ACAT Exam Blueprints
As you begin preparing to take an ACAT exams, it is important to understand more about the structure and content of what you will be tested on. Within each exam blueprint, you will find information on the domains, tasks, and knowledge areas you will encounter for each exam.
To see the Exam Blueprints for each of our four ACAT credentials, please click on the links below.
The content of the ACAT examinations are based on the outcomes of job analyses studies. A job analysis is a comprehensive definition of the tasks performed by professionals currently holding the ACAT credential. The purpose of the job analysis is to describe, in specific terms, the precise nature of the tasks performed by incumbent professionals who work in the field of accountancy and taxation for which the examination is being developed. Job analyses are conducted every 5-7 years, or more often as circumstances may warrant, to verify the content of the examination. The results of the job analysis influence to what extent the competencies are revised for the ACAT certification examinations.
The ACAT examinations are based on an explicit set of competencies. These competencies have been determined through a job analysis study conducted on practitioners. The competencies are grouped into domains, subdomains, and tasks. As the ACAT examinations may only assess knowledge pertaining to these competency statements, they serve as the outline, or blueprint for the examination.
For additional information on how the ACAT exams are developed, please click here.