ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
ACCA
Complete guide to passing the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) exam on your first attempt.
£2,000-£4,000 total
~40-50%
Lifetime (CPD required)
Global (UK-based)
ACCA
$60k-$120k
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Complete Overview
The ACCA Qualification is a 13-exam professional accountancy programme run by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a UK-based body with over 257,900 members and 530,100 future members across 180 countries. It is taken by people who want a globally portable accountancy qualification, and the total cost typically runs between £2,000 and £4,000 depending on how many exams you sit, how many exemptions you claim, and how many years you stay registered. ACCA charges £89 for initial registration and a £140 annual student subscription for 2026.
The exams sit in three levels. Applied Knowledge covers Business and Technology, Financial Accounting and Management Accounting. Applied Skills adds Corporate and Business Law, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Performance Management, Financial Management, and Audit and Assurance. Strategic Professional requires both Essentials exams, Strategic Business Leader and Strategic Business Reporting, plus two Options chosen from Advanced Financial Management, Advanced Audit and Assurance, Advanced Taxation and Advanced Performance Management. Exams must be taken in modular order, though you can attempt papers within a module in any sequence.
The pass mark is 50 percent on every exam. Applied Knowledge exams run two hours with 50 questions each. Corporate and Business Law is a two-hour exam with 45 objective questions worth 70 marks in Section A and five six-mark multi-task questions in Section B. The other five Applied Skills exams run three hours for 100 marks with objective questions, case-based objective questions and constructed response tasks that use word processing and spreadsheet software. Strategic Business Leader is a three-hour 15-minute integrated case study with three compulsory tasks, 80 technical marks and 20 professional skills marks, with pre-seen material released two weeks before the exam. Strategic Business Reporting and the four Options are also three hours 15 minutes.
ACCA runs four exam sessions a year in March, June, September and December. Students can take a maximum of four exams in any one cycle and a maximum of eight distinct exams in a calendar year. Applied Knowledge exams and the two variants of Corporate and Business Law are also available as on-demand computer-based exams, with results shown immediately and uploaded to your account within 72 hours. Session exam results arrive approximately six weeks after the exam.
Passing exams is one of three requirements. You also complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module, priced at £83, and the Practical Experience Requirement of at least 36 months of relevant work experience with 9 performance objectives signed off by a practical experience supervisor. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills passes never expire, but once you pass your first Strategic Professional exam a seven-year rule starts, and any Strategic Professional pass older than seven years is lost and must be retaken. ACCA is also replacing this structure: the final sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams is June 2027, with the redesigned qualification's Expertise and Strategic Professional exams first sat in September 2027.
Why Get ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Certified?
ACCA membership is recognised across 180 countries and the body reports over 257,900 members, which makes it the most portable accountancy qualification for someone who expects to work in more than one country.
Exemptions can cut the exam load substantially. A relevant degree can exempt you from Applied Knowledge and parts of Applied Skills, at £86 per Applied Knowledge exemption and £114 per Applied Skills exemption rather than the full exam fee and study time.
Four sittings a year in March, June, September and December, with up to four exams per cycle and eight distinct exams per calendar year, means you control the pace rather than waiting for an annual window.
The Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business, awarded after Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills plus the Ethics and Professional Skills Module, is benchmarked at UK bachelor's degree level and can be earned in 12 to 18 months after Applied Knowledge.
Two Strategic Professional Options let you specialise: Advanced Taxation for a tax career, Advanced Audit and Assurance toward practising certificate and audit qualification routes, Advanced Financial Management for corporate finance, Advanced Performance Management for management accounting.
No degree is needed to start. Two A Levels and three GCSEs in five separate subjects including English and maths, or equivalent, is the minimum entry requirement, and the Foundations in Accountancy route exists for those who do not meet it.
Salaries for ACCA-qualified accountants typically fall in the $60k to $120k range depending on market and sector, and the qualification is a common route into Big 4 audit and advisory work outside the United States.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
Applied Knowledge exams are 2 hours. Corporate and Business Law is 2 hours. Performance Management, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance and Financial Management are 3 hours. Strategic Business Leader, Strategic Business Reporting and all four Options exams are 3 hours 15 minutes.
