank you. I bought the July 2019 version of the Cracking Case book, Mock Exam Pack and Exam Room Pack for the July 2019 Case Study sitting - pleased to say I passed first time!

Thank you for taking the time to prepare the Mock Exam Pack and Cracking Case  resources, I found them very useful.

When I sat Case Study previously, I received no valuable technique or high level  tips (something your materials are full of) on the courses I attended with [XXX]. I actually enjoyed revising for the exam this time (using your method) as I had a clear approach when attempting past papers; the Mock Exams were fantastic. I received a "mock pack" of 2 Mock Exams from [XXX] which was 8 pages long so it was such a relief when I saw how detailed (198 pages in total) and focused the 5 Mock Exams provided by you were.

When I sat Case Study previously, I received no valuable technique or high level tips (something your materials are full of) on the courses I attended with [XXX]. I actually enjoyed revising for the exam this time (using your method) as I had a clear approach when attempting past papers; the Mock Exams were fantastic. I received a 'mock pack' of 2 Mock Exams from [XXX] which was 8  pages long so it was such a relief when I saw how detailed (198 pages in total) and focused the 5 Mock Exams provided by you were.

I was with another tuition provider through my employer but was really struggling  to get to grips with Case Study, particularly as I have a learning difficulty that made learning past paper sets of Advance Information a real challenge. Your Mock Exam Pack and Advance Information walkthroughs made all the difference. I ended up passing with 83% and don't think I could have managed any kind of pass without your materials.

I'm ecstatic to say I passed the Case Study exam and want to say thank you to Paradigm Shift for preparing the Mock Exam Pack as this played an  instrumental part in me passing the exam!

I have found the Mock Exam Pack and the Masterclass Live sessions to be really useful and will be recommending these to my colleagues in the year below.

Thank you for all your help. The Mock Exam Pack and the Exam Room Pack are both very useful and have really helped me prepare for the exam.

Wanted to pass on the great news to say I passed CR and Case! Thank you for your support and words of encouragement. Wanted to say those free sessions I was able to attend and the other 1-hour sessions were super useful and to the point! Additionally, the Mocks for Case gave me the confidence I needed to sit the exam. Continue what you are doing!

Thank you so much for providing such a wonderful Mock Exam Pack - finally passed this exam with 75% and I'm thrilled!

Just wanted to say I passed with 60% and couldn't be happier. The Masterclasses and Mock Exam Pack were vital to me passing and I wasn't anywhere near passing before I purchased them. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!

Just emailing to say I passed and wanted to thank you guys for making such useful materials! Honestly would not have passed without the Mock Exam Pack.

Thank you for taking the time to prepare the Mock Exam Pack and Cracking Case resources, I found them very useful.

Hope I pass Case Study using your book and Mock Exam Pack. I am using another tuition provider's Mock Exams but luckily last week I bought your Case Study Mock Exam Pack. They are very very helpful and I believe the best.

I found your Case Study Mock Exam Pack to be excellent preparation - thank you.

I passed my Case Study exam which was my 2nd attempt (first time with you) and scored 66% compared to my 1st attempt in November 2018  scoring 34%, so almost doubled my mark! The Cracking Case book was invaluable, I used it to create all my plans for the Mock Exams and used the key tips going forward for the actual exam. It really helped and it's amazing how you compile so much into one book. Everybody should purchase this book!

Thank you for your top quality product!

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Jag's Journey

Sharing my life experiences including the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification

How Difficult/Hard REALLY are the ICAEW ACA Exams? With ACA Exam Difficulty Ranking and Proven ICAEW ACA Pass Rates

Before reading, please note that this is an extremely subjective blog. What I find difficult another person may not and vice versa. Find the details of my academic background here if interested (no prior accounting experience ). Therefore, this is my personal opinion on how hard the ICAEW ACA exams are. I will also include ICAEW pass rates from the ICAEW website throughout to help give a clearer, more factual picture of ACA exam difficulty. Finally, I have ranked these exams in order of difficulty . I have shared my exam marks here too for further context!

This blog is grouped into the three ACA Levels ( Certificate , Professional and Advanced ) to discuss the ACA exam difficulty. For additional details on an individual module basis, please refer to those hyperlinked 15 ACA Exams Breakdown three part blogs.

Check out my YouTube video if you would prefer watching to reading!

Table of Contents

General difficulty of icaew aca exams, certificate level icaew pass rates, professional level icaew pass rates, advanced level icaew exam statistics, 15 aca exams difficulty ranking, aca exam difficulty wrap up.

The most common question I get asked around ACA exam difficulty is asking how hard the exams are with a comparison. For example, are ACA exams harder than university exams/A-Levels? It is worth mentioning that in my first blog I did mention the Level 7 ACA Apprenticeship is equivalent to a Masters . Therefore naturally you would think the ACA would be much harder.

