What is ACCA? ACCA stands for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is a leading international accountancy body. Its members are required to pass a series of examinations in order to qualify. The qualification is internationally recognised and is treated in other countries as being equivalent to the local one.
The examinations cover all aspects of business management from the purely technical – such as bookkeeping and cost accounting – to the more theoretical aspects such as motivational theory and theories of risk.
The ACCA qualification delivers professional accountants who are capable of building successful careers across all sectors, from practising in accounting firms, to the corporate, financial services and public sectors.
In this respect it is very similar to an MBA, but it offers a much more practical emphasis. The qualification is not aimed at any one particular business sector – the examinations cover all areas of business management.
The ACCA Qualification is designed to deliver a broad-based qualification, focusing on the essential skills of accounting, business and finance – without introducing unnecessary barriers to membership. It offers a choice of examinations and work experience competences to allow students and their sponsors to tailor the path of the qualification to suit their needs and aspirations.
Benefits of the ACCA qualification
* enables you to become a Chartered Certified Accountant, use the designatory letters ACCA, and work in any aspect of finance or management in any business.
* better employment prospects as a result of having shown an ability in all areas of business.
* assures an employer that you have the skills necessary to progress to more senior management positions.
* higher status in the eyes of an employer, and also your clients
* ACCA is the largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy body in the world, with over 320,000 members and students in 170 countries
* gaining such a qualification is evidence that the holder possesses skills and knowledge which are in high demand by employers in industry, banking, auditing, consulting as well as other professions like taxation and law.
* candidates not only gain specialist knowledge in finance and accounting, but also acquire valuable skills in organisational management and strategy
* the qualification does not concentrate only on theory, and unlike Universities prepares a graduate for practical usage.
* the qualification is based on international accounting and auditing standards and is IFAC compliant
* ACCA Professional qualification is of a high standard and is equivalent to completing full University Degree
* with exams twice a year students can work while they study
* personal satisfaction of having acquired the business skills
Did you know you ACCA is very flexible? You have ten years to complete your exams, you can study while you work, you can access wide range free ACCA study materials and study at home
Why not MBA?
Without doubt MBA programmes offer high level of advanced education and are prestigious throughout the world, but many of them are not recognized either by workplace or firms.
There are no consistent standards of content or quality of an MBA programme – as these are internally determined and assessed by the university itself. That’s why one MBA degree is not comparable with another.
10 things you should know
1. The ACCA (“Association of Chartered Certified Accountants”) is a global professional body issuing highly respected and valued international qualifications in business. It is recognised by member states of the European Union and the United Nations.
2. How to get the qualification? You have to pass a maximum of 14 written exams in English and have relevant practical experience which you can gain in any business sector you are working in.
3. Exams take place in Riga and are supervised by the Baltic Council for International Education
4. You can take up to 4 exams each session, and you have 10 years to do it! Normally it takes 2 or 3 years to qualify
5. To start you need to have a University Diploma – in any faculty. If you have an economic or business degree, you may have to pass just 9 exams to qualify.
6. ACCA exams are not just theory! They are also ‘practical’ case studies.
7. ACCA professional qualification covers all areas of business, from financial statements, management accounting, business taxation & law to audit and also business ethics!
8. With exams twice a year in June and December you have maximum flexibility to study while you work! You can study at home with books, or attend the courses which also are organized in Riga.
9. ACCA – has a worldwide presence with qualified members working in 170 countries. In Latvia, there are over 300 students and over 100 members.
10. Many multinational and local firms seek or require their employees to study for this prestigious qualification.
See also: Why ACCA? Top 10 Reasons to Study for the ACCA Qualification
List of examinations
You will need to complete 14 papers in total. A maximum of nine papers in the Fundamentals level are available for exemption.
The exams have to be taken in the following order:
Knowledge > Skills > Essentials > Options
FUNDAMENTALS (nine papers in total)
Knowledge Module
F1 Accountant in Business (AB)
F2 Management Accounting (MA)
F3 Financial Accounting (FA)
Skills Module
F4 Corporate and Business Law (CL)
F5 Performance Management (PM)
F6 Taxation (TX)
F7 Financial Reporting (FR)
F8 Audit and Assurance (AA)
F9 Financial Management (FM)
PROFESSIONAL (five papers in total)
Essentials Module (all 3 papers)
P1 Governance, Risk & Ethics (GRE)
P2 Corporate Reporting (CR)
P3 Business Analysis (BA)
Options (only 2 papers)
P4 Advanced Financial Management (AFM)
P5 Advanced Performance Management (APM)
P6 Advanced Taxation (ATX)
P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)
For more information, please visit official ACCA website, accaglobal.com
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