Accountancy is a dynamic profession. Both the needs of employers and the regulatory landscape are constantly evolving. Through regular reviews of its qualification, ACCA maintains and develops its position as a world-leading provider of qualifications for the development of accountants and finance professionals.
Built on the success of the Professional Scheme, in January 2006 ACCA announced its new professional qualification. Named the ACCA Qualification, it was first examined in December 2007.
Comparison of old and new exams
The following is not a detailed analysis of the syllabuses, were papers are marked as being similar then most of the syllabus is the same, but in every paper there have been some topics removed and some topics added.
| F1 | Accountant in Business | new paper |
| F2 | Management Accounting | similar to Paper 1.2 |
| F3 | Financial Accounting | similar to Paper 1.1 |
| F4 | Corporate and Business Law | similar to Paper 2.2 |
| F5 | Performance Management | half of Paper 2.4 plus bits from Paper 3.3 |
| F6 | Taxation | similar to Paper 2.3 |
| F7 | Financial Reporting | similar to Paper 2.5 |
| F8 | Audit and Assurance | similar to paper 2.6 |
| F9 | Financial Management | half of Paper 2.4 plus bits from Paper 3.7 |
| P1 | Professional Accountant | new paper |
| P2 | Corporate Reporting | similar to Paper 3.6 |
| P3 | Business Analysis | similar to Paper 3.5 |
| Options Module (any two papers) | ||
| P4 | Advanced Financial Management | similar to Paper 3.7 |
| P5 | Advanced Performance Management | similar to Paper 3.3 |
| P6 | Advanced Taxation | similar to Paper 3.2 |
| P7 | Advanced Audit and Assurance | similar to Paper 3.1 |
Note that the current Papers 1.3, 2.1 and 3.4 have no equivalent papers in the new syllabus. Students that have passed these papers receive credits against other new syllabus papers. However, if a student should fail any of these papers in June 2007 they will have to study a new paper for the December 2007 examinations.
Key Changes
Key points which have not altered
- There are still 14 exam papers to complete (no student will have any more papers left to do under the new syllabus than they would have had under the current syllabus).
- Exemptions may be given from lower level papers on application to ACCA.
- You can complete a maximum of 4 exams per sitting, in June and December each year.
- Higher level papers assume knowledge from lower level papers.
- Syllabus is IFAC compliant
- Certain papers have both International and UK variants
- The Oxford Brookes degree is still available, subject to your individual eligibility for the scheme (contact ACCA to discuss this)
- Practical experience and exams must be completed before ACCA Membership
Major Changes
- There are now only two levels, which each contain two modules: i.e. 4 modules in total (instead of 3 parts)
- The Fundamentals level replaces parts 1 & 2
- Part 1 has been renamed Knowledge module
- Part 2 has been renamed Skills module
- The Professional level replaces part 3
- Core papers are now known as Essentials
- Options title stays the same
- Option papers will now be taken after the Essential papers (more later on exception to this rule)
- A brand new paper: P1 Professional Accountant has been added
- On-line “Professional Ethics” module added
- New annual Practical Experience Requirements (PER) replaces the STR (more later)
- No requirement to sit any papers together (i.e. the core paper rule has disappeared)
- More emphasis on codes of conduct, professionalism and ethics
- Papers 2.1 and 3.4 have been removed & are now assessed in the workplace
- The equivalent to paper 3.7 is now an optional paper
Examination conversion arrangements
Students who have already passed examinations (or received exemptions)
under the existing syllabus will receive credits for the equivalent papers
under the new syllabus.
| Current exams | Credit for new exams |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Preparing Financial Statements | F3 Financial Accounting |
| 1.2 Financial Information for Management | F2 Management Accounting |
| 1.3 Managing People | F1 Accountant in Business |
| 2.1 Information Systems | F5 Performance Management |
| 2.2 Corporate and Business Law | F4 Corporate and Business Law |
| 2.3 Business Taxation | F6 Taxation |
| 2.4 Financial Management and Control | F9 Financial Management |
| 2.5 Financial Reporting | F7 Financial Reporting |
| 2.6 Audit and Internal Review | F8 Audit and Assurance |
| 3.1 Audit and Assurance Services | P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance |
| 3.2 Advanced Taxation | P6 Advanced Taxation |
| 3.3 Performance Management | P5 Advanced Performance Management |
| 3.4 Business Information Management | See note below |
| 3.5 Strategic Business Planning and Development | P3 Business Analysis |
| 3.6 Advanced Corporate Reporting | P2 Corporate Reporting |
| 3.7 Strategic Financial Management | P1 Professional Accountant or P4 Advanced Financial Management |
There is no corresponding paper on the new syllabus for Paper 3.4 Business
Information Management.
Students who have passed Paper 3.4 in, or before, June 2007 will receive a
general “Options” credit but not for any specific Options Paper under the new
syllabus.
Conversion details
- If you are already registered with ACCA, you do not need to register again
- All existing exam results will be converted by ACCA in August 2007 when you will be notified of the papers that you will need to complete
- For most papers, there is a direct transition between the new and current syllabus
- All existing students and affiliates will be required to transfer to the new practical experience requirements by 31 December 2007. Whereas conversion to the new exam syllabus happens automatically for active students in mid-August 2007, students and affiliates will need to transfer any competences they have achieved under the current STR to the new system. No student will be disadvantaged by the transition arrangements or will have to repeat work experience already achieved.
- While completion of the online Professional Ethics module will not be mandatory for existing students converting to the new qualification, they will be encouraged to complete the module)
For students transferring from the current syllabus we
would make the following points:
If Paper 2.1 has already been passed (or exempted)
but Paper 2.4 has not been taken:
- Under the new syllabus exemption is given for F5
(Performance Management) even though students will
not have done the studies for it.
It might therefore be better to choose P4 as an option
paper in preference to P5.
If both Paper 2.1 and 2.4 have been passed (or
exempted):
- Under the new syllabus exemption is given for
F5 (Performance Management) and F9 (Financial
Management). - For Paper 2.4 students will have studied the
fundamentals of both Performance and Financial
Management and in deciding between P4 and P5 they
should consider which part of the Paper 2.4 syllabus
they found most difficult.
ACCA has developed an online exam conversion tool to help students calculate which exam papers they will have to complete on the new syllabus. Click here to access the online exam conversion tool