The Advanced level consists of 3 exams in total, which represents the final batch of ACA exams.
As should be expected, the advanced level is a further step up in difficulty from both the certificate and professional level.
Which exams make up the ACA advanced level?
There are 3 exams which make up the advanced level:
How to pass the ACA advanced level exams?
The pass mark for these exams is actually lower than each of the previous 12 exams, at 50%, compared to the 55% of all other exams.
Two of the three exams (Corporate Reporting and Strategic Business Management) are 3 hours long, whereas Case Study is 4 hours long.
Similarly to the Professional level, there are specificity exam periods in which the exams must be sat. There are 2 sittings per year, which are in July and September.
As with the Professional level, these exams are all long form questions sat on the ICAEW software.
The advanced level is also fully open-book and so candidates are permitted to bring into the exam any resources which they deem helpful.
Which Advanced level exam is the hardest?
As should be expected when you reach the final stage of a professional qualification, the advanced level is a step up in difficulty compared with the other papers.
In terms of technical difficulty, the hardest exam is Corporate Reporting. This exam is essentially a more in depth version of Financial Accounting and Reporting and contains some new and challenging areas such as hedge accounting and derivatives.
However I would say that Case Study is the most difficult to pass. This is because the mark scheme for this exam is such that candidates have to pass each question, rather than accumulate the marks in aggregate. This means that time management is very important and it is this which many candidates struggle with.
All pass rates can be found here.
Be sure to take a look at our exam guides to read our tips and tricks to passing each of the specific exams.
