Test of Competence (TC)
Course and Examination
Guide 2015/16
CA qualification.
Creating world-class
business professionals.
Introduction 2
Before starting courses Pre-course briefings
Assumed knowledge
Exemptions
Personal details
2
2
2
2
2
Test of Competence courses
Entry into TC
Course locations
Course fees
Timetables
Attendance at courses
TC Course formats
Provision of material
Home study
Expectations of students
Feedback
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
Testing Reporting performance
Sample papers
4
4
4
Revision and Examinations
Eligibility to sit
Examination information
5
5
5
Contacting CA Education
5
TC COURSE AND EXAMINATION GUIDE
1
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to your Test of Competence
(TC) studies.
The purpose of this guide is to provide
an introduction to your TC course and
examinations.
This Guide should answer some of
your most frequently asked questions
regarding the TC course. Please take
time to read through this document in
preparation for TC.
TC is made up of six different subjects:
◆ Financial Accounting (FA)
◆ Principles of Auditing & Reporting
(PAR)
◆ Business Management (BM)
◆ Principles of Tax (PoT)
◆ Finance (FIN)
◆ Business Law (BL)
If you have any further queries, please let
me know.
BEFORE STARTING
COURSES
Pre-course briefings
Before a course starts you will be
e-mailed confirmation of the course you
are attending, together with a link to a
pre-course briefing. This will be a media
file, lasting approximately 20 minutes, and
containing important information and any
preparation you should do before attending
the course. It is important that you listen
to this and you may be asked to confirm to
ICAS that you have done so.
These briefings are also available
through icas.com. If you do not receive
confirmation of a course you should contact
enrolments@icas.com to confirm your
enrolment.
Assumed knowledge
There is no assumed knowledge for the
Test of Competence course, therefore, you
are assumed to have no knowledge of any
areas of the course prior to the start. You
will, however, be able to access TC material
that you may find useful through icas.com
or, in some cases your firm’s website.
Exemptions
It is possible to be exempted from certain
elements of the TC course. If you already
hold an accountancy degree that has been
fully accredited by the Institute, you will
normally be exempt from five of the six TC
subjects and related examinations unless
your firm has other policies.
Exemptions must be applied for and are
not automatically awarded. The application
and award of exemptions must be
completed before the course starts. For
more information on exemptions consult the
exemptions area of icas.com.
Personal details
It is extremely important that ICAS are able
to contact students easily. It is therefore
imperative that you ensure any changes to
your name, home address, e-mail address
and telephone number are submitted to
icas.com. You can do this by logging onto
icas.com, calling up ‘My Profile’ and editing
your details.
Please note that you must inform ICAS of
any changes. It is not sufficient to inform
your local BPP training centre.
Information on TC materials, which can be
reviewed before starting the course, if you
wish to do so, is provided in the learning
materials area for CA students on icas.com.
Joanne Lloyd-Jones, TC Level Controller
Main point of contact for all TC related
queries on course structure and content.
jlloydjones@icas.com
0208 090 5506
‘Many skills you develop
as a CA are transferrable
so you can forge your own
career rather than having
your path chosen for you.’
CA STUDENT
TC COURSE AND EXAMINATION GUIDE
2
TEST OF COMPETENCE
COURSES
Entry into TC
Most people who wish to become a CA will
already hold a UK University degree or be
AAT members.
If you already hold an accountancy degree
that has been fully accredited by the
Institute, you will normally be exempt from
most of the TC courses and examinations,
unless your firm has other policies.
All other degrees are known as qualifying
degrees. If you hold a qualifying degree, you
will be required to attend some or all of the
TC courses and examinations.
If you are a member of AAT, you may
be exempt from two of the TC subjects,
namely Financial Accounting and Business
Management.
Course locations
Test of Competence courses usually run in
the following cities:
AberdeenBirmingham
Bristol Cambridge
EdinburghGlasgow
LeedsLondon
ManchesterNottingham
Reading
Please note that courses are run subject to
demand and the start time varies depending
on location.
Course fees
Invoices will be issued during the first week
of the course. Your firm pays your fees and
the invoice will be sent directly to them for
payment.
Timetables
On the first day of the course you will
receive a detailed breakdown of the running
order and content of the course. A detailed
timetable of subject matter to be covered
on a day by day basis will be issued to you
at the start of your course. Please use this
to ensure that you have the correct material
with you when you attend courses. The
detailed timetable will include information on
your progress tests and mock examinations.
TC COURSE AND EXAMINATION GUIDE
The approximate course times are generally
either 9am to 4.15pm or 9.30am to 4.45pm,
with a lunch break and short breaks in the
morning and afternoon. Local centres may
prefer to vary these times to suit all parties.
Each venue will advise on arrangements for
contacting tutors outside course times and
on the facilities available for personal study
outside normal hours.
Attendance at courses
Face-to-face courses are compulsory
and failure to attend these may lead to
concern that there is a lack of evidence of
reasonable effort, which is a ground for
withholding ‘exam eligible’ status.