Questions
Applied Knowledge exams contain 50 questions each. Corporate and Business Law contains 45 questions worth 1 or 2 marks in Section A plus 5 questions worth 6 marks in Section B. The three-hour Applied Skills exams are marked out of 100, with Financial Reporting for example running 15 objective test questions in Section A, three case questions with five objective test questions each in Section B, and two constructed response questions in Section C. Strategic Business Leader has three compulsory tasks.
Passing Score
50 percent on every ACCA exam. There is no requirement to reach 50 percent in each individual section, only 50 percent overall, and all sections and questions are compulsory with no choice of questions.
Question Types
- Objective test questions
- Multi-task questions in Corporate and Business Law
- Case-based objective test questions built on a single scenario
- Constructed response questions using word processing and spreadsheet software inside the exam system
- Integrated case study tasks with pre-seen material, used in Strategic Business Leader
Delivery Method
All exams are computer-based. Applied Knowledge exams and the LW-ENG and LW-GLO variants of Corporate and Business Law are available on demand, with results displayed immediately and uploaded to your account within 72 hours. Everything else is taken during the four sessions in March, June, September and December, at a centre or by remote invigilation, with results approximately six weeks after the exam.
Exam Domains & Topics
The entry level of the qualification, giving a broad introduction to finance and the essential techniques of accounting. All three exams are two hours, contain 50 questions and carry the standard 50 percent pass mark. They are available as on-demand computer-based exams, so you can sit them at any point in the year rather than waiting for a session.
Key Topics to Master:
- Business and Technology (BT): business organisation, environment, governance and the role of technology
- Financial Accounting (FA): double entry, trial balance, financial statement preparation
- Management Accounting (MA): cost classification, budgeting, variance basics, performance measurement
- Accounting for accruals, prepayments, provisions and depreciation
- Basic consolidation and simple group accounts
- Cost behaviour and breakeven analysis
- Internal control and the accountant's role in an organisation
The intermediate level, developing the broad practical finance skills ACCA expects before the strategic papers. Five of the six exams run three hours for 100 marks across objective questions, case-based objective questions and constructed response tasks. Corporate and Business Law is the exception at two hours. December 2025 pass rates ranged from 82 percent on Corporate and Business Law down to 40 percent on Performance Management.
Key Topics to Master:
- Corporate and Business Law (LW): legal framework, contract, employment, company law and insolvency
- Taxation (TX): income tax, corporation tax, capital gains, inheritance tax and VAT in the chosen variant
- Financial Reporting (FR): IFRS application, consolidation of non-complex groups, interpretation of financial statements
- Performance Management (PM): specialist cost accounting, decision making, budgeting, variance analysis, performance measurement
- Financial Management (FM): working capital, investment appraisal, business finance, cost of capital, risk management
- Audit and Assurance (AA): audit framework, planning and risk assessment, internal control, evidence, review and reporting
- Use of spreadsheet and word processing tools inside the exam system for constructed response answers
An integrated case study designed to mirror the workplace, running three hours and 15 minutes with three compulsory tasks. It carries 80 technical marks and 20 professional skills marks. Pre-seen material describing the case organisation and its industry is released two weeks before the exam, so preparation includes analysing that pack before you sit. December 2025 pass rate was 50 percent.
Key Topics to Master:
- Leadership, governance and corporate responsibility
- Strategy formulation, position analysis and strategic choice
- Risk identification, assessment and management
- Technology, data analytics and cyber risk in a strategic context
- Organisational control, performance measurement and change management
- Finance in planning and decision making
- Professional skills marks for analysis, commercial acumen, communication, evaluation and scepticism
- Working with pre-seen material and unseen exhibits under time pressure
A three-hour 15-minute exam in two sections, all questions compulsory. It tests the application and evaluation of IFRS Accounting Standards and IFRS Sustainability Standards to complex reporting situations, and the ability to explain the effect of those choices to non-accountant stakeholders. December 2025 pass rate was 48 percent, among the lower results at Essentials level.
