10 Tips for Passing the ICA Ghana Professional Examination

Passing the ICA Ghana Professional Examination goes beyond mere studying and luck. It is an entire project that must be taken seriously by those who want to enjoy the fruits of their labour and hard work as chartered accountants.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) is a professional accounting examining body in Ghana mandated to regulate, guide, and lead professional accounting in Ghana.

It examines students and passes those who meet its requirements. Those who pass its professional examinations become chartered accountants and practice as such.

Why You Should Pass The ICAG Examination

Passing the ICA examination opens several doors and opportunities for qualified students. It generally makes the graduate a business leader and helps to secure a good job. Chartered accountants are deemed as accomplished professionals who are well-rounded, trained, and ethically upright in the discharge of their accounting roles as professional business leaders. Within society, they are highly respected just as doctors of any profession.

It is not easy to ace the examination, apart from that; the exam itself is very rigorous, expensive, and time-consuming.

As a former student of the ICAG, I can confidently say, if you want to really write an exam, give the ICA Ghana professional examination a try. This is an examination that will test you inside out, and you can feel the heat of the moment in the exam hall with the unpredictability of the ICA.

However, students always excel in the examinations and you too can make it count. Follow the top tips we share here on how to pass the ICA Ghana Professional examination and ace your way through.

ICAG (Ghana) is the professional accounting body established by an Act of parliament. Members of the body are employed across diverse fields, sectors, and industries in Ghana. They are charged with the responsibilities of managing funds and offering professional advice, services, and judgment in an effective and efficient way in all matters that demand their professional chattering abilities. The ICAG’s professional qualification serves as the foundation qualification needed for starting a rewarding and life-transforming career in accounting in Ghana.

What are the current levels within the ICAG professional exam?

The ICA Ghana examination used to have four levels, however; it was reduced to three levels.

How students can study for the ICAG Examination

Let the truth be told that passing the ICAG Professional Examination or any other Accounting Professional Examination does not come easy and is not for the faint-hearted. One needs to be committed, disciplined, and have an internal locus of control.

In this article, we aim at sharing with students guidelines that are result oriented and can often lead to passing the ICAG Professional Examination.

10 Tips for Passing the ICA Ghana Professional Examination

Consider the following.

Have Self-Belief

Self-motivation and a positive mindset are key to helping you excel in the examination. Often, believing that you will not pass will come to pass irrespective of the effort you put into preparing for the examination. Thinking negatively means acting against your own success, and you are bound to fail. You need to have self believe as you prepare for the examination. It is an important element in unlocking the success you desire as an ICA Ghana student.

Invest in yourself and study

Qualification and the right to act and be called a chartered accountant does not come cheap financially. You would need to invest in your education. While it is expensive in terms of the cost of tuition, books, and examination, the gains and returns after you have chartered are worth the investment.

Students who charter unlock a great number of career opportunities. This also comes with amazing financial rewards. Students who desire to ace the IAC Ghana exam must invest in key study materials such as relevant e-books, and recommended readings, and attend Lectures. Investing your time and being disciplined is key to unlocking success. Get into the mood for reading any time you find some free time to spare. This will demand that you carry your notes along on your phones and tablets.

Move from Theory to Practice and Application

The ICA is not a chewing-pouring-passing-and-forgetting examination. The ICA Ghana Examination is an application examination that demands students to apply the knowledge acquired in the examination and in real work environments. Students who are preparing for the examination must also find ways of applying the knowledge they acquire. By doing this, you will understand the topics better, which makes it easy to tackle application and case study kind of questions.

Know the syllabus and exam structure

Your first source of information on what needs to be studied and the targets to achieve in each is the syllabus. You also need to have relevant textbooks and be aware of the structure of the examination and the questions. These materials will make you to have meaningful revision sessions on the topics in each subject. By using the syllabus, one can also know the marks to be allocated to each question and the weight attached to each topic in each subject.

Practice and solve past questions of the ICAG

Students are encouraged to have access to hard or soft copies of past papers and practice with them. Students should download the past papers of ICAG from the institute’s website. Taking part in tuition centre mocks can also help test your readiness for the examination.  Practice makes perfect, hence engage in more of these practices and keep studying towards the examination.

Make Simple Notes From Your Study

When preparing for the examination, do not forget the importance of making summary notes of the text materials. The textbooks are often voluminous, hence making notes improves the success of your study and helps for easy revision. Always going back to the main textbook can be time-consuming, frustrating, and delay your progress. Key points and concepts can be written in bullet form to make it easy to recollect.

Remember key information the easy way

When preparing for the ICA Ghana examination, do well to remember the formulas and make good use of smart study skills such as mnemonics (like SWOT). Revise summary notes before bedtime.

Tuition centres are a great place to study for the ICA examination. As a student in such a centre, build a strong network of like-minded students and study in groups. Connect with students via WhatsApp if that will help. This group will help you to build an important future network of professionals when you and your team members charter. These colleagues in your study group can also serve as links to future jobs.

Have an exam strategy and plan in place

Passing the ICA Ghana demands good preparation and plan. No one goes to battle unprepared or without a strategy to succeed. In the same way, the ICA exam demands that students have a plan in place for success. Often, students have up to three months to prepare for the examination. This demands that you plan and use your time efficiently. Master how you intend to use your time in the exam hall. For instance, how many minutes for brainstorming and planning, what do you do during the brainstorming session, and how to approach answering questions?

READ: Mastering the ICM-UK Professional Exam: Your Guide to Success

Spend more time on questions with more marks, and write more. Where you get stuck in an attempt to answer a question, do not panic. Instead, go to the next question and start working on it. You can always come back to the previous question once you recollect the facts. Do well to attempt every question asked in the examination.

Ensure to make the work of the examiner easy

In answering questions, do well to write clearly. Make your answers easy to understand and read. Check your spelling and grammar as well. Read through your answers Examiners have a limited amount of time to mark exams, so it helps if you make your paper as examiner friendly as possible. Passing the ICA Ghana is possible, and we challenge students to put the tips shared here into practice. Let us pass the ICAG Professional Examination together. 

Source: ExamHall.org