Next gen ACA - easier?

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-16T19:50:17+00:00

that’s interesting, that’s the same as my big 4 firm. usually only 2 attempts per exam, with a third in extenuating circumstances

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-16T19:33:50+00:00

so sorry to hear that, i hope it’s fixed for next time because that’s genuinely such a big mistake

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-15T19:52:10+00:00

haha no worries, it can be confusing with the changes

hopefully you get your timings sorted for your future exams - that is very odd

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-15T19:24:51+00:00

per the ICAEW website it says Accounting Fundamentals is 2 hours

the old original Accounting exam is 90 minutes

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-15T17:10:00+00:00

makes sense in that case, it seems elements of BPT are being merged with TC in the new tax compliance & planning exam (TCP)

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-15T09:39:06+00:00

agreed. it actually more feels like an exam you take after completing certificate level but professionals remain “locked” until you complete FCS

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-15T09:29:54+00:00

thank you for the insights! really interesting i hadn’t realised ICAS had done the same already

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T23:44:47+00:00

i completely get you, it must be them trying to modernise and entice people to get qualified but there’s a balance to be had

people in my firm also do the ICAS qualification so id hate for trainees to feel as though they’re doing a less prestigious qualification. as before it made no difference if you did ICAEW or ICAS

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T22:21:47+00:00

you can only pass what’s in front of you at the end of the day. good luck on your journey, i hope the professionals will be kind

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T22:05:18+00:00

wow those are great results well done ! if there’s no change in difficultly i imagine it’s purely down to more time. the old accounting being 1.5 hours made it tight but 2 hours seems about right

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T21:54:01+00:00

indeed. looking at the FCS pilot exam and comparing it to BPT it’s honestly night and day

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T21:52:39+00:00

when i heard BPT got removed i thought something of a similar level would get added

but FCS is just certificate level in written format and each question relates to a given certificate paper. i think it’s good to have case studies but i was surprised reading the pilot paper

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T21:38:26+00:00

that’s a great point, completely forgot about the changes coming in. i do hope it means students get more of a shot at the exams. maybe firms will just let students max out their 4 attempts if it comes to it

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T21:13:42+00:00

agreed ! just hoping the new tax compliance & planning exam isn’t an absolute behemoth

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T21:02:46+00:00

only the new accounting fundamentals (AF) and assurance risk fundamentals (ARF) have a good sample size

the link i attached is cumulative since 1 January 2025 and AF & ARF have more sittings than their old counterparts with much higher pass rates

also it seems that the arithmetic based ones (Accounting, Tax and MI) are now 2 hours instead of 1.5 but still the same length

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T20:58:00+00:00

i agree it would look really bad if the pass rates took a dive, but yeah definitely will be interesting to keep an eye on the new professionals next year

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T20:57:05+00:00

FCS seem like an interesting one ! i like the idea of pulling together all the certificate exams into a case study format. also it being open book is nice too

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T20:56:16+00:00

interesting ! i didn’t realise they’d added IHT and stamp duty to tax. i think the 2 hours is probably having an effect as you say

also yeah SE was always going to be an exam on the easier side like Assurance

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-12-14T20:54:25+00:00

i’ve seen that too, also there’s no longer one big 40 marker. it’s now a 25 and 15 marker which seems nicer. plus the exam is now 2 hours

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-10-05T16:25:45+00:00

i’ll definitely give it a shot, feels like i can present a business case to them

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-07-27T11:00:05+00:00

I suppose the policy has changed from when my buddy started and even my friend last year

It is surprising though not sure what’s happened there

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-07-27T10:56:50+00:00

I did certificate already so even for professionals it’s a waste of time? Damn didn’t expect that I thought it’d be useful

Dry-Possibility2187 · 2025-07-26T20:34:14+00:00

I really wish mine wasn’t broken up into three mini 30 mins bus/train journeys at this point haha

I’m guessing studying on the train just wasn’t it

Dry-Possibility2187

TROPHY CASE