What exams to take to complete the ACCA Qualification?
ACCA is a global course that is comparatively easier to complete when compared to other professional courses, and also takes lesser time. When done without any exemption from other courses, ACCA would take a maximum of 3 years to complete. The course focuses on Accounting and Finance, and hence is perfect for students majoring in Accountancy and Mathematics in their school.
Based on various exemptions, there are a maximum of 13 exams that the students have to take on various levels. The exemptions are rewarded based on the students’ previous experience and graduation background.
This is how the breakdown of the examinations look:
- Fundamental level: 9 examinations
- Professional level: 2 compulsory examinations + 2/4 optional examinations
Here’s a list of papers you have to clear to complete the ACCA Qualification:
Fundamental Level
- F1 Business and Technology: Covers a comprehensive role of an accountant in organizations and teaches you’re the effectiveness of management. It teaches you Business governance, history/role of an accountant in business, how to lead and manage teams and individuals, recruitment and hiring, etc.
- F2 Management Accounting: Covers the management accounting prospects and the importance of cost management and how does the that help in decision making and planning process in management. It covers budgeting, planning, cost classifications, etc.
- F3 Financial Accounting: Focuses on the main principles of accountings, including the double-entry system, trial balance, preparation of financial statements, recording transactions, etc.
- F4 Corporate and Business Law: Helps you understand the legal side of the business and different laws that are essential and applicable for the organizations. Covers Law of Obligation, Employment law, crisis handling, etc.
- F5 Performance Management: Helps in understanding the various skills required in management accounting. This includes Budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement, etc.
- F6 Taxation: Know the different tax slabs, and how the taxing system affects various businesses. It includes Personal Tax computation, how to ensure self-assessment, National Insurance, etc.
- F7 Financial Reporting: Helps in understanding the different accounting frameworks and preparation of financial statements, how to analyze and interpret them, etc.
- F8 Audit and Assurance: It teaches you about investment, financing, dividend policy, Cost of capital, and many other things used and known by Financial Managers.
Essential Level
Strategic Business Leadership: The subject helps you understand the workings of a professional workplace and challenges faced in there. It tests your technical, professional, practical and ethical abilities to tackle real life issues.
Strategic Business Reporting: It helps in improving your ability in making business reporting based decisions. It covers the theories, concepts, and principles and how you can apply them in real life problem solving scenarios.
Optional Papers
Apart from these compulsory papers students should also sit for 2 of these 4 optional papers:
- P4 Advanced Financial Management
- P5 Advanced Performance Management
- P6 Advanced Taxation
- P7Advanced Audit and Assurance
This makes the overall framework of the ACCA course, which gives the students comprehensive knowledge, both practical and theoretical, about the accounting and financial world. So plan your educational path with a course that can open a wide door of opportunities anywhere you go.