Many students have problems choosing which combination of ACCA exams to sit. We have conducted a survey, and over a 1,000 students participated.
Here are the results:
2 ACCA Papers – the best combination
3 ACCA Papers – the best combination
Which is the best combination of ACCA Papers?
hi from options ive decided to take p6 but confused for the the other option i ve flunked in p5 thrice so thinking to switch to p7 but for that p2 knowledge is required which i have cleared more than a year ago would this be fine ? just advice me between p5 and p7 i really wanna be affiliate now plzz help me …
are you working/ in what are of accountancy do u work
either way better to give a go at P7 but you really need P2 and F7 knowledge. thought not to much.
have a look at the P7 syllabus is passable and good match with P6
no iam not currently working well from your comments iam planning to take P7 thanks..
hi there,
i am s tucked with my optional papers (p4-p7) and i am keep sitting P6 for last couple of years but i am sure i will pass P6 next sitting .
Can any one advise me whether i should go for P4 or P5 or P7 to be affiliate in first attempt .
thank you all
Hi nowshin123,
unless you are currently working in Tax. otherwise you should not be sitting 1 option paper that many times. this is the beauty about acca, you have more options to qualify.
my advice to you is just check out the other syllabus which is more relevant to what you do at work or which ever is easier to you (P4 or 5 or 7). do it to become an affiliate (to qualify) then after passing the final paper you just need to call acca to do anymore paper you want to do the next sitting if you need to. Acca told me themselves that you can do that.
i know that you have to pass P6 or P7 to be a register Tax adviser or auditor. but if any of them is giving you trouble to pass, you can always do it after being an affiliate, stress free that is in your own time.
I personally want to do all the option papers. so i choose the two i think is easier for me to pass, then the rest i will do in my own time and no pressure to pass
besides , if you are working in practice or not working then do P7 but if you are working in business P5 i will recommend for you. finally if you are really good in computation the try P4
@edrammeh
Have you done P4 and 5 or is the two a very hard combo. I personally have no interest in doing Audit or Tax. but then what you can pass i know persons who have taken the adv perf man paper at least 6 times.
P4 and P5 are perfect match especially if you want to be senior financial manager(CFO/FC/FD) and senior management accountant or financial analyst or advicer
Check out this article I posted in the ICAEW forum. copied below.
Why would you want to do ICAEW (aca) or cima after ACCA?
if you need to progress in business ofter being a professional Accountant the right way is The ACCA Global MBA or In finance is ACT with lots of exemption for ACCA member
you can do the same jobs irrespective of which qualifications.
there is very minor difference between them.
the main differences are that aca you do not have option to focus in working in Industries or practice, therefore you have to do all 15 Papers (including the case study exam). all three final papers have a bit of management, tax, corporate reporting, auditing and financial management.
Besides the final stage exam cannot be done if you are not doing the work related experience.
With Acca you do 14 out of 16 papers (no case study exams), the final 4 papers you have the option to specialize two areas. these area are:
e.g Option 1 -Paper P4 and p5 which are for those who work in
– Financial management
– Financial accountant
– Management accountancy
– financial/business analyst.
– Risk management
etc
this option is usually chosen by those who work in industries (business/companies) or want to be management consultants in future or specialist working in such area in practices.
Option 2 – Paper P6 and P7 are for those who work in:
– Audit and assurance
-internal Auditors
-Tax accountant /advisers
-Financial accountant
-Risk management
-professional engagement
-etc
this options is usually chosen by those working Practice like auditors, tax advisers etc.
a mixed of the four option papers can give you more option depending the area you are working/specialize.
E.g another option could be P4 and P6 when working in multinational/ big company with a big treasury function or banks that have departments that provide Tax and financial management advice to clients.
The Acca program is design for student to have a very flexible approach to there career, with the help of experts in businesses, shareholder, students and mostly importantly partners/seniors in big accountancy (including the big 4) who most of them are ICAEW members.
The Acca project is to make both an all – rounder and and specialization in the final level of your professional studies. this is because as a professional accountant, you do not have to be a specialist in all accountancy fields.
well i do not know any accountant who is a management accountant, a tax accountant,an Auditor and financial manager at the same time or in all their career. some focus in one other two. so acca lets you focus in two at a time with the option to change field/career in accountancy
also to remove bottleneck and frustrations faces by students in getting qualified. e.g Cima and Icaew student are so frustrated by unnecessary requirements,
say aca you cannot do the final stage without complementary working experience. not all student have the opportunity to have work related experience that easily, especially during their studies.
cima students ( I do not know whether they change) but it was even difficult to have a certificate after passing all exams (unless you achieved the required experience), so student were frustrated by such thing because when then go for an interview with acca student ,the acca student provide certificate of what the have done while the cima qualified have to pill up loads of loose papers and try to explain what they achieved.
