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• May 1, 2020

How to Pass the ICAEW ACA Case Study Exam

Updated: Feb 22, 2023

This article offers advice on how to pass the ACA Case Study exam. Written by a multiple prize-winning ACA tutor who scored 92% in the Case Study exam and won the ICAEW prize for the highest score in the world, this is essential reading for any student preparing for their Case Study exam.

How to Ace the ACA Case Study Exam

The Case Study is unlike most other ACA exams as there is very little technical content to learn. Therefore, students who are used to memorising technical concepts and then ‘smashing out the question bank’ will be perplexed when they are presented with 40+ pages of advance information and a Case Study exam paper seemingly testing nothing they have learnt in their other 14 exams.

However, the Case Study is actually very similar to the other ACA exams in that the three exam requirements are always the same, as are the mark schemes. By appreciating the consistency in the exam requirements and the mark schemes, you can develop your exam technique to ensure that you tick all the 'boxes' on the mark scheme and complete your ACA qualification in style.

In light of this, we believe that there are 5 steps to Case Study success:

1. Understand how Case Study is marked

2. Understand what each of the three requirements involve

3. Understand what information is provided in the Advance Information (AI) and what is provided in the exam

4. Learn the Case Study exam technique which ensures that you hit all the boxes on the mark scheme

5. Practice mock exams to master your exam technique

Step 1: Understand how Case Study is marked

The Case Study marking process is objective: there is a set marking key for each requirement and if a student’s report includes a point which is on the mark scheme, they will get the mark. This is not like an academic essay where the examiner forms an overall opinion of the piece of work and then decides whether it is good enough to pass; the Case Study marking grid is rigid. Whilst it can be frustrating that making a valid point which is not on the mark scheme does not score a mark, it does mean that the marking process is very transparent and easy to navigate. Below is an example from a Case Study mark scheme to illustrate what I mean by points and boxes.

Step 2: Understand what each of the three requirements involve

As explained above, the three requirements are broadly the same in each Case Study exam.

R1: Analyse the financial performance of the company

R2: Evaluate a financial proposal

R3: Evaluate an opportunity or issue

The mark scheme for each requirement is also the same. This makes the exam fairly predictable.

By having a look at recent past papers, you will soon start see the consistency in the requirements and build an understanding of what each requirement involves.

Step 3: Understand what information is provided in the AI and what is provided in the exam

In addition to the exam requirements and mark schemes being in the same format every time, the AI is also in the same format every time (albeit a different business with different issues).

By working through past Case Study exams, you will soon start to see that the AI always has the same exhibits with very similar types of information e.g. industry background, prior year accounts, key customers / suppliers, strategic goals and risks. Similarly, all the exams include the same exhibits with very similar types of information.

Having completed the exam, it is important to mark it and reflect on what information came from the AI and what came from the exam exhibits. You will soon start to see that the majority of mark scoring points come from the exam exhibits rather than the AI. You will also learn which types of information in the AI tend to be rewarded in the mark scheme and where in the mark scheme they are rewarded, i.e. which box.

Step 4: Learn the Case Study exam technique which ensures that you hit all the boxes on the mark scheme

Having understood what the exam requirements are and how they are marked, you need to develop an exam technique which ensures that your report includes the points which are included on the mark scheme. Fortunately for you, we have developed an exam technique which does this and it has resulted in two students winning the prize for the highest mark in the world (90% and 92%), another winning a prize for the highest mark in their region (88%) and another achieving the highest mark in their firm (81%)!

Given the practical nature of exam technique, it is not possible to explain this in text so you can watch a free class here which teaches you exactly how to ace Requirement 1 and get a prize-winning mark.

Step 5: Practice mock exams to master your exam technique

By this stage in your ACA journey, you will already know that question practice is key to success. Having learnt the prize-winning technique, you then need to practice mock exams on your case study business under exam conditions so that you master the technique and sign off your ACA in style!

Need Help Passing the ACA Case Study Exam?

Details of our live tuition, video tuition, mock exams and proforma reports can be found here .

About the Author

Kieran Doe is a Senior ACA Tutor at ACA Masters. Kieran won ICAEW prizes for his performance in Financial Accounting and Reporting, Tax, Financial Management, Audit, Business Strategy and Case Study. This is in addition to winning several prizes at university for various Accounting, Management, Business and Economics subjects.

Kieran’s tuition is based around the learning techniques and exam strategies which enabled him to win prizes for all the subjects he teaches. Under his guidance, several of his ACA students have also won ICAEW prizes.

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Tips for success

Helpsheets and support

Published: 21 Sep 2021 Update History

In this guide we introduce some tips for success to help you master the Professional Level exams.

