Overview of ACCA Exam Structure

The ACCA qualification is divided into three levels:

• Applied Knowledge
• Applied Skills
• Strategic Professional

Each level builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous one. Within each level, you have some flexibility in the order you take the exams, but there are strategic considerations to keep in mind.

Applied Knowledge Level

Exams:

• Business and Technology (BT)
• Management Accounting (MA)
• Financial Accounting (FA)

Recommended Order:

• Business and Technology (BT)
• Management Accounting (MA)
• Financial Accounting (FA)

Rationale:

• BT provides a broad introduction to business and technology, setting a solid foundation.
• MA builds on this by introducing management accounting principles.
• FA covers financial accounting, which is essential for understanding more complex topics in later exams.

Applied Skills Level

Exams:

• Corporate and Business Law (LW)
• Performance Management (PM)
• Taxation (TX)
• Financial Reporting (FR)
• Audit and Assurance (AA)
• Financial Management (FM)

Recommended Order:

• Corporate and Business Law (LW)
• Financial Reporting (FR)
• Audit and Assurance (AA)
• Taxation (TX)
• Performance Management (PM)
• Financial Management (FM)

Rationale:

• LW can be taken at any time and provides a legal framework that is useful for understanding other subjects.
• FR should be taken before AA as it provides the necessary financial reporting knowledge for auditing.
• TX is best taken after the start of the new tax year to ensure the syllabus is up-to-date.
• PM and FM can be taken in any order, but PM is often considered more challenging, so some students prefer to tackle it earlier.

Strategic Professional Level

Compulsory Exams:

• Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
• Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)

Optional Exams (Choose Two):

• Advanced Financial Management (AFM)
• Advanced Performance Management (APM)
• Advanced Taxation (ATX)
• Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)

Recommended Order:

• Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
• Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)
• Advanced Audit (AAA) or Advanced Performance Management (APM)
• Advanced Financial Management (AFM) or Advanced Tax (ATX)

Rationale:

• SBL is recommended first as it integrates knowledge from various Applied Skills exams and focuses on real-world case studies. Completing the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) before SBL can significantly boost your chances of passing.
• SBR builds on the knowledge from Financial Reporting (FR) and is closely related to SBL.
• APM is recommended before AFM because it builds on performance management principles, which can provide a solid foundation for the more complex financial strategies in AFM.
• AAA is recommended closely after SBR because it examines a lot of SBR financial reporting auditing

Additional Tips

• Complete EPSM Early: Completing the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) before starting your Strategic Professional exams can improve your chances of success, especially for SBL.
• What AreYour Career Goals?: If you have specific career aspirations, such as working in taxation or performance management, you might prioritise the relevant exams accordingly.
• Check Employer Preferences: Some employers may have preferences for the order in which you take your exams based on your job role and responsibilities.

Conclusion

This is just a recommendation, but you can build a strong foundation of strategic, financial, and performance management skills this way. This sequence not only gives you a logical progression of knowledge but also helps you to maximise your chances of success in the ACCA exams as you're building all the time on prior knowledge. Of course, it's down to the individual student, but we hope this guide has given you some ideas. Good luck and we hope to see you in the Classroom!