Your enhanced ACA

PQ magazine recently sat down with ICAEW’s Shaun Robertson to talk about the Next Gen ACA qualification.

Shaun Roberston is ICAEW Director, Education and Qualifications (pictured), so if there is anyone who knows everything you need to know about the Next Gen ACA qualification it is him.

In a fireside chat with PQ magazine editor Graham Hambly, he explained that the ICAEW really did go out there with a blank piece of paper, and asked what stakeholders wanted – no holds barred! The introduction of the Specialised Learning element of the new qualification is for him proof positive that something radical has begun. It came from stakeholders wanting to match personal learning, flexibility and specialisation.

The Specialised Learning units (students need to complete 30 units across their training) will allow learners to tailor technical, professional and sector specific skills to the areas they want to develop. Robertson stressed: “While other bodies seem to be putting in a few more options into their exams, we have gone down the specialist route.”

What will really help is that units will evolve and change at lightning speed. Robertson explained: “Who would have thought learning about tariffs eight months ago would have been useful? Well, we can create a unit explaining how trade tariffs work and have it on the site in weeks.”

For him, this also allows students to match their skills to the real job world, ultimately making them more employable.

When you compare the old with the new syllabus there is one less exam – students sit 14 rather than 15 exams. However, Robertson is excited about the three case study exams (instead of one in the old syllabus), which are again there to help future members develop those all-important professional, real-world skills.

But he stressed the fundamentals are still there; the new, earlier case study helps to bring them together.

The financial accounting and reporting stream has five exams in total (two more than the old syllabus), which is another way of helping students build their competence step-by-step.

The separate Sustainability and Ethics exam helps show the importance ICAEW is placing on this subject, says Robertson.

And we haven’t even seen the new Technology Hub, which will give students the ability to develop their digital skills in a safe ‘sandbox’ environment. That comes online this December, he revealed.

So, what are the timetables for the transition of the Next Gen ACA exams? Robertson explained some Certificate Level students have already sat exams, and he is monitoring the results to ensure they are ‘fair, pragmatic and equitable’. The Professional Level exams begin in March 2026, and Advanced Level exams will run from July 2027.

What is clear talking to Robertson is that ICAEW really listened to ensure it made the bold changes it needed to the qualification. And, ultimately, Next Gen ACA will prepare future chartered accountants for the new realities of business, especially with the added focus on sustainability, ethics and digital skills.

To find out more go to: https://www.icaew.com/learning-and/development/aca/next-generationaca