2. Study methods

Do you prefer face-to-face learning? Online learning in your own time? Have family or work commitments? We have three study methods that suit different learning styles, to fit around your life. You'll benefit from award-winning tutors, practical learning methods, and ongoing support, right up until your exam.

Study methods available for this qualification

You can be confident in your exams whatever study method you choose, as we offer numerous practice questions and marked course exams. We provide expert support during evenings and weekends, and we have flexible study methods and course start dates.

We offer both tuition and revision courses for the ATT and CTA papers. With tuition, the focus is on learning the syllabus from the study manual, with basic question practice. With revision, you’re expected to have studied the syllabus prior, as the focus is on exam question practice and technique.

Study method comparison table keyboard_arrow_down

3. Exams and sittings

Timings and working towards a sitting

ATT

Sittings take place every six months, with exams in May and November.

Each certificate paper is three and a quarter hours long. The first 15 minutes are designated reading time. There are two parts to each paper, of which you’ll have 3 hours to answer. You will be allowed to read and annotate Part II of the question paper during the 15 minutes of reading time, but will not be allowed to open Part I until the reading time is over.

Each certificate paper is made up of a mixture of computational and written questions. The short-form questions are worth 2 - 4 marks each and make up 40% of the marks. The remaining marks are allocation to long form questions, worth 10 to 20 marks each.

The Computer Based Exams are one hour each, and made up of multiple choice, multiple response, drag and drop and select from a list. You will be given up to 50 questions to answer in the exam. The pass mark is 60%.

CTA

Sittings again take place every six months, with exams in May and November.

The Awareness Paper is one three and a quarter hour paper with no reading time. You’ll answer only the questions in the sections for each of your three chosen modules. The format of each module will be 12 short-form questions, worth five marks each. These will be a mixture of computational and written questions with no question choice. To achieve a pass you’ll be required to obtain 50% or more of the total marks available and a minimum of 35% per module.

The Advanced Technical Papers are three and a half hours long with no reading time. Each Advanced Technical paper is a ‘stand alone’ paper. The pass mark is 50%, and you’ll receive a credit in that paper. You’ll be expected to answer all questions which make up the paper.

The Advanced Technical Papers typically contain five or six long style questions for either 10, 15, or 20 marks each (totalling 100 marks). These will be a mix of computational and written style questions requiring the use of communication, judgement and evaluation skills, as well as an ability to understand and apply technical skills to scenarios.

The Application and Skills Paper is in the format of a case study, and is three and a half hours long with no reading time. The Application exam paper will contain all the Application questions available, each worth 100 marks, and you must ensure that you select and answer the question you have entered for. The pass mark is 50%.

How long does it take to pass?

The dual qualification takes around two to three years to complete, but this depends entirely on your preferred way of learning and study pathways chosen. You must register with the ATT as a Tax Pathway student at least four months in advance of taking your first written exam.

4. Study materials and delivery costs

Study materials

All study methods include online and printed materials. These differ depending what study method you choose to study with.

Materials included in every course:

The following materials are included in every tuition course:

• Study Manuals & accompanying Question Banks

  The Study Manuals cover the syllabus for each course and are the key source of your learning material. The Question Banks are designed to test your understanding of the fundamental principles covered in each chapter in the corresponding Study Manual.

• Course Workbooks & Workbook Q&A

  The Course Workbooks are available if you’re a Classroom or Live Online student. These detail the core areas of the syllabus which will be covered during the Classroom and Live Online courses, incorporating worked examples. Additional questions to attempt in class are provided in the workbook Q&A section.

• Pre-revision question bank

  The pre-revision question bank contains more challenging questions for you to consolidate your knowledge of the full syllabus for each paper.

The following materials are included in every revision course:

• Revision question bank

  The revision question bank contains exam standard questions and recent past papers (all with answers updated to the relevant Finance Act), providing excellent final preparation for the exam.

• Memory joggers

  The memory joggers contain short summaries of the key rules covered in each chapter of the study manuals and also include any useful proformas. They are designed to refresh your knowledge on any areas you’re stuck on as you work your way through the revision question bank.

Law, Ethics and Accounting CBE Study Manuals must be purchased from CIOT. These subjects do not have a workbook, pre-revision QB or Memory Joggers.

Delivery costs

5. MyKaplan: online learning environment

MyKaplan explained (1m:18s)

MyKaplan is an online learning portal with additional resources to help you prepare for your exams. Your MyKaplan account forms the core of your study experience with Kaplan and includes the following:

• Electronic versions of your study manuals and question banks
• Electronic versions of your Course Workbooks (Classroom and Live Online only)
• Links to recordings of the tricky topic tutorials and the Live Online recordings (Classroom and Live Online only)
• Knowledge checks (ATT only)
• Your course exam question papers and returned marked scripts (unless you are required by your employer to sit these in centre/under pre-agreed arrangements) and the course exam model answers
• Study calendar and reminders
• Other additional learning resources

Online Features

• View your online materials in one place and access your content in a few clicks
• You can email a tutor or request a callback
• See instantly when your assessments have been marked

Access duration

Your chosen study method determines how long you can access your content for.

Classroom
Seven months after exam sitting

Live Online
Seven months after exam sitting

Distance Learning
Seven months after exam sitting

computer Minimum system requirements for MyKaplan

6. Tutor support

We'll support you every step of the way throughout your ATT and CTA learning experience with us. You can contact a tutor and get the help you need quickly and easily.

Provided by Tutor Support team (our dedicated team of expert tutors):

• Email and request a callback (we'll get back to you within 48 hrs)

Please note request a callback is only available to UK based students and is available between 9am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday only.

Ways to get support

If you think you'd benefit from additional tutor support while studying, we recommend the structured study methods such as Classroom and Live Online.

7. Testing and mocks

We have a wealth of materials to help you revise for and pass your exams.

For tuition, you’ll get the following:

• Course exam (one course exam per ATT CTA papers, with the exception of ATT PT and BT which have two exams called Knowledge Test and Practice Exam)

  The course exam, Knowledge Test and Practice exam, have been designed to test your understanding of the material covered during your studies. They are at a simpler level designed to test your knowledge as you work through the content.

• Pre-revision mock

  The pre-revision mock has been designed to be attempted after you’ve worked through the the pre-revision question bank. The pre-revision mock is harder than the course exam, designed to prepare you for the revision phase of your studies.

For revision, you’ll get:

• Revision mock

  The revision mock should be attempted after you’ve have worked through the revision question bank. This is an exam standard mock designed to prepare you for sitting the real exam.

8. Pricing structure

Subject prices can differ depending on your study option and subject you choose to study.

Go to our study methods to learn more about each option.

For ATT and CTA, subjects are priced individually, with full courses broken down into Tuition and Revision courses which you can book on. Where a full Classroom and/or Live Online course (i.e tuition and revision) is selected, there is a 10% discount available.

Funding options

Employer sponsoredchevron_right

Your employer may fund the costs of your studies if you're already working in a related field and want to develop your learning. You'll need to speak to them to see if you're eligible.

Payment planschevron_right

Available for any course as long as the total cost is a minimum of £500 (before any discounts). Any available discounts can be applied, provided the terms and conditions of that discount have been met.

Classroom and Live Online course fees must be repaid over the duration of the course(s) purchased, up to a maximum of 12 months. The final payment must be made one month prior to the final date of the last course. Distance Learning course fees must be repaid over three months per subject purchased, up to a maximum of 12 months.