Key Topics to Master:
- Application of IFRS Accounting Standards to complex transactions
- Group accounting including step acquisitions, disposals and foreign subsidiaries
- Financial instruments, leases, pensions and share-based payment
- Revenue recognition and deferred tax in complex scenarios
- IFRS Sustainability Standards and the reporting of sustainability information
- Ethical and professional issues in corporate reporting
- Interpretation and analysis of financial statements for stakeholders
- Current issues and the effect of proposed standard changes
Three hours and 15 minutes, two sections, all questions compulsory. It builds directly on Financial Management and takes the role of a senior financial adviser or consultant. December 2025 pass rate was 45 percent. Chosen most often by candidates heading toward corporate finance, treasury or transaction advisory work rather than practice.
Key Topics to Master:
- Role and responsibility of the senior financial executive
- Advanced investment appraisal including adjusted present value and real options
- Acquisitions, mergers and business valuation
- Corporate reconstruction and reorganisation
- Treasury and advanced risk management techniques
- Currency and interest rate hedging with derivatives
- Financing decisions and capital structure in international groups
- Economic environment for multinational organisations
Three hours and 15 minutes, divided into two sections with all questions compulsory. It examines audit and assurance from the position of an engagement partner. December 2025 pass rate was 38 percent, the lowest of any exam in the qualification that session. It is required reading for anyone pursuing a UK or Ireland practising certificate and audit qualification.
Key Topics to Master:
- Regulatory environment, including money laundering and laws and regulations
- Professional and ethical considerations and independence threats
- Quality management at firm and engagement level
- Planning, risk assessment and materiality for complex entities
- Group audits, component auditors and using the work of others
- Evidence evaluation and completion procedures
- Auditor reporting including modified opinions and key audit matters
- Other assignments including due diligence, forensic work and prospective financial information
Three hours and 15 minutes across two sections, all questions compulsory, taken in a jurisdiction variant. It moves beyond computation into advising individuals and businesses on the tax effect of decisions and on interacting with the tax authority. December 2025 pass rate was 50 percent, the highest of the four Options that session against 45 percent for Advanced Financial Management, 41 percent for Advanced Performance Management and 38 percent for Advanced Audit and Assurance.
Key Topics to Master:
- Advanced income tax and national insurance planning for individuals
- Corporation tax for groups, including loss relief and group relief planning
- Capital gains tax reliefs and disposals of business assets
- Inheritance tax planning and the interaction with capital gains tax
- Value added tax including partial exemption and groups
- Taxation of owner-managed businesses and profit extraction
- International aspects including residence, domicile and double tax relief
- Ethical and professional issues in giving tax advice
Three hours and 15 minutes, two sections, all questions compulsory. It applies management accounting techniques to strategic planning and control in a wide range of organisational contexts. December 2025 pass rate was 41 percent. The recurring failure mode is treating it as a calculation paper when the marks sit in evaluation and recommendation.
Key Topics to Master:
- Strategic planning and control and the impact of the external environment
- Performance management information systems and data analytics
- Design and use of performance measurement systems
- Financial and non-financial performance measures
- Divisional performance, transfer pricing and international considerations
- Performance measurement in not-for-profit and public sector organisations
- Behavioural aspects of performance management and reward systems
- Current developments and their effect on performance measurement
An online module that develops ethical and professional behaviours through realistic business situations. ACCA recommends completing it after the Applied Knowledge exams and before starting Strategic Professional, and states that students who complete it in advance of sitting Strategic Professional exams have a 25 percent better success rate. It is required for the Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business and for membership.
Key Topics to Master:
- Ethics and professionalism in practical business scenarios
- Personal effectiveness and professional judgement
- Innovation and scepticism
- Commercial awareness
- Analysis, evaluation and communication skills used in Strategic Professional exams
- Leadership and team-working behaviours
To qualify as an ACCA member you must complete a minimum of 36 months of relevant work experience and achieve 9 performance objectives, each signed off by a practical experience supervisor. Experience can be gained before, during or after the exams. This is the component that most often delays affiliates from converting to members after they have finished all 13 exams.
