What happened

The British Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), which has a presence in Ukraine, has decided to ban most remote exams, leaving them only for emergency circumstances, The Guardian reports. The aim is to reduce instances of misconduct, when students use artificial intelligence prompts during testing.

Why it matters

Remote testing became the norm during the Covid‑19 pandemic. But alongside it the possibility of circumventing controls increased: an investigation by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) uncovered cases of cheating even among senior auditors at firms such as KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, EY, as well as Mazars, Grant Thornton and BDO. In 2022 EY paid about $100 million in fines to US regulators related to cheating on an ethics exam — a sign of a systemic problem, not an isolated mistake.

"Artificial intelligence is sweeping the labour market like a tsunami — in developed economies up to 60% of jobs could be affected"

— Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF

Consequences for the profession and the market

ACCA’s decision is not only a step to protect ethics. It is a signal to employers and regulators: certificates must reflect real knowledge. For Ukraine this has several consequences:

- Trust in certification: the value of in‑person exams will increase; employers will be better able to assess staff competencies.

- Access and costs: a partial removal of the online format will make access harder for those who combine work and study or live in regions; this may spur investment in local exam centres.

- Pressure on education and firms: universities, training centres and audit firms will have to adapt teaching methods and internal checks to meet the new standards.

What Ukrainian professionals should do

The expert community agrees the response must be comprehensive: a combination of technological verification measures (stronger authentication, answer analysis) and cultural work — fostering professional integrity. Practical steps for professionals:

- plan preparation with the possibility of in‑person exams in mind;

- ask employers to clarify certification assessment criteria when hiring;

- invest in continuous learning that demonstrates competencies not only through tests but also via practical case work.

Conclusion

ACCA’s decision is part of a broader challenge: how society maintains trust in professional standards in the age of AI. For Ukraine this is an opportunity to strengthen the reputation of specialists while also raising questions about the accessibility of certification. Whether stricter rules can be combined with inclusivity will depend on the actions of educational institutions, employers and the professionals themselves.