Conversely, I think passing the exams is actually quite achievable . Although there were times I did not think this was the case when sitting the mock examinations. The struggle with ACA exams comes where you have to balance studying with a full time job and all the other ACA requirements. The difficulty can be intensified by having to sit more than one exam at once . I will be discussing these aspects in later blog posts so join the journey to find out more.

To answer the question how hard is the ACA as a whole, as a BSc Economics and Mathematics graduate with no prior accounting experience, the ACA exams are difficult. They are difficult but they are definitely passable and I did pass all exams first time with a lot of hard work to achieve this. The majority (70%+) of students in my graduate intake did too.

Note : If you are considering studying towards the ACA with no prior accounting experience , I would recommend reading this book I have written. It will teach you the basics of accounting and hopefully help you find out if you will have an interest in accounting before starting.

Back to the ACA, the content itself is not too complex if you are taught well and put in the time to learn it. I was taught by Kaplan and thought they were brilliant. There is just a lot of content in each exam and a lot to remember. Some exams are open book as discussed in previous blogs but the time pressure and extent of application adds difficulty.

Overall, I would say they are not significantly harder than university exams or even A-Levels . Off topic but I found A-Levels harder than university anyway.

How Difficult are the ICAEW ACA Exams?

The good thing about these exams is that ICAEW have many resources available to help you pass. There is a study manual and question bank full of plenty of practise questions for each exam as well as past papers and sample papers. Learning providers also provide further resources and assistance and hopefully my ACA blogs help too! You employer may also provide you with support through study days or extra notes to help. Essentially you should have all the information you need to do well in these exams if you put in the time to fully prepare.

Join my journey and I will send you some BPT notes and ACA Case Study help sheets if you need it!

Let’s now take a look at the different ACA Levels to assess ACA exam difficulty in greater detail.

Certificate Level ACA Exam Difficulty

Certificate Level exams are all predominantly multiple choice . This sounds easy but honestly these exams should not be underestimated. I would rank Management Information (MI) to be rank highly for ACA exam difficulty, see below. Some of these exams such as MI are not completely multiple choice and these other areas can actually be quite tricky. Additionally, as I did not have an accounting background there was a lot to learn and it can be seen as learning a new language. You must nail this to do well in the following Levels.

The ICAEW question banks are very helpful for these ACA modules. Sometimes questions from the question bank may appear in the real exam or may be very similar. I ensured to complete all question banks at least once through, sometimes twice. This involved non-stop question practice, even at train stations and all over. Others definitely did not do as much question practice but still passed. I do think though that with some good practice you should be fine for these exams. There is little time pressure at this stage.

However, that being said I do think these questions can be difficult. The different multiple choice options in the more wordy exams are sometimes very similar. It feels like ICAEW are trying to catch you out. Even with all the practice I was rarely certain I passed these exams because of this. The most similar comparison I can think of would be your driving theory test but these ACA exams are harder. The pass mark is 55% though which helps!

ICAEW have provided exam statistics for the Certificate Level exams. You do need to be an ICAEW member to access these for this Level. I will therefore not disclose these individual exam details but I will say the average ICAEW pass rate is above 80% . On a first attempt only basis, the ICAEW pass rate is higher but for re-sits it is quite a bit lower. This indicates if you fail once you are more likely to fail again. Additionally, Accounting (AC) and MI are have the lowest ICAEW pass rates so it is not just me who found MI tricky. Hopefully these statistics boost your confidence but like I said, you do need to work for it!

Professional Level ACA Exam Difficulty

The Professional Level exams are definitely a huge step up from Certificate Level and I would say they are much harder. There is a lot of content in these exams so there is of course a lot to learn. What makes them more difficult is the fact that they are quite time pressured too. Given the content and all of these factors, I do think these exams at a stretch can be compared to A-Levels/University exams.

Again with these exams and the question banks I do think they are definitely ones that can be passed with practice. The past exam papers tend to have a fairly similar structure and I would say they do not have many surprises. Different topics will come up year on year but it is a case of which one more than anything else. BPT is one I will discuss separately along with the Advanced Level exams. This is because this exam is slightly different to the rest of the Professional exams.

The Professional exams pass mark is 55% too. With these exams I am genuinely not sure if they are scaled ; I am unsure whether marks are inflated or deflated to ensure a set number of people pass. You will see the pass marks below are similar year on year but there is no proof of scaling. I can confirm that the exams are moderated as I was asked to be a moderator. This is where after passing the exams you will be asked to sit the same exam again and comment on the ACA exam difficulty. Perhaps this is why the ICAEW pass rate is usually similar.

The exam statistics I will be discussing are for the exam sittings I sat. These were in March 2019 and September 2019. I sat three Professional Level exams at a time and will discuss this intensity in a later blog . Join my journey so you do not miss this.