Manage your mindset

It is natural to feel anxious about exams but with good strategies, you can actually enjoy them! If you do feel anxious, then direct that nervous energy into positive channels. Remember that some stress has a beneficial effect. It can help you to stay alert, focused on the exam and be energised.

Do not give your mind the time to drift into anxious thoughts. If it does, then gently guide it back to a concrete task, such as planning your time, jotting down useful facts and figures to use in later questions, proof-reading your work, thinking about ways to gain extra marks and remembering these exam tips!

If you believe in yourself and your abilities to pass this will help significantly.  If a negative mindset sets in…. ‘I am going to fail’ or ‘I cannot do it’ this is the start of a downwards spiral.  Remember, many students have passed these exams before you, if they can do it, you can do it!

Make a revision timetable – plan ahead, DO NOT CRAM!

Work out when you can realistically give time to revision and plan what you hope to cover in each session. Use the ICAEW planner, online apps, spreadsheets etc – whatever you prefer. Do not spend too long doing this – your time is better spent revising!

Set realistic goals

In each session on your revision timetable, make a realistic goal of what you should be able to achieve. Make daily goals part of your timetable. "By the end of today I will have (at least) revised...". The size of the task you give yourself should depend on the time you have available that day but make it achievable so that you get a sense of satisfaction and feel you are progressing.

Practise, practise, practise

It is important to get early exposure to past exam questions. Firstly, because you will refine the all-important exam techniques required to pass and secondly there are only so many things an examiner can ask. If you do plenty of practise you will be rewarded with familiarity in the exam. You should also aim to do the practise using the exam software. This will get you use to formatting your answers as well as annotating the question. ICAEW provides questions from the question bank within the practice software.

Practise what you don’t know, not what you do know

When revising it is all very tempting to do a question you know you can do. Then to look at the answer and see you got it right! However, this is not an efficient use of you time. We all know that when it comes to the exam it will be inevitably full of the stuff we do not know rather than the stuff we do. It will contain that subject you pray will not come up…. So, let us make sure we are prepared for that.  Practise what you do not know, what your least confident with and hit it head on!

Keep your practice interesting

It is not always effective or feasible to be doing questions in full all the time. So vary your approach. Use tables or spider diagrams to plan answers. Use questions to research topics. However, it is important to do a significant proportion of exam question practise in full and to time in rehearsal for the real exam.

Try to study in short bursts, say 30 minutes on and 10 minutes off. Reward yourself with a song, YouTube video or even a biscuit.

Stay clear of distractions

Study distractions can either be internal or external. Internal study distractions include physiological needs and emotional thoughts. External study distractions include technology and people.

• Deal with hunger first.
• Put the phone on do not disturb.
• Find the perfect spot
• Take frequent breaks.

Make your revision active

Do not just read through your notes or copy them out over and over again. The best revision makes you understand rather than simply remember the material. Active revision techniques include: 

• Summarising information 
• Create mind maps/concept maps/spider diagrams/pictures to show how information relates to each other and where the links are
• Researching real-life examples to back up your theory 
• Practising past questions

Acronyms and mnemonics

A mnemonic is a method of organising and memorising information. Some use a simple phrase or fact as a trigger for a longer list of information. For example, PIRATE for helping remember the characteristics of an intangible asset ( P robable future economic benefits will flow, I ntention to complete/sell/use, R esources available to complete/get to market, A bility to complete/take to market, Technically feasible, E xpenditure is measurable).

Have a study buddy

Learning with someone else can be a real encouragement. Comparing answers or marking each other’s work will help you learn. Also, explaining concepts and approaches to others is a great way to understand a concept yourself. Many teachers have said they never fully understood a topic until they taught it…. they then had the eureka moment of understanding it!

Learn from your mistakes

A vital part of learning is getting it wrong. After each mistake we evaluate what went wrong, why it was wrong and how we might do it differently next time. Every mistake you make leading up to the exam is then one less mistake you will make in the exam. So, celebrate mistakes and learn from them!

Make sure you carefully mark your own answers. Take as long reviewing and marking as you do writing the question. Make changes in red. Write comments of what went wrong and why it was wrong as this will help facilitate learning from your mistakes.

Exercise, relax and eat well

You may find it difficult balancing your lifestyle during your exam period but this is very important to master during exam time. Any form of exercise in between revision session is important. This can boost your energy levels and regain your focus. It may also de-stress you from your intense study schedule. Even a brisk walk or a 10 minute jog can work wonders for you both physically and mentally and keep you on top of your game throughout your revision.

Overview of the Professional Level

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