Key Topics to Master:
- 36 months of relevant work experience in an accounting or finance role
- 5 Essentials performance objectives covering ethics, stakeholder relationships, strategy and innovation, governance risk and control, and leadership
- 4 Technical performance objectives chosen from the available options
- Sign-off by a practical experience supervisor
- Recording experience and objectives in the My Experience tool in myACCA
- Experience can be accumulated across multiple employers and roles
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Confirm which exams you are entering for this session, remembering the cap of four exams per cycle and eight distinct exams per calendar year
- 2Enter before the standard entry deadline, since December 2026 standard entry closes 2 November and late entry raises an Applied Skills exam from £160 to £409
- 3Download the current syllabus and study guide PDF for each exam from ACCA and mark every learning outcome as known, shaky or unseen
- 4Open the ACCA Study Hub and the CBE Practice Platform and confirm both work on the machine you will study on
- 5For Strategic Business Leader, check when the pre-seen material is released, two weeks before the exam
- 1Work through the first third of the syllabus areas by learning outcome rather than by textbook chapter
- 2Complete every worked example in the Study Hub material for those areas without looking at the answer first
- 3Build a formula and pro forma sheet for the calculations in your paper
- 4Attempt 30 objective test questions from the Practice Platform on covered areas
- 5Log every wrong answer with the specific learning outcome it maps to
- 1Cover the second third of the syllabus at the same depth
- 2Practise the constructed response format in the exam software, including the spreadsheet and word processing tools, since typing answers is slower than writing them
- 3Rework the week 2 misses without prompts
- 4Read two examining team technical articles for your paper on ACCA's site
- 5Attempt one full past-exam Section A or B set under timed conditions
- 1Cover the final third of the syllabus
- 2For Financial Reporting or Strategic Business Reporting, work consolidation questions with a full standard workings layout every time
- 3For Performance Management or Advanced Performance Management, practise questions where the marks sit in evaluation rather than calculation
- 4Attempt 60 mixed objective test questions across the whole syllabus
- 5Review the examinable documents list to confirm which standards and tax rules apply to your session
- 1Sit a complete past exam from the CBE Practice Platform under exam-length conditions, 2 hours, 3 hours or 3 hours 15 minutes depending on your paper
- 2Self-mark using the marking guide and sample answers inside the platform rather than by impression
- 3Count how many marks you lost to running out of time versus not knowing the content
- 4Identify the three syllabus areas with the worst mark yield per minute spent
- 5Read the examiner's report for that past exam and check whether your errors match the ones reported
- 1Spend the bulk of study time on the three weakest areas found in week 5
- 2Rebuild the technique for any question type where you scored under half marks
- 3Redo the same past exam questions from scratch and compare mark by mark
- 4Practise question requirement verbs specifically: evaluate, discuss and recommend demand different answer shapes
- 5Attempt 40 further objective test questions in the weak areas
- 1For Strategic Business Leader, work the five professional skills areas separately: analysis, commercial acumen, communication, evaluation and scepticism, each worth 4 of the 20 professional marks
- 2Practise writing in the requested format, such as a briefing note, board report or email, since format carries communication marks
- 3For Applied Skills constructed responses, practise showing clear workings that a marker can follow
- 4Time yourself allocating roughly 1.8 minutes per mark and check you are not overrunning on early tasks
- 5Attempt a second full past exam
- 1Sit another complete past exam under timed conditions on a different day of the week to vary conditions
- 2Self-mark and compare the profile of losses against week 5
- 3Rework every question where the answer was technically right but presented in a way that would not earn the marks
- 4Review current issues and recent examinable document changes for your paper
- 5Confirm your exam booking details, centre or remote invigilation setup
- 1Work one question from every syllabus area, including areas you consider strong, to protect against a narrow paper
- 2Redo your formula and pro forma sheet from memory and correct the gaps
- 3Complete 100 mixed objective test questions in a single sitting to build stamina
- 4For Strategic Business Leader, analyse the released pre-seen material and prepare an organisation summary covering strategy, structure, finances and risks
- 5Read two more examiner reports for common failure patterns
- 1Sit a third complete past exam at the same time of day as your booked appointment
- 2Mark strictly and record your percentage against the 50 percent pass mark
- 3Rework every constructed response question where you scored below half marks
- 4Practise the exam software navigation, flagging and review functions so no time is lost to interface
- 5Check the marking guide language for the verbs you are weakest on
- 1Concentrate on any syllabus area still yielding under 50 percent in practice
- 2Redo every question missed across all three mock exams in random order
- 3Rehearse the opening 20 minutes of your exam: how you will read requirements, allocate time and choose an order
- 4Confirm identification and any remote invigilation system requirements ahead of the day
- 5Reduce new material intake and shift to consolidation
- 1Review your formula sheet, pro formas and standard workings only
- 2Reread the examiner's reports for the two most recent sessions of your paper
- 3For Strategic Business Leader, revisit the pre-seen analysis rather than starting new technical study
- 4Confirm the exam start time and travel or remote setup a full day ahead
- 5Sleep rather than cram in the final 48 hours, since these are long exams and pacing depends on concentration
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Best Study Resources
ACCA Study Hub
Official study platformACCA's digital platform giving free access to study materials, flashcards, short quizzes and practice questions across the syllabus. It replaces the need to buy a textbook for many students.