Remember guys that what am saying is not a criticism of icaew or cima because no one in their right mind can be little cima or aca (and acca for that matter) as they are all an excellent qualifications i have high respect for those who hold the memberships/affiliate. the difference am saying is effect of the red tape.
My point here is just to help student clarify this issue of crossing carpet from one professional body to another. belief me no one of them is better than the other.
this absolutely waste of time especially Acca student asking for exemption for aca. this is a waste of time.
-Cima and Acca makes the best Management Accountant in my opinion (as you can specialize in this area) Icaew have too much tax not need for management accountant so do not waste your time.
-Icaew and Acca are the only option if you want to be tax accountant and/or auditor because Cima member are not allow to do external Auditing and Taxation
-if you live outside The UK Cima or Acca is for you because Aca focus on UK tax (as far as i know) but acca is global, you choose the tax Paper that applied in your country if available, other wise you can choose another option paper.
-In UK the Icaew and acca do the same job and cima does what it does all over the world.
-so if you are unsure of what u want to do Acca is for you, because when you reach the final stage you chose the area you want, less papers to qualified and have the same post qualifications options open to you just as for Cima or Icaew members
But once you do Acca you do not need to cross membership to cima or Icaew by Acca have covers same topic required for the professional accountant. say doing 6-8 cima papers to be a management accountant or doing Icaew to be what???. with acca if you want to be management accountant of financial manager(CFO) all you need to do is p4 and p5 and if you want to be and Auditor and tax accountant is do Pb and P7.event after qualifying you can do it. just one paper with Acca not moving to another professional body. stop wasting your time. if you want to move to management Role (e.g CEO) Acca have got a very prestigious global MBA for it’s member recognize worldwide.
if you work in finance, financial institution, MNC’s treasure departments or becoming CFO, Acca have agreements for it ‘s member to have direct memberships without sitting any exam or with few exams. e.g the Association of corporate treasurers.
otherwise an acca can specialize in any form of Profession accountant. you can always do any of the option papers during your career, say if you qualified as management accountant or financial manager, when ever you want to do auditing or tax advice you can always sit the exams to qualify.
A good example is acca member who do not do P6 option. if you want to cross to Aca because you want to do tax, aca will ask you to do 5- 6 papers. to much!!! just call acca and do one Paper p6, bang you are qualified to be a tax advise, this is not because acca is offering lesser knowledge, no. that’s not the case.
As an acca you have studied all the rest you need to know in the skills paper F6, so P6 is advance topics and to fills in the gap to comply to requirement to be tax accountant. but with Icaew you will have do re-do corporate reporting, business analysis, audit and assurance which you have done with Acca to the same standard already, so you do not need that. this is the political bit between the professional bodies.
-if you are Icaew or cima and want to do acca you must do all the professional level ( 5 papers with 3 years working experience) to be acca member. what?????
if you are acca and want to be icaew member, if you did p7 and p6 you need to do 3 papers only. if you do not do p6 and p7 then you have to do 5 papers.(with working experience along side doing advance papers)
Dose that mean that acca is is superior to aca, no way. this is because two things i said earlier.
1. politics,
2. Acca is more focus than aca who try to all at once. that’s why you do lesser papers with acca and during you choice of career you can do anything else you wish. say if you are not working in tax, acca allows you to opt out of advance tax paper as it is just a waste of time to qualify from acca perspective. whenever you need to do it, it’s always open for you. just one paper extra to sit.
Fellow student stop wasting you time and confusing yourself.
A student just told me on the chat forum that she has finished all acca papers and now think of doing CFA. what a waste of time. CFA have lots of paper and no exemptions are given at all and even you will have to do papers like financial reporting/analysis etc. for god same you a qualified professional accountant an Acca for that matter. all you need To do is to concentrate on your practical experience requirement(PER) to be acca member. if she want to be Cfa, she had really wasted her time.
Although i will have to admit that some student that work in small Icaew register firms are being frustrated by their partners/seniors.( if what they said is true) according to some students these partners tells them they have to leave acca and do icaew to be able to be partners in those practice. that is politics and unacceptable and unprofessional from my point of view.
ICAEW allows ACCA members to be their ICAEW member after five year of practical experience (as far as i know) i do not know of the allowance by ACCA for ICAEW members. so why those people doing that.
