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Hi, I have applied for F1 through Kaplan and I am very exited in started however, I am a little worried since I have no background in accounts. Had started my a level but did not continue. Work full time and have a family so time is limited. Any advice for newbies especially by those who had no back ground?
I started ACCA knowing absolutely nothing about accounting. The good thing about ACCA is that it is structured so that you start with the basics and each exam builds on the last. It’s not a problem to start from nothing because ACCA teaches you what you need to know.
ACCA recommend you take the exams in a certain order but I found that taking F3 (FA) before F2 (MA) was better for me. F2 assumes you have a basic grasp of double entry, which you won’t if you haven’t studied accounting before. Plus I found that F3 helped to give a good sense of what accounting is all about and made me interested to study more. F1 is a good paper to take first though as it teaches you the basics of business which you will draw upon in every other exam.
If you’re looking to get into an accounting job, you should do this soon as you need 3 years verified experience in order to complete the qualification. You might find it’s easier to do this after taking a few papers, but don’t get into a situation where you’ve done most of the exams but have no experience.
Thanks for your Reply Chris. I was a little worried as I have heard people saying that a lot fail and re do the module etc etc. I will check about taking F3 before F2 then as like you I cant say im experienced and the little I learnt was a good 17 years ago.
Regarding the job, Do it have to be full time or just experience with a firm?You need 3 years of full time (35+ hours per week) experience. If you work part time then it is pro rata – for example if you worked 17.5 hours per week you would need 6 years experience.
The point of studying ACCA is to help you get an accounting job, so what I’m saying is don’t just do all the exams while working in a different field (or not working at all) and then expect to get a well paid job as an accountant at the end. You need to gain experience as you go along.
I have come across lots of people who start off ACCA without any background in Accountancy.
I myself was initially a science student. I had done A levels in Physics and Maths (since i was planning to do Engineering). Then when I decided to do ACCA and someone really experienced advised me to do A levels in Accounting at least before starting ACCA. Gave about 8 months to it. And honestly helped a lot!But I met science Students who started off ACCA directly (and had not background in Accounting).
What I had noticed personally and as @Chris has mentioned the qualification is structured as such that you begin with the relatively basic concepts.
I was also worried since I had NOT studied Economics and Business Studies, how will I manage F1? Since it has concepts related to economics and business studies. But when I started studying it I realised its the basics and more towards the general knowledge. Soon I was able to tackle my fears; micro and macro economics.
Yes, undoubtedly ACCA is NOT an easy qualification. It is NOT like any University degree. Because ACCA is a Professional qualification. We are studying here to be professionals!
Dont get worried by what people say! I will advise you to get the idea of your head that you have no background otherwise this thought will haunt you throughout the entire ACCA journey.
And for students failing and re-sitting a paper, there are many factors. One of the common reason I have come across is the overcommittment with papers per sitting. Students get over ambitious and sit 3 papers per sitting! Now because if this they get less time to devote for the preparation for each paper and hence are unable to pass.
I am NOT saying that who all do 3 papers per sitting fail! I mean to say this is a very risky decision. ( I am saying this out of personal experience since i did F1, F2 and F3 together)
There is no need to be hasty with the papers. Even if you give 1 paper per sitting you will get done with 4 papers in one year and 12 papers in 3 years. By this way you have better chances of securing a pass.
Then we must not forget we have 36 months of practical experience to complete. And for that there is no exemption.
So i will advise you to go steadily with your papers.
Coming to practical experience, it’s really important that one develops skills and learn how to apply their knowledge in the workplace. So make sure whatever experience you get it is relevant to ACCA.
It is good to start off with F1.
Then I have come across people telling what @Chris has mentioned, to do F3 after that and before F2. And it makes so much sense. Cuz out of these 3 papers F2 has the lowest pass rate. The syllabus of F2 also seems to assume that you have your knowledge with double entry and financial statements(which you would get if you have done F3) And personally, I found F2 harder than F1 and F3.Hope this helps.
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