Free to registered students
ACCA CBE Practice Platform
Official exam simulatorPast, practice and mock exams in the real exam software, including the spreadsheet and word processing tools used for constructed response answers. You self-mark inside the platform against marking guides and sample answers.
Free to registered students
Syllabus and study guide PDFs
Official syllabusEach exam has a dated syllabus and study guide, for example the September 2026 to June 2027 version, listing every learning outcome and the exam format. This is the correct checklist for gap analysis rather than a publisher's contents page.
Free
Examiner's reports
Official feedbackPublished after each session, these describe exactly where candidates lost marks on that paper. They are the most direct signal available on how markers read answers, particularly for the constructed response and case study papers.
Free
Examinable documents
Official reference listThe list of IFRS Accounting Standards, IFRS Sustainability Standards and other material examinable in a given session. Financial Reporting and Strategic Business Reporting share a single combined document, and tax papers have their own session-dated rules.
Free
Technical articles from the examining team
Official articlesWritten by the people who set the exams, covering areas where candidates repeatedly underperform. ACCA publishes them per exam alongside topic explainer videos and mock debrief videos.
Free
BPP Learning Media ACCA materials
Approved Content ProviderOne of ACCA's approved content providers, producing study texts, exam kits and revision material aligned to the current syllabus. The exam kit question banks are the most used part.
Paid per title or package
Kaplan Publishing ACCA materials
Approved Content ProviderThe other main approved content provider, with study texts, exam kits and pocket notes. Many Approved Learning Providers teach from this material, so it pairs well with tuition.
Paid per title or package
ACCA find a tuition provider service
Official directoryACCA's directory of Approved Learning Providers offering classroom and online tuition. Useful when you have failed a paper twice on your own and need structured teaching rather than more question practice.
Free to search
ACCA Qualification transition tool
Official planning toolShows how the redesigned qualification affects your specific position, given that the final sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams is June 2027.
Free
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Missing the standard entry deadline and paying the late entry fee.
For the December 2026 session, standard entry closes 2 November and late entry closes 9 November. An Applied Skills exam costs £160 at standard entry and £409 at late entry, and Strategic Professional papers jump from £208 or £282 to £467. Entering one week earlier saves more than the cost of a textbook.
Entering four exams in a cycle because the rules allow it.
Four per cycle is the maximum, not a target. December 2025 pass rates were 40 percent on Performance Management, 38 percent on Advanced Audit and Assurance and 41 percent on Advanced Performance Management. Sitting two papers properly prepared beats four half prepared, and each failed paper costs another entry fee.
Practising constructed response answers on paper rather than in the exam software.
Applied Skills Section C and the Strategic Professional papers require you to type answers and build calculations in the built-in spreadsheet and word processor. Use the CBE Practice Platform for every mock, because typing speed and tool navigation cost real marks for candidates who only ever wrote longhand.
Ignoring the pre-seen material for Strategic Business Leader until exam day.
ACCA releases pre-seen material two weeks before the exam containing the case organisation's business activities and industry. The examining team states that prior understanding of the pre-seen saves time in the exam. Build a summary of the organisation's strategy, finances, structure and risks before you sit.
