ACA (ICAEW, UK) (ACA-ICAEW)

What you will practice:

Build core double-entry and financial statement preparation skills used throughout the ACA.

• Double-entry bookkeeping, ledgers, journals, and trial balance
• Adjustments: accruals, prepayments, provisions and irrecoverable debts
• Inventory and non-current assets (including depreciation basics)
• Bank reconciliations, correction of errors and suspense accounts
• Preparing basic financial statements and interpreting results

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Understand why assurance is needed and how engagements are planned, evidenced and reported at a foundation level.

• Purpose of assurance and types/levels of assurance engagements
• Ethics, independence and professional conduct (fundamentals)
• Planning assurance work and understanding the entity and its environment
• Internal controls overview and basic testing approaches
• Evidence basics, analytical procedures and reporting fundamentals

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Learn how organisations operate and how finance and technology support decision-making and control.

• Business objectives, stakeholders, governance and performance measures
• Role of the finance function and how finance supports operations and strategy
• External environment: economic, regulatory and competitive drivers
• Technology in business: systems, data, controls and limitations
• Risk awareness including cyber and data risks (intro level)

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Develop costing, budgeting and decision-support skills for planning and performance management.

• Cost classification, cost behaviour and basic costing methods
• Pricing concepts, break-even and cost-volume-profit analysis
• Budgeting, forecasting and budgetary control
• Variance analysis (intro) and performance measurement
• Relevant costing for short-term decisions

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Understand the objectives of UK taxation and the fundamentals of the main personal and business taxes.

• UK tax system overview, administration and compliance cycle (intro)
• Income tax fundamentals and common reliefs (intro)
• National Insurance contributions basics
• Capital gains tax fundamentals and chargeable gains concepts
• Corporation tax and VAT fundamentals (intro level)

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Learn the legal framework relevant to business and professional practice, including companies and contracts.

• Sources of law and the court structure (overview)
• Contract law: formation, terms, breach and remedies
• Tort basics relevant to professionals (negligence and duty of care)
• Company law: incorporation, directors, shareholders and constitution
• Insolvency overview and legal risk in business

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Apply audit and assurance standards in planning, performing and concluding engagements.

• Regulatory and professional framework; ethics and quality management
• Engagement acceptance, terms of engagement and professional scepticism
• Risk assessment, materiality and audit planning
• Controls evaluation, tests of controls and substantive procedures
• Completion and reporting: going concern, subsequent events and audit opinions

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Develop applied planning and advisory skills by focusing on one business planning pathway.

• Choose ONE pathway: Taxation or Banking or Insurance
• Analyse business models, risks and performance drivers
• Develop practical recommendations using professional judgement
• Apply ethical and legal considerations in advisory work
• Communicate advice clearly and professionally

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Develop strategic analysis and implementation skills, including technology-enabled change and transformation.

• Strategic analysis: environment, industry, resources and stakeholders
• Strategic choice: evaluating options, positioning and growth
• Implementation: structure, systems, change and project governance
• Technology strategy, data strategy and digital transformation (applied)
• Technology risk: cyber, data governance and control implications

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Prepare and interpret financial statements and apply reporting requirements using an applicable framework.

• Ethics and professional judgement in reporting decisions
• Single-entity financial statements including cash flows (applied)
• Key recognition and measurement areas (e.g., revenue, leases, impairment, provisions)
• Group reporting fundamentals: subsidiaries, associates and intragroup adjustments
• Interpretation and analysis of published financial statements

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Apply finance techniques for funding, investment decisions, working capital and risk management.

• Financing options and capital structure considerations
• Cost of capital and valuation fundamentals
• Working capital management and liquidity planning
• Investment appraisal: NPV, IRR, sensitivity and scenario analysis
• Financial risk management basics (FX and interest rate risk)

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Develop applied compliance capability across major UK taxes, including computations and practical filing considerations.

• Ethics and law in compliance work and disclosures
• Income tax and NIC computations (applied compliance focus)
• Corporation tax computations and return preparation
• Capital taxes computations and common adjustments
• VAT compliance, deadlines, penalties and enquiry basics

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Handle complex corporate reporting scenarios and apply judgement in high-stakes reporting decisions.

• Complex financial reporting compliance and judgement-heavy scenarios
• Advanced analysis and interpretation of financial statements
• Group reporting complexities and accounting estimates
• Wider corporate reporting considerations (including narrative reporting)
• Ethical implications and stakeholder impact of reporting choices

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Make board-level strategic and financial recommendations using integrated strategy, finance, governance and risk thinking.

• Strategic analysis and management decision-making at organisational level
• Financial strategy, value creation and funding strategy
• Business valuation and investment considerations (advanced application)
• Risk management, governance and assurance linkages
• Ethical decision-making and professional judgement under pressure

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.

What you will practice:

Integrate knowledge across the ACA syllabus to diagnose issues, evaluate options and communicate recommendations.

• Integrative scenario analysis using financial and non-financial information
• Diagnosis of business problems, risks, constraints and stakeholder impacts
• Option development, evaluation and clear recommendations
• Professional judgement and ethical decision-making
• Structured report writing and communication of conclusions

Tip: After topic practice, do mixed sets under time pressure and review missed questions immediately.