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ACA

Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA ICAEW)

Are you looking to progress in your accountancy career? The ACA qualification will give you the skills to become a chartered accountant, opening the doors to a rewarding and successful career path.

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  • UK's largest ACA training provider

    Over 10,000 students studied with us in 2017

About ACA

ACA is a great option if you're looking to become a chartered accountant and work in accountancy and finance. It opens a wealth of opportunities, as you can specialise in specific areas or sectors, or work broadly across multiple industries. It consists of three levels: Certificate, Professional, and Advanced. You'll also need to have 450 practical work experience days. It'll take around three years to complete the qualification.

If you've studied AAT, or studied a relevant degree at university (accountancy, economics, business), you can progress straight onto studying ACA. Some companies allow you to start ACA training, providing you have a 2.1 degree (or 2.2 with some businesses), in any discipline. We provide training for all levels, and we offer three study methods to suit your lifestyle: Classroom, Live Online and OnDemand.

ACA is made up of three levels:

You'll be introduced to the essentials of accountancy, finance, and businesses. You'll learn about double-entry accounting, assurance, business and technology, law, management, and taxation. This level takes around one year to complete.

Once you've passed this level, you can work in roles such as assistant management accountant and junior account assistant, with salaries of up to £25,000. If you want to progress further, you can study ACA Professional.

Find out more about ACA Certificate

This level teaches you how to apply technical knowledge to real-life scenarios. You'll deepen your knowledge on financial reporting, audit and assurance, tax compliance, finance management, business strategy, and business planning. This level takes around one year to complete.

Upon completing this level, you can work as a part qualified management accountant, group accountant, and financial tax accountant, with salary a of up to £32,500. If you want to continue studying ACA, you can move onto the final level, ACA Advanced.

Find out more about ACA Professional

ACA Advanced will give you the skills to understand how accountancy and finance works within businesses. You'll learn about corporate reporting and strategic business management, and take a case study, which tests your overall knowledge. This level takes around one year to complete.

You'll become eligible for chartered accountancy status upon qualifying. You'll be able to work in exciting roles such as auditor, forensic accountant, financial accountant, and tax specialist. You can work in many industries like charities, the public sector, SMEs, and large corporations. You can expect your salary to be around £45,000 upon qualifying, rising to £80,000 and more after five to ten years. 

Find out more about ACA Advanced

Find out more about ACA Advanced Case Study Resit course

£45k

Upon qualifying

3 years

Average time to complete

180,000

Students worldwide

15

Accountancy, finance and business modules

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Live online

Structured, interactive study method with live lectures from our expert tutors.

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OnDemand

Award winning, flexible, online study option so you can study when it suits you best.

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Other ACA courses

ACA Practical Bookkeeping will improve your knowledge of the mechanics of accounting. It will provide the practical knowledge and experience of processing information and transactions.

It gives you a great start into bookkeeping, allowing you to use your new knowledge to progress further to higher levels in ACA.

Find out more about ACA Practical Bookkeeping

The ACA CTA joint programme lets you achieve two prestigious qualifications in a shorter amount of time - ACA and CTA. You can become a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with the joint programme.

Find out more about ACA CTA Joint Programme

Our resit course balances exam practice, case study skills development, and analysis of the Advanced Information in order to provide you with a path to success in your resit exam.

It will include: Advanced Case Study Skills sessions, Mock Exam, Exam Walkthrough sessions and Exam Preparation sessions.

Find out more about ACA Advanced Case Study Resit Course

Classroom Live Streamed (CLS) lets you join a live classroom session remotely and interact with your tutors and peers via Zoom. CLS provides you with unmatched flexibility - you’ll have the option to attend the classroom, in person, as and when you want.

From September 2023, ACA CLS courses will be available at the Kaplan Norwich centre. Please contact us to make a course booking.

Find out more about CLS

Why study ACA with Kaplan?

We provide course offerings across all four exam sittings for all four of our study options, plus you’ll be able to plan ahead with up to 12 months of timetables. Our tutors are subject specialists that teach from experience, and they offer support available until late, seven days a week. We have proven pass rates up to 100%* across multiple subjects and we’re the UK’s largest accountancy training provider, with over 45,000 students training with us each year.

  • 3 ways to study

    Whether you prefer online study, or learning in a classroom, you’ll find a study option to suit your lifestyle.
  • 7 days a week

    Stuck or need to speak to someone? Contact a tutor 7 days a week. Get an instant response by Live Chat, or within 4 working hours by email. UK students can request a callback.
  • Top 10

    The top 10 UK accountancy firms use Kaplan.

Are you a Training Manager?

As the Qualified Person Responsible for Training (QPRT), there are many decisions and choices that you face with regard to the training of your ICAEW students.

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Related courses

ACA Certificate

Full level (all subjects):

£3,007.20 - £3,632.40 (inc. VAT)

ACA Professional

Full level (all subjects):

£6,896.40 - £8,049.60 (inc. VAT)

ACA Advanced

Full level (all subjects):

£4,863.60 - £5,403.60 (inc. VAT)

ACA Practical Bookkeeping

Full level (all subjects):

from £528 - £804 (inc. VAT)

ACA Advanced Case Study resit course

Full level (all subjects):

£660 (Excl. VAT)

Recognised as an ICAEW Partner in Learning, working with ICAEW in the professional development of learners.