The ACA Qualification Background

1
The ACA QualificationBackground

2
What has the market said it wants?

• Attractive to best students
• Relevant
• Flexibility in training
• Rigorous
• Cost effective
• Rapid implementation (some key players)

3
What are we offering?

• Focus on business advisory skills
• New Professional Stage
• New Advanced Stage
• Integration of technical skills with business
• New way of learning and assessment

4
How will we meet market needs?

• Professional Stage
• Advanced Stage taken as a whole
• Advanced learning in context of work
• Advanced Case Study
• Test of Advanced Technical Competence
• Learning materials provided by ICAEW
• Reduced Study Leave

5
Features

• Professional Stage examination papers may be
  taken at more than one sitting
• Early hurdle option retained
• Credit accumulation
• Credit for Business Management
• Commercial Law Company Law completed before
  Advanced Stage
• Test of Advanced Technical Competence normally
  taken before Advanced Case Study
• Advanced Case Study in final year of training
  contract

6
Vision for Professional Stage
Concepts principles - How they originate -
Purposes they serve - Consequences that flow from
them - Problems to which they give rise
7
Professional Stage

• Replaces TC1 and the Non-Core
• Examinations in
• Accounting
• Audit Assurance
• Business Finance
• Financial Reporting
• Taxation
• Business Management

8
Devolved Assessments

• The only devolved assessments will be
• Commercial Law
• Company Law

9
Vision for Advanced Stage

• Break down subject tunnel vision
• Relevance to work place
• Linked to business issues

10
Traditional Approach
A FR
Tax
Business
11
Holistic approach
Business topic
A FR
Tax
12
Advanced Stage

• Replacing TC2 and FAE.
• 2 assessments
• Test of Advanced Technical Competence
• Advanced Case study

13
Learning Materials

• Close loop between syllabus, learning
  assessment
• More focused learning
• More effective learning
• Flexibility

14
Why provide the learning materials?

• Close gaps between syllabus, learning
  assessment
• Enhanced role for examiners
• Ensure involvement of firms
• Maintain relevance
• Gold standard

15
Learning Materials

• Full course pack provided by ICAEW. Will include
• Study pack
• Study guide
• Question Bank for learning purposes
• Revision notes
• Mock exam papers set by teaching organisations
• Supplementary facilities provided on-line by ICAEW

16
Study Leave
Specified by ICAEW - 15 weeks _at_ professional
Stage - 12.5 days per paper - 4 weeks Test of
Advanced Technical Competence - 3 weeks Case
Study consolidation Total 22 weeks Learning
materials designed to this scale
17
Members perspective

• A qualification for all sizes of firm
• A unitary qualification
• Sustained rigour - ACA not dumbed down
• Reduced costs
• PAC route attractive to smaller firms

18
Benefits to trainees

• Coherent learning
• Enhanced Institute guidance
• No cramming
• More relevant
• Added value

19
Can we deliver?

• Role of Examiners
• Role of Tutors
• Editorial Control
• Technical accuracy
• Partnership with firms to respond to market needs
  and remain relevant
• Role of the web
• Project management

20
How does it fit with the June vote?

• A qualification for all sizes of firm
• A unitary qualification
• Sustained rigour

21
A Unitary Qualification

• The same learning outcomes apply toall students
• All students take the same assessments
• All students will access the same learning
  materials

22
So, Is the ACA being Dumbed Down?

• NO - THE QUALIFICATION DEMANDS
• High level technical and business skills
• Continuous learning in the work place
• Rigorous assessment methods
• Broad and deep technical knowledge

23
When?

• SEPTEMBER 2000 INTAKE
• September 2000 Start new Professional Stage
• December 2000 1st Professional Stage exams
  (12-14th)
• July 2001 New Advanced Stage begins
• November 2001 1st Test of Advanced Technical
  Competence available
• July 2002 1st Advanced case Study (transfers)
• November 2002 1st Advanced Case Study (new
  students)

24
Can Students Transfer from TC1?

• Yes
• Maximum flexibility
• Details set out in FAQs at www.icaew.co.uk
• Many students will benefit from transfer

25
Conclusions

• The new ACA will be rigorous, demanding,
  relevant, cost-effective
• The new ACA will safeguard/enhance the ACA brand
  in the market place
• ICAEW committed to and able to deliver

26
Education Training

• Discussion Topic

27
Threats Opportunities
Think competition - other accountancy bodies -
other forms of training - global
28
Think the Unthinkable
What is the role of a professional accountancy
body its training in the 21st Century? What
will happen to traditional accountancy markets
e.g. audit? Where are our principal training
clients going?
29
Big or small Institute?
30
Digital Tecnology

• Successes and Failures

31
Successes

• Horizon desktop rolled out to schedule
• Members Only website launched on schedule
• Re-designed Public Access site launched to time
• Good base technology for exploitation of the web
• Improved communication between BIS clients

32
Failures Infrastructure

• Desktop network in CAH
• E-Mail problems
• Time to fix

33
Failures Web

• Sites out of date
• Technology not being used
• No fast access for updates (press releases)
• Lack of resource support
• - central
• - within units

34
Solutions Infrastructure

• Major external review of network structure
  (recommendations implemented)
• Major external review of E-Mail (recommendations
  being implemented)
• Major external review of IS strategy (being
  started)
• Network management outsourced

35
Solutions Web
Thats down to you!!
Think Web