ICAEW is now looking after over 200,000 members and students. The latest annual report shows membership stands at 173,804 and ACA students total 37,834.
CEO Alan Vallance said 2025 was a defining year for ICAEW, as it launched the Next Gen ACA to modernise the flagship qualification. He also stressed interest in the qualification remains high, with 10,750 new students joining during the year.
Among the financial highlights was the increase in operational income from £136.1m to £149.7m.
Restructuring and transformation cost £7.1m during the year, and staff costs rose £2.6m, mainly due to wage inflation. Staff numbers also increased from 840 to 855 (full-time equivalent).
Exam fees brought in £18.8m, with sale of learning material adding £8.3m, and student fees and charges another £5.6m. That adds up to £32.7m, over £3m more than the previous year.
The exam running costs are put down as £12.7m.
The net result was a profit for the year of £2m after tax, down from £7.4m the previous year.
As part of its commitment to pay transparency the ICAEW voluntarily publishes details of the CEO’s pay ratio. Vallance was paid £535,033 for his work in 2025, which equates to an average pay ratio of 8:1.
