ACA Certificate Level: the modules, exam format and pass mark

The Certificate Level is the foundation of the ACA. It builds the core knowledge that the Professional and Advanced levels later apply to realistic scenarios, so getting solid here pays off for the rest of the qualification.

The Certificate modules

On the Next Generation ACA, the Certificate Level covers six areas:

• Accounting Fundamentals — Double-entry bookkeeping, the accounting equation, and preparing basic financial statements.
• Assurance and Risk Fundamentals — The purpose of assurance, internal controls, risk, and the assurance engagement process.
• Business Insight and Performance — Costing, budgeting, performance measurement and the basics of business finance.
• Business Law — Contract, company, employment and insolvency law as it applies to business.
• Sustainability and Ethics — Professional ethics, the fundamental principles, scepticism, and sustainability reporting.
• Tax Fundamentals — The basics of income tax, NIC, capital gains, corporation tax and VAT.

How the exams work

• Computer-based and mostly objective (multiple-choice and short numerical entry).
• On-demand — book and sit them throughout the year rather than waiting for fixed sittings.
• Around 1.5–2 hours each, with a 55% pass mark.

Because the questions are largely objective, the Certificate Level rewards recall under time pressure — knowing the rules cold and applying them quickly — more than long written answers.

A sane way to revise

1. Learn the topic, then test it immediately. Reading notes feels productive but doesn’t reveal gaps. Answering questions does.
2. Work topic by topic. Drill one area (say, VAT) until it’s automatic before moving on, rather than mixing everything at once early on.
3. Review every wrong answer. The worked explanation is where the learning happens — understand why the right answer is right.
4. Track accuracy per topic so you spend your last week on your weakest areas, not your favourites.

That topic-by-topic, test-first loop is exactly how acaunty is built — pick a module, get a focused set of questions with instant feedback, and watch your accuracy per topic. Try a few free practice questions to see the format, or read what changed in the Next Generation ACA.