What is the ACCA?
The ACCA is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants’s professional qualification in accountancy, business and finance.
The ACCA is arguably the most recognised professional qualification with more than 200,000 members, and 500,000 students. This gives ACCA qualified accountants the chance to work all over the world in a wide range of different roles across many different sectors.
The ACCA qualification usually takes three years to complete, however, it can take longer if you qualify part-time or via an apprenticeship or school leaver scheme. Often the qualification is taken as part of a graduate scheme although there are a number of different entries to the scheme which do not require an undergraduate degree. The qualification has the same ‘ranking’ as a masters degree.
There are essentially four parts to attaining qualification:
13 ACCA exam modules
Practical experience requirement (PER)
Ethics and professional skills training
13 ACCA exam modules
The ACCA exams are broken down into three levels: applied knowledge level, applied skills level and strategic professional level.
You need to complete 13 modules across these three levels, however there are options for some exemptions with prior study (for the applied knowledge level modules). In addition, you can choose two exam topics at the strategic professional level as well as completing the two ‘essentials’ exams.
The exams are taken online and cover a range of subjects across accountancy, finance and business.
You can find out more about the ACCA exams here.
Practical experience requirement (PER)
The ACCA training contract is designed to put your learning into practice through elements of your day-to-day job via practical work experience
Students must complete three years of full time hands-on relevant supervised work experience for the ACCA. For most, this will take around three years, although this may be longer if you gain the experience in blocks of time.
This practical work experience must be taken at one of the ACCA approved employers in one (or more) of the following areas: accounting, audit and assurance, tax, financial management, insolvency or information technology.
You will need to complete nine performance objectives for your PER to get signed off. This includes five essential objectives, and four of 17 technical objectives.
Ethics and professional skills module (EPSM)
The ethics and professional scepticism training is delivered as online training, covering the ethical practices and requirements for anyone working as a chartered accountant. The training covers the key principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour.
There are ten units (7 learning, and 3 assessment and support units), which take around 15 hours to complete. More recently, peer assessment has been included to the SPSM syllabus.
You will be tested throughout the entire module as well as at the final unit. You have unlimited attempts to pass these online assessments.
On successful completion of the module, you will receive a certificate of achievement and transcript of your results which you can share with your PER mentor.