Chasing calculations in Performance Management and Advanced Performance Management.
Marks concentrate in evaluation, interpretation and recommendation. ACCA's own guidance on ratio questions in Financial Reporting says the marking guide is weighted toward analysis and interpretation and that calculating ratios earns little credit. Treat the numbers as the input to an argument, not the answer.
Leaving the Ethics and Professional Skills Module until after starting Strategic Professional.
ACCA states that students who complete the module before sitting Strategic Professional exams have a 25 percent better success rate. It costs £83 and it is required for membership anyway, so completing it during Applied Skills removes both a risk and a later scheduling problem.
Treating Strategic Professional passes as permanent.
Once you pass your first Strategic Professional exam a seven-year clock starts. Any Strategic Professional pass older than seven years when you finish will be lost and must be retaken. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills passes never expire, so the risk is concentrated entirely at the final level.
Finishing all 13 exams and then discovering the Practical Experience Requirement is incomplete.
Membership requires 36 months of relevant experience and 9 performance objectives signed off by a practical experience supervisor. Record experience in My Experience as you go, because reconstructing three years of objectives with a former supervisor who has moved on is far harder than logging it monthly.
Studying from an out-of-date syllabus or standards list.
Syllabus and study guide PDFs are session-dated, for example September 2026 to June 2027, and the examinable documents list changes. Tax papers change with each Finance Act variant. Download the version matching your booked session rather than reusing last year's file.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Every ACCA exam is computer-based, so the interface matters. Practise on the CBE Practice Platform until flagging, navigating between sections and switching between the spreadsheet and word processor are automatic.
- 2
Applied Knowledge exams and the two Corporate and Business Law variants are on-demand: results appear immediately at the end of the exam and reach your account within 72 hours. Session exams give you nothing on the day and take approximately six weeks.
- 3
Allocate time by marks, not by question. A three-hour Applied Skills exam carries 100 marks, so roughly 1.8 minutes a mark. Overrunning on the two Section C constructed responses is the standard way candidates lose an otherwise passing paper.
- 4
You need 50 percent overall and not 50 percent in each section. If Section A goes badly there is still a pass available in Sections B and C, so do not spend the remaining time relitigating objective questions you cannot check.
- 5
All sections and all questions are compulsory in the current exams. There is no choice, so a syllabus area you skipped cannot be avoided on the day.
- 6
For Strategic Business Leader, remember 20 of the 100 marks are professional skills marks split across analysis, commercial acumen, communication, evaluation and scepticism. Writing in the format the task asks for, such as a briefing note or an email, is where communication marks are earned.
- 7
Discount factors are supplied for present values covering more than one year in Financial Reporting, but you are expected to compute a single-year present value yourself. Know which tables you get and which you do not for your specific paper.
- 8
If you are taking a remotely invigilated session exam, run the system check on the same machine and connection you will use, at the same time of day, well before the session opens.
- 9
Read requirement verbs precisely. Evaluate, discuss and recommend produce different answer structures, and ACCA publishes guidance on exam verbs specifically because candidates answer the wrong question shape.
- 10
Bring identification that matches your ACCA registration exactly if you are sitting at a centre, and arrive with enough margin that a delayed start does not eat into an exam that already has no slack.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Audit senior in practice
Runs field work on audit engagements and supervises junior staff. Audit and Assurance at Applied Skills and Advanced Audit and Assurance at Strategic Professional are the direct syllabus route, and the Options choice matters if you want a UK or Ireland practising certificate and audit qualification later.
$60k-$85k
Financial accountant
Owns the statutory reporting cycle, consolidation and the interface with external auditors. Financial Reporting and Strategic Business Reporting cover the technical core, including group accounting and the IFRS Sustainability Standards now in the syllabus.
$65k-$95k
Management accountant or FP and A analyst
Runs budgeting, forecasting and performance reporting for a business unit. Performance Management and Advanced Performance Management supply the divisional performance, transfer pricing and non-financial measurement content this role uses.
$65k-$95k
Tax adviser
Advises individuals and companies on planning and compliance in a specific jurisdiction. Taxation and Advanced Taxation are taken in a jurisdiction variant, so the qualification maps to the tax system you will actually practise in.
