A year ago, I started my graduate scheme as a Forensic and Litigation Consultant. In short, this means that I investigate financial crime, whether that be fraud, corruption, bribery, or money laundering to name a few. One of the benefits of this grad scheme is that at the end of the three years, I will (hopefully) become qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Initially, I didn't actually see this as a great benefit as I felt that it tied me down for 3 years, however the more I considered it, the more grateful I became for this opportunity. The ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant) qualification is a very valued and renowned qualification, and not only leads to career development and increased opportunities, but also provides a varied education in areas such as Law, Tax, and Business Management. Since starting the job, I've also come to appreciate the variety offered between work and study, and given that I'd spent the last 22 years in education (and learnt how to succeed in it), I am now excited to work towards this qualification.
The ACA consists of three different levels: the Certificate Level consists of 6 multiple-choice exams, which are often taken within the first year, followed by the Professional Level, which consists of a further 6 exams, and lastly the Advanced Level, which consists of 3 open-book (but very challenging) exams. This post will provide tips specifically for the Certificate Level exams.
Certificate Level
These exams have a pass rate of 55% and are multiple-choice, meaning that they aren't too difficult to pass compared to the later exams. Nonetheless, I'd recommend taking study leave over weekends if possible, in order to maximise the available revision time, as although these exams aren't necessarily difficult, they do require time to cram in the content or practice questions.
Law
This was the first exam that I did, as everyone told me that this was the easiest to pass. Granted, I did get 84%, however there were so many small facts to remember, which required a significant amount of time so that I could understand (and cram) the information until I felt confident enough to take the exam. I was also the first of the graduates to take the exam and didn't want to be the first to fail (although in the end none of us failed any of the Certificate level exams). The great thing about law is that the exam can be taken remotely whenever is most convenient, and the exam can be completed in about 30 minutes, instead of the assigned 1.5 hours.
Accounting
I had only done one module of Accounting in my life up until this exam, which was during my Master's, however I actually quite enjoyed it. We attended 'college' virtually with First Intuition, which lasted about 5 days from 9.30am-4.15pm. These short days were lovely while they lasted, and the teacher was very enthusiastic and engaging. Although we were advised to revise after college everyday, I had plans and so only started revising on the weekend, but this exam is definitely a case of getting in as much practice as possible. I've always preferred mathematical exams in which there's a clear right or wrong answer, however this exam is much more time-pressured than the others and I had to rush through the last couple of questions. I also took the exam in-centre, which I'd definitely recommend as you can use a physical calculator and scrap paper, whereas if taken remotely you have to use a 'whiteboard' and calculator on screen which takes up a lot of time (n.b. this is now no longer the case as they have since updated the rules to allow the use of a whiteboard and calculator for remote exams). I also knew I'd messed up the long question, which threw me off slightly, but I ended up getting 87%, showing that the multiple choice questions count for a lot
Assurance
This was one of my favourite exams to revise for as it all made intuitive sense and was quick to go through. I also attended college for this exam, however I wanted to complete it the same evening that college ended (remotely), so I went over the last couple of chapters online by myself and worked independently instead of attending the last day of college. This exam is similar to law in that it can also be completed in 30 minutes and requires a lot of memorisation, however unlike law, I just barely passed. I was fairly confident going into this exam as I'd gone through the question bank twice, completed the three mocks, and attempted all of the online questions and progress tests, achieving above 70% throughout. Nonetheless, the first half of my exam was very difficult (I remember throughout the exam thinking that I'd failed) which threw me off until about halfway, after which the questions were much easier and gave me hope for a pass. Shockingly, assurance was has been my worst grade thus far, scraping through at 57%.
Business, Technology and Finance (BTF)
BTF was one of my favourite exams and was fairly easy to study for, despite having a lot of content. The good thing about BTF is that it's mostly facts-based, so it's simply a memory game and the exam itself is very quick to sit as well. I personally prefer a 'little and often' approach for content-heavy exams as I feel that after a few hours of revision my brain stops memorising new information and so spending many hours a day studying is pointless. This also allowed me to really enjoy my study leave (as much as one can in lockdown), going for walks with friends and having a proper break. I spent a few hours the weekend before my study leave watching all of the lectures on First Intuition's online learning website in 2x speed, so that when my 4.5 days of study leave started I was already ahead of the game. I also took my study leave starting on a Friday until the following Thursday afternoon which gave me an additional two days to study in case I needed it. I then spent the first two days of study leave reading the course notes aloud, which is how I've revised for every exam since my GCSEs as it prevents me from getting distracted and means I can get through all of the content quicker than watching the videos. After reading each chapter aloud, I tried to answer the questions in the question bank to see how I'd fare and show me the areas that I needed to concentrate on. I spent the following two days rewatching all of the lectures and completing all of the Progress Tests, 'Test your Understanding' questions and question bank, and the final two days reading through my notes and taking the three mock exams. This sounds very intense, but in reality I only revised until the early afternoon and I had time to watch films, go on longer runs, and see friends so it actually wasn't stressful at all. Having a plan enabled me to be productive in a shorter amount of time and I even managed to take an afternoon off and leave an extra half day of study leave for MI instead.
Management Information (MI)
Management Information is one of the more mathsy exams at the Certificate Level and definitely requires more time than the others. The exam consists of one long question, which is worth 20%, and 32 short, multiple-choice questions, which together are worth 80%. Of all of the Certificate Level exams, I was most stressed studying for this one simply because it took a lot of time just to get through the questions. This was the only study leave in which I didn't have time to see mates in the afternoon, although I also started revising a lot later than usual due to a minor injury. Some of my colleagues found that some of the concepts just took a while to click, whereas for me I actually enjoyed the majority of the content but just couldn't find the motivation to rote learn the variances tables. I followed a similar study strategy as for BTF, but I only watched through the lectures once and didn't have time to do all of the long-form practice questions. I had only a couple of hours between booking the exam and sitting it, during which I finally sat down and went over the variances tables; this ended up being my saving grace as my long form question was on variances (it can be on one of four different topics) and this exam ended up being my highest grade at 92%. I would definitely recommend giving yourself more time for MI than the others and doing a lot of question practice.
Principles of Taxation (PoT)
This was the last Certificate Level exam that I took as I was advised to leave it as close to the 'Tax Compliance' (TC) Professional Level exam as possible. Therefore, a few weeks before starting college for TC I decided to tackle this final Certificate Level exam. This content was quite fiddly and I needed an extra day or two on top of my 4 days of study leave in order to feel confident enough to sit the exam. Although I'd definitely recommend a lot of question practice, I'd also make sure to take the time to understand the principles beforehand, especially as they can be quite confusing until you get your head around them (after which point question practice is much more straightforward). The tax tables are extremely useful, particularly for the administration points (which was the chapter that I found the most boring), so I'd recommend using them during question practice, in order to be able to navigate quickly through them by the exam sitting.
Overall, try not to stress too much about these exams as although the quantity of content can seem overwhelming, the 55% pass rate is very manageable and plenty of question practice will get you through!
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