OpenExamsFREE PRACTICE — ANY EXAM

ICAEW ACA Certificate Level Sustainability and Ethics — Information & Free Practice

100 free questions · Answer explanations · No signup required

Start free practice →

Exam Review

About ICAEW ACA Certificate Level Sustainability and Ethics

ICAEW ACA Certificate Level Sustainability and Ethics · GB

Key exam facts

Provider
ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) owns the ACA examination; Pearson VUE provides test-centre and OnVUE remote delivery.
Format
Computer-based examination at a test centre or via OnVUE remote invigilation, using multiple-choice, multi-part multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.
Exam questions
Total questions: 50.
Time limit
90 minutes of examination time. The optional five-minute post-exam survey added to appointments after 1 March 2026 is separate and does not reduce the exam time; approved access arrangements may vary the individual exam length.
Passing score
55% pass mark.
Exam fee
GBP £103 per Certificate Level examination entry in 2027, payable when applying for each exam. Student registration, tuition and learning materials are separate charges.

Topics covered

  • Concepts and significance of sustainability (10%)

    • Define sustainability and understand the significance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)
    • Understand key sustainability concepts, including the Anthropocene, planetary boundaries, different forms of capital, economic and social concepts eg, doughnut economics, circular economy, and the difference between approaches to economic growth and degrowth
    • Identify sustainability challenges and trends that have an effect on a global scale, including but not limited to climate change, pollution, waste and species decline; population changes, urbanisation and migration; economic inequality
    • Recognise the key stakeholders in sustainability

  • Pillars of sustainability (10%)

    • Identify the three pillars of sustainability
    • Understand challenges to environmental sustainability and the impact of actions and inactions on the environment
    • Understand challenges to social sustainability and the impact of actions and inactions on society
    • Understand challenges to economic sustainability and the impact of actions and inactions on the economy
    • Understand the interconnection between the three pillars of sustainability

  • Regulation on sustainability (6%)

    • Identify the roles of regulation, policy and guidelines in sustainability and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach
    • Identify the role of international organisations in driving sustainability changes and key international sustainability agreements
    • Identify the role and importance of governmental organisations in driving sustainability changes and key sustainability regulation
    • Identify the roles and importance of non-governmental and other organisations in driving sustainability changes and their impact
    • Understand the trend from less prescriptive sustainability guidance towards more codified regulation
    • Recognise areas where sustainability goals have been codified, eg CSRD

  • Sustainability in business (14%)

    • Identify the role and responsibilities of businesses in driving sustainability changes and influences on sustainable strategy and operations
    • Identify barriers to progress in corporate sustainability
    • Understand how business activities lead to sustainability-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities, and how these affect enterprise and social value
    • Understand the characteristics of sustainable finance for business
    • Understand the importance for businesses of assessing their environmental impact using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach
    • Understand how corporate sustainability is measured against environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, including the measurement of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions
    • Understand the meaning and consequences of communicating about sustainability, including the importance of transparency eg, avoiding greenwashing
    • Understand the importance of emerging sustainability challenges

  • The role of the professional accountant in sustainability (10%)

    • Identify the role of corporate sustainability reporting and the key sustainability reporting requirements for business
    • Recognise key sustainability regulations and policies applicable to the work of the professional accountant, including corporate reporting
    • Recognise the role of the professional accountant in sustainability assurance
    • Understand the role of accountancy bodies and professional accountants in driving sustainability
    • Understand the importance of a sustainable approach within a professional accountant’s own workplace and practices, and the benefits of economic sustainability for stakeholders

  • Concept of ethics and its significance for the accountancy profession (8%)

    • Define personal, business and professional ethics and recognise the role of ethics in society
    • Understand key ethical concepts including objectivism, relativism, teleological (consequential impact) ethics, deontological (rule-defined, non-consequential) ethics and utilitarianism
    • Understand the inter-relationships between ethics and law, and ethics and sustainability
    • Recognise the importance of stakeholder interests in ethical decision making
    • Understand why it is important for organisations to promote and maintain an ethical culture and how this can be achieved
    • Understand the role and importance of ethics within the accounting profession and in the concept of social responsibility
    • Understand the importance of the relevant ethical requirements to all professional activities undertaken by professional accountants, including sustainability engagements

  • Ethics and public trust (14%)

    • Understand public interest and public trust and why they are important, and recognise how principles of professional behaviour protect the public and fellow professionals
    • Define accountability, transparency and governance and understand why they are important
    • Understand the role of ethics in relation to business and good governance
    • Understand professional scepticism and professional judgement and why they are important
    • Understand the need for recognising and reducing bias in solving problems, informing judgements, reaching informed conclusions and communicating with stakeholders
    • Recognise the consequences of unethical behaviour for the individual, the organisation, the accounting profession and the public
    • Understand ICAEW’s regulatory role in the maintenance of public trust and recognise the measures ICAEW has in place to support this
    • Recognise the differences between a rules-based code and a principles-based code
    • Recognise the role and application of relevant ethical codes and understand the relationship between the IESBA Code of Ethics, the FRC Ethical Standard and the ICAEW Code of Ethics

  • The fundamental ethical principles (14%)

    • Understand the structure of the ICAEW Code of Ethics
    • Understand the fundamental principles underlying the ICAEW Code of Ethics: integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour
    • Identify the risks arising from a breach of confidentiality or accidental disclosure of information
    • Identify situations when confidential information may be disclosed
    • Recognise the responsibility of professional accountants to detect and to help prevent criminal activities eg money laundering, tax evasion, bribery, fraud and modern slavery
    • Recognise the importance of independence for the professional accountant
    • Identify situations when a conflict of interest may arise and recognise the ethical issues that this can create

  • Threats and safeguards (6%)

    • Identify situations that may threaten compliance with the fundamental principles
    • Identify how to apply the conceptual framework from ICAEW’s Code of Ethics to identify and evaluate threats to compliance with the fundamental principles
    • Recognise safeguards that may be used to eliminate a threat to a fundamental principle, or reduce it to an acceptable level
    • Recognise the ways in which threats relevant to accountants working in business may differ from threats relevant to accountants working in practice
    • Recognise situations when there may be pressure to breach ethical principles
    • Understand the concept of whistleblowing or speaking out and specify the potential impact on an individual

  • Data ethics and the impact of technology (8%)

    • Specify the principles of data ethics
    • Understand why it is important for a professional accountant to challenge the selection, capture, analysis and use of data and information, including data bias
    • Recognise the need for a professional accountant to maintain an enquiring mind when collecting and assessing data and information from a variety of sources and perspectives
    • Understand the regulations protecting personal data and commercially sensitive information
    • Identify the ethical issues, opportunities and threats relating to the development, use and impact of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI)

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam format?

Computer-based examination at a test centre or via OnVUE remote invigilation, using multiple-choice, multi-part multiple-choice and multiple-response questions.

How many questions are on the exam?

Total questions: 50.

How long is the exam?

90 minutes of examination time. The optional five-minute post-exam survey added to appointments after 1 March 2026 is separate and does not reduce the exam time; approved access arrangements may vary the individual exam length.

What is the passing score?

55% pass mark.

How much does the exam cost?

GBP £103 per Certificate Level examination entry in 2027, payable when applying for each exam. Student registration, tuition and learning materials are separate charges.

Official sources and references

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.