$70k-$105k
Financial controller
Leads the finance function of a company or division, covering reporting, controls, treasury and business partnering. This is where the breadth of the 13-exam structure pays, because the role touches reporting, tax, audit liaison and performance management in the same week.
$90k-$120k
Corporate finance or transaction services analyst
Works on valuations, due diligence and deal support. Advanced Financial Management covers business valuation, acquisitions and mergers, corporate reconstruction and advanced investment appraisal, which is the technical base for this path.
$75k-$120k
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Minimum entry requirement of two A Levels and three GCSEs in five separate subjects including English and mathematics, or equivalent qualifications.
- Applicants who do not meet that requirement can start with Foundations in Accountancy, which has no minimum entry requirements, and transfer onto the ACCA Qualification afterwards.
- Initial registration fee of £89, plus an annual student subscription of £140 for 2026, due by 1 January each year to keep student status active. Students who fail to pay are removed from the register and pay an £89 re-registration fee plus arrears to be reinstated.
- Exams must be taken in modular order: Applied Knowledge, then Applied Skills, then Strategic Professional. Within a module you can take papers in any order, but to enter the next module you must also enter for all outstanding exams in the current one.
- The Ethics and Professional Skills Module, at £83, should be started after the Applied Knowledge exams and completed before Strategic Professional.
- A minimum of 36 months of relevant work experience and 9 performance objectives signed off by a practical experience supervisor, which can be gained before, during or after the exams.
- Exemptions may be claimed for relevant prior qualifications, charged at £86 per Applied Knowledge exemption and £114 per Applied Skills exemption. No exemptions are available at Strategic Professional level.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many exams are in the ACCA Qualification?
Thirteen. Three at Applied Knowledge, six at Applied Skills, and four at Strategic Professional made up of both Essentials exams plus two Options chosen from four. Exemptions from relevant prior study can reduce the number you actually sit at the first two levels, but there are no exemptions at Strategic Professional.
What is the ACCA pass mark?
50 percent on every exam. You need 50 percent overall rather than 50 percent in each section, and all sections and all questions are compulsory with no choice of which to answer.
How much does ACCA cost in total?
Typically £2,000 to £4,000 across the whole qualification. The fixed items are £89 initial registration, £140 annual student subscription for 2026, and £83 for the Ethics and Professional Skills Module. Exam entry at December 2026 standard rates is £160 per Applied Skills exam, £282 for Strategic Business Leader, and £208 each for Strategic Business Reporting and the Options. Applied Knowledge exam fees at a computer-based exam centre are set by the centre itself.
What happens if I enter late for an exam?
You pay substantially more. For the December 2026 session, standard entry closes 2 November at 23:59 GMT and late entry closes 9 November. An Applied Skills exam rises from £160 to £409, and every Strategic Professional exam rises to £467 regardless of which paper it is.
How long does it take to get ACCA exam results?
Session exams taken in March, June, September or December release results approximately six weeks after the exam. On-demand computer-based exams, which cover Applied Knowledge and the LW-ENG and LW-GLO variants of Corporate and Business Law, display your result immediately at the end of the exam and upload it to your account within 72 hours.
How many ACCA exams can I take at once?
Up to four exams in a single exam cycle, and a maximum of eight distinct exams across a calendar year. The cycles are 1 January to 31 March, 1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, and 1 October to 31 December.
What happens if I fail an ACCA exam?
You re-enter for a later session and pay the entry fee again. There is no limit on the number of attempts at a given exam and no waiting period beyond the session structure, though the four-per-cycle and eight-per-year caps still apply. Read the examiner's report for the session you sat, because it describes where candidates lost marks on that exact paper.
Do ACCA exam passes expire?
Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills passes never expire. Strategic Professional passes are subject to the seven-year rule: once you pass your first Strategic Professional exam you have seven years to pass the rest and reach affiliate status, and any Strategic Professional pass older than seven years at that point is lost and must be retaken.
Can I get an extension to the seven-year rule?
