The ABCs of your Chartered education

Starting something new or jumping into an old routine after a break can be tough, but Bryan Rankin is here to ease the transition with some information you should know before the new academic year with Chartered Accountants Ireland begins

A warm welcome from the Education Department to all our new and returning  students. We hope you find your studies with us challenging, stimulating and rewarding. 
For starting students, here is what you can expect in the coming weeks and how you might get off on the right foot.

The basics

Chartered Accountants Ireland's (the Institute) first year of studies is Chartered Accountants Proficiency One (CAP1) and commences on Friday, 22 September 2023. 
Chartered Accountants Proficiency Two (CAP2) will start this year on Friday, 06 October 2023.  

Your education is primarily provided online through on-demand learning content and live webinars supplemented by hard-copy textbooks. 

This online model allows you considerable flexibility to study when and where it suits you and to balance your work, study and personal commitments. 

At the same time, the model is self-directed, so it requires your preparation, commitment and tenacity. 

All your learning content is hosted on the Institute's online learning platform, the Learning Hub. It’s where you’ll find all the materials to support your education.  

Each subject is broken up into several 'sessions’ covering specific areas of the course. Each session includes slides, video recordings, question and solution packs and plenty of other educational materials.  

The week before your programme commences, we’ll email you details on accessing the Learning Hub. Previous students have found the platform easy to navigate and the content very accessible. 

Learning 

The Institute places a lot of emphasis on ‘active learning’, demonstrating what you’ve learned by attempting questions. You should expect to start working on questions from day one.  

It’s a good idea to get into the habit of writing your attempted solutions in Word, as the exam platform you’ll be using in the summer (Cirrus) is similar. Make sure to review the solutions provided with each set of questions carefully.  

A lot of the new material will be taught through the Learning Hub, but live webinars are equally important. They are a vital component of every subject and give an important structure to the academic year.  

Webinars are two hours long and take place, on average, twice a week, often including Saturday mornings. 

For all information on when your live webinars will occur, please check out your programme timetables, available on the Chartered Accountants Ireland website in the ‘Current students’ section. 

Our live webinars do not equate to a teaching lecture. Instead, the purpose of the live webinar is to cover the practical application of learning principles. 

In the webinar, lecturers will bring you through solutions to exam-standard questions and discuss where students sometimes struggle. 

You’ll also be able to ask the lecturers a question through the ‘chat’ function in the live webinar platform.

Before every webinar, you’ll be required to have studied the corresponding sessions in the Learning Hub, understood the concepts underpinning the webinar and practised some questions. 

If you join a webinar without any preparation, you will find it of very little value and a frustrating experience. 

To kick off each of the three academic programmes –  CAP1, CAP2 and FAE – we’ll ask you to attend an induction-style, one-hour lunchtime live webinar.  

The CAP1 induction webinar will be on Friday, 22 September, and the CAP2 equivalent on Friday, 06 October.   

This webinar is your chance to meet your programme team, during which we’ll talk you through all aspects of your Chartered Accountancy studies and exams. 

Given its importance, all students are expected to join this introductory live webinar.

Textbooks

Our education follows an online model, but you can also expect to receive a full set of academic textbooks from us to support your studies. 

Again, approximately two weeks before the start of your programme, we will email you with details of the dispatch of your textbooks, and we’ll confirm your preferred (usually your nominated home) address details.  

Networking events

You will also have the opportunity to meet fellow students and programme lecturers at one of our in-person induction and networking events in six locations around the island. 

These popular events are a great way to learn more about what’s involved in your education programme while also meeting fellow students. Event dates will be available on the Institute’s website. 

If you have any queries before starting your education programme with us, please don’t hesitate to email us at studentqueries@charteredaccountants.ie.

Bryan Rankin is Head of Student Operations at Chartered Accountants Ireland