The ACCA program is a globally recognized accountancy course that gives you an additional edge over regular finance graduates. Following is the curriculum of ACCA –
Exams / Subjects:
There are 14 exams in 14 subjects covering different topics in financial and management accounting.
The exams are split into 2 levels – Fundamental and Professional, which are the basics and advanced levels of accounting respectively.
- Fundamentals Knowledge
o F1 Accountant in Business
o F2 Management Accounting
o F3 Financial Accounting - Fundamentals Skills
o F4 Corporate and Business Law
o F5 Performance Management
o F6 Taxation
o F7 Financial Reporting
o F8 Audit and Assurance
o F9 Financial Management - Professional Essentials
o P1 Governance, Risk and Ethics
o P2 Corporate Reporting
o P3 Business Analysis - Professional Options (two of the 4 below need to be completed)
o P4 Advanced Financial Management
o P5 Advanced Performance Management
o P6 Advanced Taxation
o P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance
Apart from the above, candidates are also required to appear for a Professional Ethics module. As discussed earlier, exemptions in some subjects can be availed if you meet certain education parameters.
Exam format:
All exams are offered as a paper test and a few exams are also offered as a computer based test
o Knowledge (F1-F3) – available by computer-based exams (CBE) or paper-based format
o Skills (F4-F9) – available by paper-based format
o Essentials (P1-P3) – available by paper-based format
o Options (P4-P7) – available by paper-based format
- Most exams are of a 2 hour duration
- Most exams have a mix of multiple choice questions and MTQs (Multi-Task Questions), which are a bit like cases
- The ACCA has around 400 exam centers across the globe, including several within India
Exam difficulty level: The ACCA exam is challenging, however when compared with the US CPA, it seems a tad easier to handle
- Although there are more papers, there are also more exemptions compared to US CPA
- Pass rates:
o Knowledge level pass rates are fairly high at 60-80%
o Skills levels pass rates are 40-50%
o Professional Essentials pass rates are also 40-50%
o Professional Options pass rates are somewhat low at 30-40%
Exam dates:
- Once you register, you have a 10 year timeframe in which to complete all 14 exams
- There are 2 exam cycles / seasons in a year
o Feb to July
o Aug to Jan - Paper based exams are offered in June and December while computer based exams are flexible
- One can appear for maximum 4 exams per cycle
- Exams must be appeared for in the order of the module they are under. Within the module, you can take the exams in any order
o For example, you cannot take F4 before F3. You can, however take F3 before F2 or F1 because they are part of the same module
o It is recommended though that candidates follow the given order from F1 to P7 for better comprehension and results
Practical Experience and Practice Certificate:
- In addition to clearing the exams and completing the Ethics module, to become an ACCA you need to have 3 years of relevant work experience
- The ACCA dictates certain performance objectives that you need to attain
- In order to be able to be globally practicing ACCA member, you have to undergo a Practicing Certificate Training Record (PCTR) in addition to having the practical experience. More details on this are available on the ACCA website
Fees (please refer to website for latest fees):
Assuming you don’t pay late and clear all exams in the first attempt, the total cost will be ~GBP 1,300 or INR 1.25 L
- Knowledge level: GBP 71 to GBP 231 per exam (depending on whether you register early or late)
- Skills level: GBP 90 to GBP 252 per exam (depending on whether you register early or late)
- Professional level: GBP 104 to GBP 268 per exam (depending on whether you register early or late)
