The ACCA launched their very own digital platform that will become the foundation of any computer-based exams that take place in the future.
The brand new and innovative solution has been rolled out to all learning providers who work in the industry. This new platform gives them the chance to provide online learning support, marking feedback, test papers and even instant delivery.
The platform is going to be launched in waves, with platinum and gold approved ALPS being offered first. The rollout is also going to extend to those who are silver learning partners in the UK, Czech Republic and Ireland.
Access is going to be increased as the rollout progresses, with other markets being on track for release in a few months. Students are going to have access to the platform after the ACCA exams, which will finish in September 2019.
ACCA also have plans to extend the platform in December 2019. This is going to be offered to the Applied Skills CBE specimen, with plans to further incorporate past exam papers too.
ACCA have four cycles of exams every single year, some are CBE and some are paper-based. Students who choose to enrol are given the chance to complete up to four exams across each cycle. A maximum of eight exams can be done over the calendar year. There are 527,000 students who are currently enrolled in ACCA exams.
67,000 are based in the UK, 1527 are in the Czech Republic and 8,557 are in Ireland. The last exam saw a total of 132,098 students enter 174,827 exams. 5,090 of them also went on to achieve a full ACA membership.
One main bonus of the new platform is that it will give any learning provider the chance to personalise their practice tests and solutions. They can add their own logo, colours and text, while also creating their own questions that are exclusive to their students.
Marking and feedback can also be offered remotely, with practice tests also being available.
Reza Ali, a highly-esteemed professional at ACCA, has released a statement saying how vital this is to the longevity and convenience of testing. It will give students the aid they need to surpass their potential, and it will also help them to prepare for live exams. The launch has strongly supported the idea of having more computer-based exams, and their continuous work will most certainly have an impact on the industry as we know it.
Michael Izza is the chief executive of ICAEW and he has given the strong impression that the institute is now embracing Brexit.
Mr Izza has been quoted saying that any uncertainty regarding Brexit is actually weighing on businesses. Household and even corporate spending are now being influenced by future expectations, but as long as a no-deal Brexit is avoided, it might not have a huge impact on the economy.
Lower levels of investment are certainly a response to the UK’s departure from the EU. This probably won’t be reversed, but if policymakers are able to stay on top of things then the macroeconomic effect should be manageable to say the least. Conclusions such as this seem to be at odds with various articles that have been highlighted by Economia.
ICAEW economists believe that Brexit was always going to be a disaster, and when you look at what’s happened to date, it’s really just been a very expensive exercise. It has been suggested once that the only way to truly evaluate Brexit would be for someone to work out the cost of everything in comparison to the benefits that can be obtained. This would give you the chance to match everything up against one another. If someone WAS able to do this, then there is a high chance that everyone would feel much better about the future prospects and that people would have more faith in everything that’s happening right now.
Rather than attempting to do this, the ICAEW have chosen to make some neutral statements on really limited information. They are also trying to put some kind of positive spin on it, and this is what you’d normally expect from a politician who is desperate to protect their position.
It should be noted that the Institute have stopped rather short of supporting what looks to be a no-deal Brexit. It’s disappointing to see that three years after the referendum, that everyone is still in the same place and that nothing has been determined for the future of the country.
It could be time to issue a challenge to Mr Izza himself. He is a prominent figurehead of the profession and it’s safe to say that it’s now time to come up with some numerical projections that will tell us whether Brexit is better in terms of value than remaining in the EU. If there is good news, we need to know, and we also need to understand any future policies that may come as a result.