ICAEW ACA Certificate Level After the 2025 Changes: New Paper Names and How to Prepare

In 2025 ICAEW began moving the ACA to its Next Generation ACA syllabus, and the Certificate Level looks different as a result. Some modules have new names, one has been withdrawn, and a new module on sustainability and ethics has arrived. If you are starting the ACA, or picking it back up after a break, this guide maps the old names to the new ones and explains how to prepare. It is as of October 2026. ICAEW's student pages on icaew.com have the definitive list of modules, exam details and transition arrangements, and you should check your own student record for how any modules you have already passed have been credited.

The Certificate Level Modules Now

Under the Next Generation ACA, the Certificate Level is made up of these modules:

Accounting Fundamentals
Assurance and Risk Fundamentals
Business Law
Business Insight and Performance
Sustainability and Ethics
Tax Fundamentals

Old Name to New Name

For students who started on the previous syllabus, or who are using older study materials, this is the broad mapping:

Accounting became Accounting Fundamentals.
Assurance became Assurance and Risk Fundamentals, with a clearer emphasis on risk.
Law became Business Law.
Management Information became Business Insight and Performance.
Principles of Taxation became Tax Fundamentals.
Business, Technology and Finance was withdrawn in September 2025. Its content has been spread across the new syllabus.
Sustainability and Ethics is new.

The mapping is about names and broad scope. It is not a guarantee that the content is identical. Each new module has its own syllabus and learning outcomes, so if you are using old textbooks or question banks, check them against the current syllabus before relying on them.

What Has Actually Changed

Sustainability is now a core subject

Sustainability and Ethics brings ESG reporting frameworks, sustainability concepts and governance into the Certificate Level alongside the ICAEW Code of Ethics. For many students, this is the least familiar module, because it is not covered by typical university accounting courses. Do not leave it to the end assuming it will be easy reading. The questions test precise frameworks and definitions.

More emphasis on business insight

Business Insight and Performance goes beyond the costing and budgeting techniques of the old Management Information module and asks you to use them to understand how a business is performing. Expect to interpret results, not only calculate them.

Risk is part of assurance

Assurance and Risk Fundamentals keeps the core of assurance (engagements, evidence, internal controls and ethics) and gives risk a more central place. Questions often ask which risk a control addresses, or which procedure gives the best evidence for a given risk.

The Exams

Certificate Level modules are assessed by computer-based exams made up of objective questions, which you book on demand. ICAEW sets out the duration, question types and pass mark for each module in its exam guidance. Historically, the Certificate Level pass mark has been 55%, which is higher than many students expect; confirm the current figure for each module on icaew.com. Credit for prior learning may exempt you from some modules if you hold a relevant degree or qualification, and ICAEW's credit checker will tell you which.

How to Prepare

1. Use the current syllabus as your checklist

Print the learning outcomes for your module and tick them off as you cover them. This matters more than usual after a syllabus change, because older resources may include topics that have moved and miss ones that are new.

2. Study in short cycles with questions

Objective tests reward accurate recall under time pressure. After each chapter, do a short set of questions straight away, then revisit the same chapter a few days later. The spaced repetition guide explains why this works so well for objective exams.

3. Learn the precise wording

In Business Law and Sustainability and Ethics, options are often close paraphrases of each other. Learn the exact conditions: what makes a contract void rather than voidable, or which principle of the Code applies to a given threat.

4. Practise calculations until they are quick

Accounting Fundamentals and Business Insight and Performance both include number-based questions. Practise until you can do routine calculations, such as depreciation, accruals, contribution and variances, without hesitating, so you have time for the harder ones.

5. Finish with timed mixed sets

In the last week or two, take mixed timed tests across the whole module. Track your score by syllabus area and spend your remaining time on the weakest.

Free Practice for the New Modules

We have free question banks for five of the six Certificate Level modules, built on the Next Generation syllabus:

Tax Fundamentals is not covered yet. For a daily habit, try the ICAEW daily challenge, and if you want unlimited timed mocks, see Pro. All ICAEW resources are collected on the ICAEW hub.

FAQs

What replaced ICAEW Business, Technology and Finance?
BTF was withdrawn in September 2025 and is not directly replaced. Its content has been spread across the Next Generation syllabus, and Sustainability and Ethics has been added as a new module.

Is Management Information still an ICAEW exam?
Its successor is Business Insight and Performance. Check the current syllabus, because the scope has changed as well as the name.

What is the ICAEW Certificate Level pass mark?
It has historically been 55%. Confirm the current pass mark for each module on icaew.com.

I passed old modules before the change. Do I need to retake them?
ICAEW has published transition arrangements for existing students. Check your student record and ICAEW's transition guidance to see how your passes have been credited.

Can I use old ICAEW study materials?
With care. Compare them with the current learning outcomes, because content has moved between modules.