Only in the most extenuating circumstances, such as critical illness or bereavement after long-term care. The maximum extension ACCA can grant is one year, equal to four exam sessions, and only one request per student is allowed. The request must be submitted between the results release day of the session before your exam expires and the standard entry closing date of the session it expires in. Expired results cannot be extended after the fact.
How long is each ACCA exam?
Applied Knowledge exams are two hours. Corporate and Business Law is two hours. Performance Management, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance and Financial Management are three hours. Strategic Business Leader, Strategic Business Reporting and all four Options exams are three hours and 15 minutes. Strategic Business Leader was reduced from four hours to three hours 15 minutes because background information moved into pre-seen material released two weeks ahead.
What are ACCA pass rates?
ACCA publishes them after every session. In December 2025 they were 87 percent for Business and Technology, 68 percent for Financial Accounting and 64 percent for Management Accounting at Applied Knowledge; 82 percent for Corporate and Business Law, 55 percent for Taxation, 51 percent for Financial Reporting, 48 percent for Financial Management, 46 percent for Audit and Assurance and 40 percent for Performance Management at Applied Skills; and 50 percent for Strategic Business Leader, 48 percent for Strategic Business Reporting, 50 percent for Advanced Taxation, 45 percent for Advanced Financial Management, 41 percent for Advanced Performance Management and 38 percent for Advanced Audit and Assurance at Strategic Professional.
Which Strategic Professional Options should I choose?
You pick two of four. Advanced Audit and Assurance is required in practice if you are heading toward a UK or Ireland practising certificate and audit qualification. Advanced Taxation suits a tax career and is taken in a jurisdiction variant. Advanced Financial Management fits corporate finance, treasury and transaction work. Advanced Performance Management fits management accounting and business partnering. December 2025 pass rates were 50 percent for Advanced Taxation, 45 percent for Advanced Financial Management, 41 percent for Advanced Performance Management and 38 percent for Advanced Audit and Assurance.
What is the Practical Experience Requirement?
A minimum of 36 months of relevant work experience plus 9 performance objectives, all signed off by a practical experience supervisor. It can be completed before, during or after the exams, and it is required for membership rather than for sitting exams. Affiliates who have passed all 13 exams remain affiliates until the experience requirement is signed off.
Do I need a degree to start ACCA?
No. The minimum entry requirement is two A Levels and three GCSEs in five separate subjects including English and mathematics, or equivalent qualifications. If you do not meet that, the Foundations in Accountancy route has no minimum entry requirements and leads onto the ACCA Qualification. A relevant degree does help in a different way, by qualifying you for exemptions.
How do ACCA exemptions work?
Relevant prior qualifications can exempt you from individual exams at Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills, charged per exemption at £86 and £114 respectively. There are no exemptions at Strategic Professional. Note that if you are pursuing a UK practising certificate and audit qualification, exemptions can only be awarded on the basis of qualifications less than five years old at the time of award.
Is the ACCA Qualification changing?
Yes. ACCA has announced a redesigned qualification structured over Knowledge, Expertise and Strategic Professional levels, with a Foundations route in. The final sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams is June 2027. Foundations and Knowledge exams become available on demand from July 2027, and the first sitting of the Expertise and Strategic Professional exams is September 2027. At Strategic Professional students will then need two core exams plus one Option rather than two, chosen from five Options including a new Data Science Professional paper. ACCA has published a transition tool showing how your current progress carries over.
How does ACCA compare to the CPA?
ACCA is a 13-exam UK-based qualification recognised in 180 countries, built around IFRS, with jurisdiction variants for law and tax and a 36-month practical experience requirement. The US CPA is a four-section exam licensed by individual state boards, built around US GAAP and US tax, with a 150 credit hour education requirement. ACCA travels better internationally. The CPA is the requirement for signing audit opinions in the United States. Which is right depends almost entirely on where you intend to practise.
Can I take ACCA exams from home?
Yes, in part. ACCA offers remotely invigilated exams alongside centre-based delivery, and the four exam cycles apply to both. The Applied Knowledge exams and both Corporate and Business Law variants are also available as remote on-demand exams. Fees for remote on-demand exams are published separately from centre-based fees, which are set by the centres themselves.
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