A lot of information can be drawn from the March 2019 statistics below. Firstly, all ICAEW pass rates are higher than 70% . This is often the case in all Professional sittings. You may be thinking “70% is surprisingly quite high so they must be easy”. No, the exams are NOT easy – fail to prepare, prepare to fail . The ICAEW pass rates are high because students are dedicated and want to pass so work hard. As mentioned , employers may be able to dismiss you for failing so this added pressure could again explain the high ICAEW pass rates. As with Certificate Level, the statistics indicate you are more likely to fail if you have failed already.

It is definitely important to minimise exam stress for these exams as it is easy to get overwhelmed.

These statistics include international students; students who English is a second language to. I would therefore say others in the UK are at an advantage as there is no language barrier. This also includes self-taught, independent students who do not have as much support as those with say Kaplan or BPP .

Moving onto September 2019 , we can see a similar trend. The ICAEW pass rate is higher than 70% for all except BPI. However, this is likely to be due to the number of students sitting the exam being so low. 

Advanced Level ICAEW Pass Rates

As mentioned, I will include BPT in my discussion of Advanced exams as well as Corporate Reporting (CR) and Strategic Business Management (SBM) . ACA Case Study is very different with many ways to fail but it too is passable with practice. Click here for my ICAEW Case Study Made Easy blog post for in depth details. Join my journey to get free Case Study ‘help sheets’ within a few days of joining.

These three exams (BPT, CR and SBM) are completely open book and have a great deal of content. These are somewhat similar to university exams where you have to learn say ten topics and only three will come up. However, these exams have many, many more topics that could come up and then only a few will be examined in detail. This is why the open book does help but it means you need an awareness of numerous areas.

A significant amount of question practice is needed for these exams, especially BPT where application is key . The question banks and past papers will help but they do vary massively paper to paper because of the amount of content. The exams are also ridiculously time pressured and this adds a lot of difficulty. Otherwise, the exams would definitely be much easier. The pass mark for BPT is 55% as it is within the Professional Level but the pass mark is 50% for CR and SBM.

Below I have ranked the exams by difficulty (1 being the hardest) but this is definitely going to be controversial. I have a feeling most people who have sat the exams will not agree with me completely. In all honestly, it is probably in order of which exam scarred me the most! I have therefore also added my mark out of 100 for context.

Note: if you are viewing off your mobile I would recommend rotating the screen for this…

When studying for BPT I was quite stressed by the amount of content. Click here to find out my study technique for BPT. With CR and SBM however, the content was fairly ok as I had learnt a lot of the content already during Professional Level. That being said, there is some difficult new content/standards taught in CR. Before even studying for CR and SBM I was made to sit a mock exam and actually passed! Professional exams are probably the biggest hurdle so by Advanced Level you should have the confidence to succeed.

That being said, I did almost fail CR and will be sharing why so again, join my journey!

When it comes to the exam itself, CR especially is quite hit and miss depending on what questions come up. I will be writing a blog about how I felt I almost failed the exam as mine was a big miss. I would however say Professional Level is harder than Advanced when revising for the exams as there is more to actually memorise . When sitting them though, the Advanced (CR mainly) threw me a lot more because of the difficult topics that came up and the immense time pressure.

The ICAEW Advanced statistics for August 2020 exams (my CR & SBM sitting) can be seen below. It can be seen that the ICAEW pass rate is again quite high at around 85% . Again, this definitely does not mean the exams are easy. This could be a reflection of students who have got to this stage would have the work ethic to pass. Additionally, the lower pass mark at 50% definitely helped me. For those who failed, it is likely they either had a bad day, were not prepared on those particular exam topic areas or messed up their timing.

To summarise, although ICAEW pass rates may seem high the ACA exams are still difficult . That being said, there should be enough resources available to you where if you put in the work you should be fine. You may of course have a bad day or a bad paper but hopefully the 55% or 50% pass mark helps.

I would love to hear whether you agree with my opinion on this so please comment below. It would also be great if you could add your own comparisons to help others get a better picture of what these exams are like.

If you would like to connect and talk to others , feel free to join the ACA LinkedIn group . Here you can also find details of ACA Telegram groups (essentially WhatsApp without phone numbers) where you can chat to other aspiring/Certificate/Professional/Advanced/qualified students!

If you found this blog helpful, feel free to  buy me a coffee  or  join my journey  for more!

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PASS RATES Please note that if say financial accounting pass rate is 70%, I would then say caveat emptor. This 70% is made up from 1st Timers, failed first time resit, failed second time resit, referrals first resit, referrals second resit etc etc. What is the weighting for each? who knows but resits have much to lose so you could say are desperate to pass. This doesn’t minimise first timers’ eagerness to pass, but you get the general idea.

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