The Big four accountancy firm will recommend both acca and aca to their trainees and the choice is left to you the trainee. so in all of them you have both acca and aca student or members working side by side.
sorry for this long note and poor English grammar. all i wanted is to share ideas and help each in this process.
conclusion:
just choose 1 professional body and concentrate on passing papers and getting experience to be become members. but moving from 1 profession body to another is not wise and is a waste of time.
Icaew- superb qualification and excellence especially for tax accountants,financial management and assurance professionals
Cima- superb qualification and excellence especially for management accountant and financial management
Acca- superb qualification and excellence has the combination of both above, as you have option to specialist any area of you interest -Assurance,tax,management accountant,financial management.
just chose the one you want and you cannot and should not criticize any of them.
although i have my favorite but i did not mention because i think that is unprofessional. besides this note is writing specially in responds to acca student who are confusing them self of moving from one place to another. Acca Is as good as Icaew or cima.
if you not sure of anything you can ask, i will be happy to answer but equally i could be wrong. rectify me if am wrong.
August 12, 2013 at 6:33 pm #137778 | Quote
Avatar of edrammeh
edrammeh
Participant
WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO DO iCEAW OR CIMA AFTER ACCA?
ACCA OFFER’S DOOR OPEN TO ANY TYPES OF ACCOUNTANT YOU WANT TO BE AND GLOBAL MBA FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO MOVE INTO PURE MANAGEMENT.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU DOING FIRST
August 12, 2013 at 6:59 pm #137783 | Quote
Avatar of edrammeh
edrammeh
Participant
JUST TO SO YOU WHAT RECRUITERS THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTANCY BODIES SO LOOK AT THESE TWO JOB ADVERBS FOR MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT AND AUDITOR
INTERNAL AUDITOR:
A market leading media business is currently recruiting an Internal Auditor to join their highly regarded Internal Audit team based in London.
The position reports to the Senior Audit Manager who is based in the UK. The role is highly autonomous and you will get lots of exposure to senior managers across the business. The Internal Audit role sits at Group level, although you will be responsible for audits across the entire business, including all subsidiaries.
Key responsibilities include:
– Planning and completing detailed audit reviews across the business. This includes both financial and operational reviews, with an emphasis on operational audits
– An element of SOX compliance work across the group
– Involvement in special projects and investigations
The ideal candidate will have strong technical ability and must be a qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA or equivalent). My client is looking for candidates who have a solid understanding of accounting principles and internal controls. You will have excellent interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to build and develop relationships with key stakeholders across the business.
The business is truly international meaning there will be travel involved in the role. You can expect to travel in the region of 50% of your time – this includes Europe and Asia, as well as the UK. Projects vary in length; however you can expect to travel for up to 2 weeks at a time to long haul destinations, whilst reviews in Europe tend to be completed in 1 week.
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT
Job Role
Accountant, Financial Accountant, Management Accountant, Part/Newly Qualified
Sector
Manufacturing/Engineering
Further information
We are currently looking to recruit a Management Accountant to join our team. Our company sources a wide range of innovative household products and also manufactures high value, blown film, extruded products which are predominantly supplied to the major retailers.
The position reports directly to the Financial Director and is responsible for the preparation of monthly management accounts, annual accounts and audit schedules, to reconcile VAT and other statutory reporting requirements, contribution towards the budgetary and other financial planning processes, management of the monthly stock take and other financial duties.
The successful individual is required to be Professionally Part qualified (CIMA, ACCA etc) or QBE, as well as having completed the above duties within a similar role. You must be comfortable managing a small team and working closely with departmental heads across the business.
Thank you Edra for your materialistic advise .
But i am still confused whether i should go for P5 or P7 in terms of first attempt pass .
i desperately need first attempt pass and does not really matter where i work .
thank you once again
The answer to that is people are different, for some audit is easier than management accounting, which one is your strongest point?
if you don’t know, check you performance in the F papers. F5 and F8 , which one was easier to pass for you. which one did you have higher make and how many time did you attempt it.
if you join Acca through Degree route and exempted from the F papers, then compare P1 and P3. P1 is similar to F8 and P7, while P3 is similar to F5 and P5.
Hi guyz. Am sitting for my first time in December 2013. I intend to do f.5, f.6 and f.8. Am working full time. would u recommend me to proceed or 3 papers at a go are too many????? if sp which 2 papers would of the three should i go for?
I’ll assume that you pass F4 already. the best option is one theory and one computation as it stand from what you wish to F6 is proably the easier of the 3 the other two require you to grasp a lot. f5 needs lots of practice and since the paper 60/40 computation you need to practice both written and computation.
i would recommend f5 and f8 but you if want another option i think f5 and f9 while both are computation they are somewhat linked and you will maybe better grasp the concepts of why you do what.
thats just my opinion
I think am gong 2 go for f5 and f.6 only for this sitting then probably do f8 with either f9 or f5 in the next sitting.
