ICAEW is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 180,000 chartered accountants and students worldwide. We provide qualifications and professional development, share our knowledge, insight and technical expertise, and protect the quality and integrity of the accountancy and finance profession.

ACA

ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (ICAEW CFAB)

ICAEW will not be liable to you for loss resulting from or attributable to events, circumstances or causes beyond ICAEW’s reasonable control, including but not limited to: fire, flood, earthquake, adverse weather conditions, explosion, war, terrorist activities, civil unrest, system breakdown, outages, restriction, interruption or failure of utility service or internet access, non-performance by suppliers or subcontractors, any law or any action taken by a government or public authority (including without limitation imposing an export or import restriction, quota or prohibition or failing to grant a necessary licence or consent) any labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts or unauthorised publication of exam content.

ICAEW will not be liable to you, in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), for pre-contract or other representations (other than fraudulent or negligent misrepresentations) or otherwise out of or in connection with these terms and conditions for:

• any economic losses (including but not limited to loss of wages, revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings);
• any loss of opportunity;
• any loss of goodwill or reputation; or
• any loss resulting from or relating to any delay in qualification; or
• any special, indirect or consequential losses,

suffered or incurred by you arising out of or in connection with the provisions of any matter under these terms and conditions, and ICAEW’s total liability to you arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions in contract and tort shall be limited to £1,000.

Nothing in these terms and conditions excludes or limits ICAEW’s liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so (including but not limited to ICAEW's liability for death or personal injury resulting from the Institute’s negligence (or that of its servants, agents or employees), fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or for breach of implied terms under consumer rights legislation which cannot be excluded).

You may be able to apply for and book your exams directly with your tuition provider. For more details see icaew.com/for-current-aca-students/apply-for-exams/e-assessment. If you are in a training agreement, you should first speak to your employer as they may have arrangements already in place for you.

Students whose firms do not have established arrangements or who wish to make their own arrangements can book a computer-based exam through Pearson VUE. To schedule your ICAEW exam online, log in via the ICAEW website with your ICAEW username and password.

When you arrive at the Pearson VUE test centre on the day of your exam appointment, before being permitted to enter the exam room, you will be required to confirm your identity by presenting 2 forms of accepted ID (see specific information about acceptable IDs). All IDs must be current and valid (not expired). If you arrive at the test centre without the required IDs, you will not be permitted to test and you will have to schedule (and pay for) a new appointment.

During the check-in process, you will be given a printout of the ICAEW Candidate Rules. Please read the rules carefully and hand the document back to the Test Administrator. During the check-in process, when you sign your signature, you are signing to confirm that you agree to follow these rules.

Before the test centre administrator can allow you to enter the exam room, he/she is required to carry out several security procedures.

The Test Administrator may ask you to do some or all of the following:

• Remove outdoor clothing and store it. If you insist on taking it in to the testing room, the item may be visually inspected, or you may be asked to demonstrate that there are no items in the pockets.
• Pat yourself down or turn out your pockets, to demonstrate that you have not forgotten to store any item which is not permitted in the test room.
• You could be asked to roll up your sleeves to show there are no concealed notes.
• If you are wearing a tie, you may be asked to lift it up to show that there are no items concealed beneath it. Similarly, you may be asked to lift up your hair to show your ears or neck and to demonstrate there are no concealed items.
• The Administrator may ask to visually inspect other items such as reading glasses, jewellery or religious headwear.
• All checks are conducted visually and the Administrator will not physically touch you during these important security steps. If you feel you would prefer to undergo these check-in procedures in a private area, make it known to the Test Administrator when you arrive.

After checking your name and exam and their schedule, the Test Administrator will ask you to provide your signature using an electronic signature pad, to show that you agree to follow the candidate rules that you have just read. Also, your signature will be compared with the signatures on the IDs that you presented, as an additional way of confirming your identity.

Your photograph will be taken during the check-in process. Your photo will display on your exam workstation screen if you take a break, to be sure of returning back to the correct workstation upon returning from your break.

Candidates are not permitted to take any personal belongings into the test room. This includes mobile phones or other electronic devices, books, notes or notepaper, calculators, watches, wallets, photographic devices, bags, hats, pens or any other writing utensils, mascots, sweets or any kind of food or drink. You will be asked to store any personal belongings in a secure area (usually a locker, situated in the waiting area) as indicated by the test centre staff.

You are, however, permitted to bring your own calculator to the exam, from an approved list. View the list at icaew.com/calculators. If you forget your calculator (or yours is not one of the permitted models), the centre is not expected to provide you with one, but there is an on-screen calculator available in the exam itself. Apart from your IDs, your calculator, and, in certain circumstances, comfort aids, no other personal items are permitted.

You will not be permitted to use 'scratchpaper' during your exam. In case you wish to make notes or calculations during your exam, you will be provided with a spiral-bound booklet, consisting of 5 laminated sheets (or 5 laminated single noteboards, where booklets are unavailable) and a pen. During your test, if you fill up all the useable space on the noteboard, do not attempt to wipe it; instead, raise your hand and the Test Administrator will replace the used noteboard with a new one, but you will not be permitted to have more than the allocated number (ie, 1 booklet or 5 noteboards) at any one time. You must return these articles to the test centre administrator after completion of the exam.

You will be continuously monitored during your exam, to ensure proper exam conditions are maintained, and also to promptly address any problems you may have. Different test centres have different methods of monitoring: via a viewing window, via CCTV cameras, or sometimes a Test Administrator (invigilator) may be sitting inside the test room.

If you have any problem during your exam, you should raise your hand and await the Test Administrator, especially if you feel it is affecting your performance in the test. Note that the Administrator is not permitted to assist with any questions relating to the exam content itself.

On the first few screens you see as you take your exam, you will be prompted to accept a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), to indicate that you agree not to violate the confidentiality of the exam content. Once you select ‘Yes’, you will be able to start your exam as normal. If you do not select ‘Yes’, your exam will terminate and you will need to follow the instructions of the Test Administrator who will process you out of the test centre.

When you have completed your exam you should raise your hand to notify the Test Administrator who will then quietly escort you out of the test room. It is important you remain as quiet as possible when entering or leaving the test room, to avoid causing a distraction to other candidates.

Your exam results are usually available the following morning and can be accessed via your training file on the ICAEW website.

We hope that your overall exam experience for your ACA Certificate Level or ICAEW CFAB exams has been positive. To help us identify parts of the exam process that could be improved, please complete our short student survey here after you have completed your test.