Last week saw us all taking to Zoom for the annual ICAEW Tutor Conference. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, the team at ICAEW delivered an excellent programme of sessions to provide insight into what to expect from the Case Study exams in 2021.

The biggest change for the Case Study is the move to the new CBE platform. The interface is easy to navigate and has intuitive word processing and spreadsheet areas. We will, of course, be creating a “How To” video guide on using the new CBE platform once we have access to the Case Study CBE from ICAEW so please ensure you follow us on social media or download our app to be alerted when this free content is available.

The Case Study session with the examiners confirmed there would be no changes to the format of the Case Study exam.  The key messages from the examiners remain:

1) Candidates must understand the ICAEW Case Study tests application rather than theory.

The Case Study exam draws on your knowledge from all previous exams and your work experience. This exam tests how you apply your skills in a specific scenario.

2) Candidates must "own" the Advance Information scenario to pass the Case Study. 

Tutors are there to help and guide you. YOU must do the work to have a true understanding of the Advance Information material. Without this knowledge, you can't hope to pass the exam. The candidates that passed in 2020 were those that did not need to search the AI for relevant points during the exam – they knew the information and used it alongside the information presented on the day to create a business report.

3) Candidates must answer the requirements set, in the time available 

We give you Mock Exams and strategy projects to test and improve your understanding of the AI and your ability to apply your AI knowledge to exam style scenarios. Our 26 box approach and planning sheets are tools to help you develop a strong and reliable exam technique. On exam day you must focus on using the technique to answer all parts of the exam the examiners have set. It was encouraging that the sample script the examining team shared with us was used the answer structure we teach our students.