I personally think that your are making the right choice. Since f8 is better to take with f7, I would go for F5 and F6.
Is it fine to prepare my bsc project alongside p2 and p3?or should i first do these 2 pprs then my bsc?
im a full time student doing privately.Any suggestions are welcomed 🙂
JCKHVB
MISTAKE SORRY
prepare project and see porn movies and have an enjoy of masturbation 🙂 hehe
is a combination of F4+F8+F9 Doable?its a lot of theory but will the context be hard to grasp together?
PLEASE ADVICE
f4 and f8 is you dont mind too much theory but they compliment each other. f9 requires a lot of practice, but John makes it easy. his lectures and bbp revison kit helped me past first sitting.
Mike in f4 makes you laugh and remember the cases again lectures and kit are great for passing but you need to cover all areas and practice writting your answers its a lot of information and if you dont grasp the concepts of all areas then you dont stand a chance.
I’m doing f8 now its a lot of info.
Thankyou for ur quick reply..im good at theory soo i guess ill go ahead with this combo aftr ur advice,but i was wonderin in wat way is f4 n f8 related?
You were very helpful
As per the Examiner guidance f8 is linked to f3 and f4 and p-.
As i said im studying f8 now and i already found areas of corelation. In f4 there is a whole section on auditors their duties etc. governance and ethics is also covered in law and here in f8 as well.
Lots of reading
Latoyah is right,
in fact you need f4 for f8,f7,P1,P2 and P7especially corporate law-directors duties,agency relation etc
and on contract law – contract comes in as engagement letters, law of tort is in f8 as professional negligence. etc etc.
I am in a dilemma. I hope to enter the late (aug) intake for dec2013 sitting. i intend to take only two papers as i am entering late and i intend to take up a side job at the same time. Should i do f7+8 or f7+9???
I was considering f7 with either f6 or f8 and was advised by many people to take f7 with f8 which is what i am doing.
What paper would people reccommend to take with F7 in December 2013? I have only done F4 so far. Thanks
F7 ans F8 is the recommended
Thanks Latoyah
hey guys
any suggestion what p paper combo for F8
I’ve cleared all F papers but left F8
thanks
without doubt P1 is a perfect match and a lot of similarities with F8.
if you wan to do three papers that depends what option papers you want to do at the advance level.
P2 should be take with P7 because the syllabus in P2 is all examinable in P7 so if you are going to do P7 then do F8,P1 & P3 first.
i am currently doing P7&P2, they marry to each other. i have already pass P3 &P1 which also have some overlaps especially stakeholders analysis.
But if you are going to do P5, the same thing applies, P3 & P5 are complementary brothers, 75% overlaps, so if you will be doing P5 then do F8,P1&P2.
take my word for it. I have read almost all Acca text F1 to P7 and had lectures F1 to P7, in class and online. looked in detail the whole syllabus. lol. am mad about education which i think is good. i love to help so any question just ask.
Thanks mate
You are such a genius!!
Very helpful info ????
Here we go! First accounts freak! 🙂 in a good way, that is.
@Mike Little: I am preparing for F5 and F6 for December 2013 session. Do you think if I aim at attempting 3 papers instead of these two is too much a task? I am a bit confused about what I should do? And if you suggest a 3rd paper, which one do you think should it be? Need to make up my mind by this month so that I can start preparing and apply by October (early dead line).
Thanks.
I think i can give advice on this one.
it depends how much time you get, if you are not working or have plenty time off work to revise, then do three. and make sure you choose papers that have at least a day or two in between. do F8 after F7 or do them together, so if you choosing a third paper do either F7 or F9 provided you already pass F4
Thanks for your reply. I have already started preparing for F5 and F6. I work full time.
I haven’t attempted the F6 paper yet but i can tell you that F5 needs a lot of time to practice and grasp the concepts you dont want to go into an f5 exam without a lot of practice. This paper is one that persons sit two and three times before passing so i suggest that you dont add anything to it especially since you chose two computation papers. I’d also advice that you practice all pass exam question repeatedly and read all the articles.
spot on latoyah. what is said is correct.
f5 is demanding as every one would say.
luckily for me I do not know how it was easy for me to pass it first time. my friends ask but i don’t have an answer. may be it is because I mastered some of the topics that are futures regularly in the paper F5. e.g budgeting and variance analysis. so look at the last 10 papers and identify the topics that are most regularly examine the master them. this paper need (1) understanding how business operates and are manage. (2) some analytical skill also required. (3) master the models and (4) practice past questions (5) practice (6) practice (7)practice…………………………………………………bang pass lol.
