The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants will end remote exams from March, requiring most candidates to sit assessments in person as artificial intelligence makes online testing harder to police. The decision affects more than 500,000 students globally and marks a reversal of measures introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ACCA Chief Executive Helen Brand said the organization concluded that cheating methods, increasingly aided by AI chatbots, are advancing faster than safeguards designed to detect them. Remote invigilation, once seen as a flexible alternative, has reached a tipping point as AI tools can assist students in real time during exams.
The move follows a series of high-profile cheating scandals across the accounting profession. Firms including PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY have faced regulatory penalties in multiple countries over exam misconduct, highlighting broader integrity challenges in professional assessments.
While acknowledging that in-person exams do not eliminate cheating entirely, Brand said most high-stakes qualifications have already abandoned remote testing. The shift comes as ACCA updates its qualification framework to emphasize AI, data science, and blockchain, reflecting how automation is reshaping accounting work and reducing traditional training opportunities for junior professionals.