You must evidence your attendance at
courses by adhering to the registration
procedures at your training venue. Please
note that your training office will be
informed of your absence from the course
on the day of your absence.
If you are unable to attend the course for
any part of the day you should notify the
course administrator at your centre and
your manager/HR department at your firm.
In the event of illness, you should make the
normal notification under the Statutory Sick
Pay regulations to your training centre and
lodge the appropriate medical certificates.
The certificates will be returned to you
and you can then pass them on to your
employer.
If you have an exemption from any subject
at TC you will not be required to attend the
course for that subject (unless you have
been specifically told otherwise by your
Training Firm).
If you are attending courses in England,
you should contact your local BPP training
centre to find out on which specific days
you should be attending face-to-face
courses. You will also receive joining
instructions prior to your course starting.
Students attending courses in Scotland
or Jersey should contact ICAS for this
information.
Contact details for BPP and ICAS are
available on icas.com.
TC Course formats
The TC course is delivered in a variety
of formats using a mixture of classroom
teaching and self-directed blended learning.
Provision of material
You will be provided with study notes at the
beginning of TC courses.
The study notes are written to cover all
examinable technical topics. The notes
include a large number of worked examples
and practice questions. You will receive
a further pack of material (known as the
‘additional question pack’) towards the
end of your studies. Whilst our teaching
materials may refer to ‘he’ or ‘she’ they
should not be interpreted as referring to
either gender specifically.
Delivery of the material is through a
mixture of face-to-face teaching, combining
lectures, workshop examples and elements
of blended learning. Where blended learning
forms part of the course, employers may
choose to grant time away from the office to
cover an element of this blended learning.
Home study
On most evenings there will be a prescribed
schedule of home study, which may
comprise:
(a) reading to prepare for the next day’s
course; and/or
(b) reading/workshop exercises to
consolidate teaching material.
The volume of material to be covered on
these courses is substantial and you will
find it easier to cope if you work steadily
throughout the course.
Expectations of students
We expect a certain level of professional
behaviour from our students. Students are
expected to:
◆ actively participate by doing activities
and workshops and contributing to
discussions;
◆ ask questions during the course;
◆ take guidance and advice given by tutors;
and
◆ undertake private study to keep up with
the materials.
3
Feedback
Feedback from students is an important
part of ICAS’ monitoring procedures.
During each Test of Competence course
you will be requested to provide feedback
on all aspects of the course, from lecturing
standards to administration. Feedback forms
will be provided during the course, which
you should complete to enable continual
improvement to the education process. You
should also feel free to raise issues with
tutors at any stage.
TESTING
Each TC subject has two progress tests and
a mock exam. The dates of these tests will
be clearly indicated in the daily timetables
that are provided to you by your training
centre.
Exam
Testing Method
Progress test 1 (BM, FIN, FA, PoT, BL and PAR)
20 objective test questions
Progress test 2 (FA)
24 objective test questions + one 16 mark test question
Progress test 2 (BM, FIN, BL and PAR)
40 objective test questions
Progress test 2 (PoT)
30 objective test questions + short form questions totalling 25% of the paper
Mock (FA)
24 objective test questions + one 16 mark test question
Mock (BM, FIN, PAR and BL)
40 objective test questions
Mock (PoT)
30 objective test questions + short form questions totalling 25% of the paper
Reporting performance
You will receive the results of your mock
examinations as soon as practicably
possible.
Reports on your performance will be
forwarded to your firm throughout the
course covering:
◆ attendance at face-to-face classes (by
exception);
◆ performance in assessments and mocks;
and
◆ performance in face-to-face classes.
Sample papers
The Examinations section of icas.com
includes sample papers and solutions. You
can download these papers at any time
during your studies.
For more information on exams please refer
to the exams section of icas.com.
TC COURSE AND EXAMINATION GUIDE
4
REVISION AND
EXAMINATIONS
CONTACTING CA
EDUCATION
Revision
Every student will be issued with an
additional questions pack for each
subject. This is a pack of additional
questions, over and above the workshop
exercises provided with each module.
This should be used in the final days
before the exams to practice questions in
timed conditions.
There is a range of information available
to CA students on icas.com. This
information covers both technical and
administrative matters and all students
should refer to this as a first source of
information for queries.
The ICAS and BPP tutors are all willing
to assist you with your studying and can
be contacted with any questions, whether
you are sitting an examination for the first
time or resitting a subject.
For other queries or further information
about who to contact in CA Education,
please refer to the CA Education
contact list.
Eligibility to sit
Eligibility to sit depends on attaining
‘exam eligible’ status for the TC course.
This requires satisfactory attendance,
performance and completion of progress
tests during the course. If students
are absent from the course for several
days ICAS reserves the right to discuss
whether or not it is appropriate for the
student to sit the examination at that diet.
Examination information
TC Examinations are set and marked by
an exam team. More information on the
examination process can be found in the
TC Examination Section on icas.com.
This document will also provide
information on the exam dates and the
format of the examination.
TC COURSE AND EXAMINATION GUIDE
5
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