I think that was how i was able to pass F9 mastering the NPV and CAPM and the Dividend growth model, theory and a lot of practice I think i can do an NPV question in my sleep same for WACC and finding cost of equity and debt, i did so much of them i can do them blind folded even now!
I’m planning to take F5 & F9 in December after having completed F4 in June. Judging from this survey F5 & F9 are a good combination. Has anyone got a suggestion on what may be a better combination? Thanks
hi Joanna,
for dec 2013 am taking papers f4 f5 f9….. really f5 being the continuation in f9 seems good combination rightly said.
well good luck to you, yep
I’m taking F4 for December as its my last one from the Fs and I can’t decide between P1 and P2 for the second one. Note that I intend to do P1 self-study whereas P2 not. Plus this will be my first P exam. Anyone that could advise?
i was thinking of doin F4+F8+F9 for the next session? I have doubts about it as its a lot of theory but i am good at theory but what do you think?
NEED YOUR ADVICE,please let me know?
Hi! Have you past F5 yet? If not I’d advise you to take F5 first and then F9. It’s true that there’s lots of theory involved in these papers but none of the papers you intend to sit is really connected to each other so there should be no confusion regarding the syllabus. I sat F4-ENG with only 4 days of study and got a 48 (and I’m a foreigner) so I think its a rather straightforward paper, especially if you are good at theory. F8 is a bit more tricky if you don’t have any auditing experience and needs more practice with questions. I thought F9 was straightforward due to my academic background but I learned the hard way that you can’t pass the paper if you don’t offer a sound analysis and interpretation of the data/scenario so keep in mind that this paper is much more than mere theory in terms of exams
HELLO thankyou for your reply,yes i have completed f5,1,2,3,6, and due to exam dates n my institute schedule i decided this combo but i had doubts.im not a native english speaker too.the thing i was worried about was doing f8 n f9 widout f7? I dont have any work experience…..soo f8 will cause problems huh?
anywas thanku again.
Hi
Is it good idea to switch from P4 to P7 . I have given p4 many times and haven’t been able clear it . If you look at the pass rate P4 pass rate is 34 where as for p7 it’s 31. Lot of my friends have suggested to switch to P7 . But I dont think it would matter as pass rates are more or less the same plus I have to study P7 from the scratch where as p4 I have studied before . Can anybody suggest what to do . Anybody travelling in the same boat as me,
I failed my f4 and f5, I decide to take f5, f6 and f8 for the coming december exam. Are they the good option? Means that I need to put more effort on these papers?
I have this papers left to take – p2, p3, p5 and p7 . Please can anyone advice me on the best two combination to take within this four ? Thanks!
P5 and P3 goes perfectly well together and In P7 Audit you need to remember P2 knowledge. so i recommend* you P3 and P5 together. I have these papers left F9, P1, P3 and two optionals so I am taking these three plus advance audit for december attempt.
*(Note: You have to pay for P2 Exam Fees in that case)
Is there any connection between p2 or p3? Is it matters if i choose p3 first? How much is computational and theory is p2 and p3 ?
Is there any connection between p2 or p3? Is it matters if i choose p3 first? How much is computational and theory is p2 and p3?
Hi all, I’ll be sitting for my first acca exams in December, and I got 4 exemptions, I then registered for f7 and f9, is that a good combination? And as a first timer would it be too optimistic to take 3 papers (self-study)? And any tips/advice? thanks
Hi there. You don’t tell us anything about your academic background or working experience nor the exact exemptions you got but taking into account that papers F7 and F9 have both low passing rates (and that’s for a reason!), in my opinion it’s not a very good match. Better try a more theoretical paper to go with F7, say F4 or F8, or maybe F5 as it is far less demanding than F9. If you are working full time you might want to stick with 2 papers and see how that goes ’cause particularly F7 is very demanding and time-consuming
Hi! I have just passed f7, f8 and f9. I found it quite messy that these exams were on consecutive days. Now I am planning on sitting two P papers in December. However, I am not sure what the best combination would be. On one hand I would like to avoid having exams on two consecutive days (p3 is on a Monday, p2 on a Tuesday and p1 on a Wednesday). Therefore, the logical thing would be to take p1 with p3 but I am not sure if this is too much theory. Then I would have p2 left to take with p4 and p5. On the other hand, I’ve read that it would be good to take p3 with p5 as the material overlaps. I would appreciate an advice/opinion on the paper combinations, i.e. whether you think it is better to take p1 and p3 or p1 and p2 together. Thank you very much!