Level 7 Accountancy Professional Apprenticeship: FAQs

To complete the Level 7 Apprenticeship, you must meet the ACA entry requirements.

• More information on entry routes

Throughout your apprenticeship, your employer will provide financial support and cover the costs of your training.

• Go to icaew.com/studentregistration
• Select your qualification and student category before adding your details within the registration process.
• Select ‘ACA - student in training agreement or an ACA apprenticeship’.
• Click on ‘View qualifications’ and select ‘Level 7 apprenticeship’.

For more information on registering as a student, visit our how-to guides.

Yes, if you select ‘ACA standard’ by mistake, don’t worry, just log back into icaew.com/studentregistration.

On-programme assessment

During the on-programme assessment, you will need to study for 14 of the 15 ACA exams (the last exam is the Advanced Level Case Study exam, you will do this as part of your end point assessment). 

Off-the-job training

Your employer is required to provide you with 20% off-the-job training. This is any learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment but within normal working hours. It’s an essential part of your apprenticeship.

Gateway review

Your employer will confirm when you are ready to move onto the end-point assessment. When they give you the go-ahead, they will confirm that you have passed the ‘gateway review’.

End-point assessment

The end-point assessment consists of two parts:

• The Advanced Level Case Study exam and;
• A Project Report.

For more information about the Level 7 Apprenticeship journey, watch this webinar that will take you through the journey

Your employer is required to provide you with 20% off-the-job training. This is any learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment but within normal working hours. It’s an essential element of your apprenticeship.

• ACA exam tuition and revision
• Mentoring
• Tuition provider skills days
• Learning (eg. IT systems and software)
• Online learning
• Internal training
• Induction to the role
• Students Excel online training course
• Updating your ICAEW online training file
• Ethics and professional scepticism training

You will need to study for 14 of the 15 ACA exams (the final exam is the ACA Advanced Level Case Study; this will be part of the end-point assessment). You will also have regular meetings with your training provider to discuss skills progress as well as your six-monthly reviews with your employer to identify any further training required.

You will also maintain and update your ICAEW online training file, gain practical work experience, and develop your ethical and professional development skills as part of the ACA. These elements are explained in detail within the ACA student guide.

You will be given the following documents:

• Employment contract; and
• Commitment statement and apprenticeship agreement.

Once you, your employer and training provider have signed the commitment statement and apprenticeship agreement, your training provider will register you as an apprentice with education and skills funding agency (ESFA).

Your employer will also give you a training agreement, this relates to the ACA element of the apprenticeship. It will confirm the start and end date and length of your training agreement, as well as outlining the support your employer will provide.

Your training provider should give you these numbers. You can also find your ULN on certificates issued by certain awarding bodies.

The ERN is different to your employer’s ICAEW authorised training employer number.

It is vital that you input your ULN, ERN and tutor organisation or employer provider details into your training file. This will allow you to apply for the end-point assessment when you are ready.

• Log in to your training file and on the summary tab click ‘Update ULN/Employer Ref/Tutor’
• This will take you to an ‘Apprentice information’ page
• Edit your details to record your ERN, your ULN and select your training provider or employer provider form the drop-down menu
• Click ‘Update’.

If you haven’t done this at the time of booking your end-point assessment, you will be prompted to input this detail. You will not be able to book your end-point assessment until you do so.

All ICAEW learning materials are now digital only and can be bought from the ICAEW Bookstore.

• More information on the ICAEW Bookshelf.

ACA Professional and Advanced Level exam dates, results dates and exam booking deadlines can be found on our dates and deadlines page.

• View ACA dates and deadlines

For the Project Report, there are two sessions per year available for you to submit your Project Report. 

• More about the Project Report, including key dates

• Resources for ACA Professional Level and Advanced Level exams, including the Case Study end-point assessment
• Level 7 specific resources.

View the 'How to book a Professional or Advanced Level exam online' guide for more information.

Your employer will agree when you are ready to move onto the end-point assessment. This is known as the gateway review. To pass the gateway review, your employer will agree that you:

• are, in their view, competent in the role and ready to do the end-point assessment;
• have achieved Level 2 or above GCSE Maths and English, or equivalent; and
• have completed a minimum of 12 months on the apprenticeship

When you apply for the end-point assessment, there is a requirement within the application process where you will need to confirm that you have passed the gateway review. You can only progress to the end-point assessment when you have passed the gateway review.

The end-point assessment consists of two parts:

• the ACA Advanced Level Case Study exam; and
• a Project Report.

Your employer will need to confirm that you have passed your Gateway review before you move onto the end-point assessment.

• More information on the Case Study exam
• More information on the Project Report

Yes, the Case Study exam is an open book exam. This means you can take any relevant material into the exam, subject to desk space.

• More information on open book exams.

You can submit your Project Report if you have applied for, or previously sat the Case Study exam.

• Log into your training file
• Go to the examinations tab and click ‘Apply for exams’. If you are eligible to submit your Project Report, it will be listed as an available assessment.
• Select Project Report and you will be prompted to upload it.

By SMS

To receive your results via SMS, you can use the results notification link to update your details.

Via the website

The pass and credits lists are published here at 12:00 (UK-time) on results release day.

By telephone

You can call the student support team on +44 (0) 1908 248250 from 12:00 – 17:30 (UK-time) on results release day.

Once you have completed the end-point assessment, ICAEW will notify ESFA. You will then receive your apprenticeship certificate from the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA).

Once you have completed all elements of the ACA and your employer has confirmed you are fit for membership, you will be invited to apply for membership of ICAEW.

Once you have completed all elements of the apprenticeship have been completed, you will qualify as a Level 7 Accountancy Professional. Then, once all ACA requirements have been completed you will become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and will be able to use ‘ACA’ after your name.