Changes ahead for CAP1 and CAP2

Bryan Rankin, Head of Student Operations at Chartered Accountants Ireland, outlines exciting new changes students can expect in this academic year

A warm welcome to all new and progressing Chartered Accountants Ireland students as you start on a new academic cycle.

The Education team at Chartered Accountants Ireland would like to update students on some important developments, starting in September/October 2025. These changes will impact a range of areas, including changes to education delivery, recommended study leave and e-assessment.

The developments outlined below are key outcomes of Chartered Accountants Ireland’s strategy for the future of education in the accountancy profession in Ireland. In some cases, they build on initial pilot phases launched last year that have delivered improved student experiences, better exam outcomes and have been well received by students and firms.

Education delivery and Adaptive Learning at CAP1 and CAP2

Last year saw the successful introduction of Adaptive Learning at CAP1 in the areas of Finance and Law, a first in online professional education anywhere in the world. This resulted in better student experiences, superior learning outcomes and very positive exam outcomes.

On foot of that successful pilot, the rollout of Adaptive Learning will extend across the full CAP1 and CAP2 education programmes from October 2025.

The new Adaptive Learning model is a personalised approach to education that uses technology to tailor your learning experience to your unique needs, pace of learning and progress. Unlike other models that treat all students the same, Adaptive Learning continuously assesses your understanding and adjusts the content, difficulty, and support accordingly.

This means you focus more on mastering concepts than memorising facts, making cramming ineffective and reducing time spent on areas where you are already proficient. Instead of rushing through material before the exams, students engage in consistent, meaningful learning over the entire exam year.

Because Adaptive Learning identifies and addresses gaps early, it reduces the need for extended study periods.

In addition, the Adaptive Learning model of “active learning” discourages “cramming”, recommending that study be spread evenly throughout the academic year.

CAP 1 and CAP2 study leave

Alongside Chartered Accountants Ireland’s new education initiatives, it’s also a good time to re-evaluate guidelines on study leave. This relates only to students in training contracts, not to those following the Flexible Route.

The Institute has undertaken research and benchmarking against other professional bodies globally, which then led to extensive stakeholder engagement about the duration of training contract study leave.

Taken in tandem with the introduction of Adaptive Learning, time-off in lieu and with annual leave, the quantum of study leave now exceeds the requirements of study.

Therefore, Chartered Accountants Ireland, in collaboration with stakeholders, has approved a reduction to the Institute’s recommended study leave for CAP2. The Institute-

recommended study leave for CAP1 remains unchanged, with the CAP2 leave reducing by two days, effective October 2025.

Chartered Accountants Ireland believes that this revised quantum of study leave fully meets students’ requirements for achieving optimal learning and examination outcomes. There are no changes to the recommended FAE study leave allocation for students in contract for the 2025/26 academic cycle.

Autoscored CAP2 exams

Following on from the successful introduction of autoscored e-assessments at CAP1 last cycle, both CAP1 and CAP2 exams will follow the autoscored format from the summer 2026 exams onwards.

Students will have ample opportunity to avail of banks of sample questions from course commencement in October.

CAP1 online textbooks

While Chartered Accountants Ireland’s education provision is online, textbooks continue to play an important additional role in supporting student learning.

In 2024, online textbooks moved to an e-book format, all hosted on the Institute’s learning hub with dynamic links back to the online learning content.

Noting that CAP1 exams are ‘closed book’ and based on the positive feedback regarding e-books, CAP1 textbooks will be e-book only for 2025/26 and beyond.

CAP1 students will not receive printed textbooks, but they will be available to purchase on the Institute’s website.

Students at CAP2 and FAE will continue to receive both printed and online texts for the 2025/26 academic cycle, as well as the full programme of online learning content.

New ‘Training Development Log’ for recording experience

Commencing October 2025, newly enrolled students will use an enhanced platform called the Training & Development Log (TDL) for the recording and approval of practical experience.

All students who have a contract end date from 1 January 2027 onwards will have their experience migrated from the current CA Diary to TDL.

Trainees whose contract end date is on or before December 2026 will complete their training requirements using the CA Diary.

The Training Support team will be in contact with you soon to provide more information on this development.

We ask all progressing students and those enrolling with us for the first time to take note of these developments. As our strategic programme progresses, further

developments are expected for the 2026/2027 academic cycle that will further equip our students with the best emerging technologies, enhance the attractiveness of our profession for future learners and support our network of training organisations.

If you have any questions regarding any of the information contained, please contact your training manager/partner or Chartered Accountants Ireland at studentqueries@charteredaccountants.ie