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Hi,
I’m currently on professional module of ACCA with 4 papers remaining and I plan to pursue CFA as soon as I’m done. I have come across many comments stating that P4 is helpful in understanding CFA level 1. If this is in fact the case and I should take P4, what would be the best combination of P1, P2, P4 and P7 for me to take? I would take two per sitting and since I work in audit I would rather take harder ones in December for workload reasons, but I would also like to remember P4 for CFA. Thanks in advance 🙂You have no choice. If you are taking two per sitting then you have to complete P1 and P2 (or at least be attempting them at the same sitting as the optional paper) before you can do P4 and P7.
Progression rule change for Professional level exams
If you enter for exams from 6 July 2015 (September 2015 exam entry opening date) you will be able to take the Professional level exams (P1–P7) in any order, meaning you have further flexibility to structure your studies as you wish and personalise your student journey.
We would advise students who take the P7 exam to continue to take the P2 exam in advance of, or at the same time as, studying for the P7 exam.
Progression rules for the Fundamentals and Skills papers will remain in place, in order to maximise the possibility of students progressing successfully through their studies
Hi Keta – If you want to take the hardest ones in December then I suggest P4 and P2, these are the hardest amongst the stated ones, at least from my point of view. Don’t be stressed over remembering P4 though, yes it is true that P4 contains CFA materials, but it is mostly only the Corporate finance topic and slightly other topics which are touched by P4, so there is a load of materials which are new regardless in CFA level 1 and yeah P4 was helpful to me in preparing for CFA level 1 but it was not critical to my success, even the CF topic, I had to study and practice a lot, because the type of questions and style is very different from ACCA. So don’t stress over it much, even if you forget p4 a little, it won’t make that big difference.
It’s easy to think that F9/P4 has some overlap with CFA curriculum, and some underlying concepts and theories might indeed overlap, but the overall correlation between the two is way lower than you think. And I’m talking about CFA L2 & L3 exams here, since you don’t even need P2 level knowledge for L1.
Firstly, that’s because the focus groups/functions of each qualification are different. Accountant/auditor/controller/CFO career path is quite off from investment analyst/portfolio manager/fund manager path.
Secondly, even within those overlapping elements – e.g. valuation models – the exam techniques & practice you need to master are completely different. It’s hard to write it out the differences in detail, but the point is, the synergy you’d expect isn’t there.
So, I’d suggest you separate the preparation for each, train your brain toward exams of one qualification at a time, don’t try to mix them up in June sittings since ACCA and CFA dates will be most likely only a few days apart.
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