Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
ICAEW chartered accountants are always in demand and the ACA qualification equips students to perform at the highest levels of accountancy, business and finance.
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Key Course Details
The ACA qualification from the ICAEW is a premium, gold standard accountancy qualification that qualifies you as a chartered accountant. USW is recognised as an ICAEW Partner in Learning and our students have won multiple awards, including awards for the highest marks in Wales.
DESIGNED FOR
Students who wish to perform at the highest levels of accountancy, business and finance.
In partnership with
- ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
Career Paths
- Chartered Accountant
Skills taught
- Audit
- Taxation
Module Overview
To qualify as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant students are required to complete:
- 15 examinations
- 450 days of technical work experience, which you gain by obtaining a training contract with an appropriate employer
- Professional development (delivered through ICAEW or your employer)
- Ethics and professional scepticism programme (delivered through ICAEW)
- The ACA Qualification comprises three examination levels – Certificate, Professional and Advanced.
CFAB is the entry qualification for ACA. Students are able to obtain exemptions from all six CFAB modules by studying our innovative, internally assessed Cert HE (Professional Accounting). Under this scheme, students study six modules between Sept-June. Details can be found in our Professional Accounting course information brochure.
Professional level papers will generally be taught for one day per week, with a block revision period at the end of each paper.
- Audit and Assurance
- Tax Compliance
- Financial Accounting and Reporting
- Financial Management
- Business Planning: Taxation
- Business Strategy and Technology
Students are required to study a number of technical areas, which are then examined together in the Corporate Reporting and Strategic Business Management papers. These papers aim to simulate real-life business and accounting practice environments. Advanced level papers will generally be taught for one day per week, with a block revision period at the end of each paper. --
- Corporate Reporting
- Strategic Business Managemen
- Case Study
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
Our blended delivery model includes a mix of classroom-based tuition plus interactive online elements, with students only required to attend face to face classes in periodic weeks. Our online tuition includes bespoke, pre-recorded lectures, weekly virtual classrooms, discussion boards and pastoral and subject tutor support. All face-to-face classes will also be broadcast live and recorded to suit students studying at distance.
Assessment
Professional Level:
Modules are assessed by computer-based exams. Each exam is two-and-a-half hours long, except for the Financial Accounting and Reporting paper which is assessed by a three-hour exam.
Advanced Level:
Consists of two technical integration papers and a case study
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Teaching staff
Our professional accounting teaching team includes nine qualified accountants and a qualified solicitor, who have significant industry and accounting practice experience, as well as significant experience of teaching professional accountancy qualifications.
Question practice reinforces technical knowledge and exam technique each week on all our programmes. The learning environment here is friendly and supportive, and we can offer an exceptional level of pastoral support.
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Facilities
Our tuition fees include the provision of a wide range of ICAEW published materials per paper, including study manuals, question banks, course exams, unseen questions and mock exams.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Typical qualification requirements:
The most popular entry route to the qualification is a good undergraduate honours degree (1st or 2:1), but entry is also available to people with no qualifications, A-level school leavers, AAT graduates, apprentices, and members of other Chartered bodies. Trainees are ultimately required to enter a training contract with an approved employer.
Completion of the AAT qualification gives exemption from up to 5 of the ACA exams.
You must apply for student membership and exemptions (where applicable) with ICAEW before joining the course. Visit www.icaew.com for more information.
Additional requirements include:
Please note that whilst this course does not require a DBS Check for entry, some professions will not consider candidates who have certain types of criminal convictions. Therefore, if you have a criminal conviction and you are considering a particular career path we would recommend that you check with the relevant professional body or refer to their recruitment policy to make sure that your conviction will not disadvantage you.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
*Obligatory
Students will be required to pay separately for ICAEW student membership, exemption and external examination fees. For the latest information, visit: https://careers.icaew.com/en/how-to-become-a-chartered-accountant/cost-of-the-aca
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
There is an online application process for this course. Please choose the application form for your preferred start date and mode of study (i.e. full-time or part-time).
International admissions
Please see our international admissions advice for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.
Studying at USW
Our courses are designed with industry leaders and provide the practical skills and experiences industry demands. Our flexible courses reflect the need for life-long learning. If you value education in practice, not just in theory, then USW is for you.