What is ACCA?

What is ACCA? ACCA stands for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants a leading international accountancy body. The ACCA qualification is recognised and is treated in other countries as being equivalent to their local qualification.

The ACCA qualification proves to employers that you have ability in all aspects of business.
It is the largest and fastest growing qualification in the world, with over 500,000 members and students in 170 countries

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
• It 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
• The 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 the qualification 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.

5 things you should know about ACCA

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 13 exams in English and have relevant practical experience which you can gain in any business sector you are working in.

3. 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

4. The professional qualification covers all areas of business, from financial statements, management accounting, business taxation & law to audit and also business ethics!

5. 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

The Syllabus – List of examinations

You will need to complete 13 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:

Applied Knowledge > Applied Skills > Strategic Professional (Essentials + Options)

Find our more details about the exams here >>

Studying for the ACCA Qualification

In order to become an ACCA it is necessary to pass 13 examinations (although if you have any accountancy or business related degree from university you are likely to be exempt from some of the examinations).
You can study in any way you like – you can attend courses, study at home with books, or study on-line.

Free study materials for the ACCA Qualification are available on the OpenTuition website

The exams are held 4 times a year – in March, June, September and in December – and at each sitting you can attempt as many exams as you like (up to a maximum of 4 at one sitting), or no exams at all! However, you must complete all the exams within a period of ten years.
Exams are held in almost all countries throughout the world.

Find out more:

Do you have any questions? Post them on OpenTuition Forums

You can find full details of the Qualification and the examinations on the following accaglobal web page