ACCA Syllabus Details: Guide to Prepare for ACCA Exam in 2023

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is an international body that provides accredited accountants - Chartered Certified Accountants or ACCA. To achieve the ACCA qualification, thorough exam preparation using past exam papers and study materials is essential. Effective exam technique involves understanding the syllabus area and practicing with past exam papers to improve your performance. The ACCA website offers valuable resources and study material to help with your exam preparation and time management. Kaplan provides comprehensive study guides for both the Strategic Professional level and the Applied Knowledge exams. As an ACCA member, you should be familiar with the requirements of the Ethics and Professional Skills module and the Strategic Business Leader exam. Proper time management during study time can significantly impact your ability to tackle the four exam papers effectively. The Strategic Professional exams include modules like Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leadership, requiring focused study and preparation. The Skills module at the Applied Knowledge level is crucial for building foundational knowledge necessary for the ACCA qualification. Preparing for one exam at a time can help manage study time more effectively and reduce stress. Using past exam papers from Kaplan and other resources can provide insights into the types of questions you might encounter on the exams.

Key Takeaways

• ACCA Syllabus Details

• Syllabus and Study Guide

• ACCA Exam Success Formula

ACCA Papers Syllabus and Study Guide

The ACCA syllabus consists of 13 pages divided into 3 categories:

1. Fundamental Level (F1 - F3)
2. Skill Level (F4 to F9) and
3. Professional level (P Level).

In addition, 13 papers in the ACCA syllabus are divided into the following four levels:

1. Information (including 3 papers F1 - F3)

2. Skills (including 6 papers F4 - F9)

3. Mandatory (including 2 pages P1 / P3 and P2)

4. Options (including 4 pages P4 - P7 from any 2)

ACCA Syllabus in table format

FUNDAMENTALS LEVEL

Knowledge exams

F1 Accountant in Business

F2 Management Accounting

F3 Financial Accounting

SKILL LEVEL

F4 Corporate and Business Law

F5 Performance Management

F6 Taxation

F7 Financial Reporting

F8 Audit and Assurance

F9 Financial Management

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL

P1 Governance, Risk and Ethic

P2 Corporate Reporting

Two of the following options

P4 Advanced Financial Management

P5 Advanced Performance Management

P6 Advanced Taxation

P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance

Fundamental level

ACCA Syllabus 

This section is your starting point in your quest to become a qualified ACCA accountant and therefore provides you with basic business accounting information.

F1 - Accountant in Business (AB)

This paper of ACCA teaches you how to manage a business effectively by understanding the current business environment and understanding its impact on the activities of the organization. It also emphasizes your role as an accountant and the contribution you are expected to make to organizational development in an effective and efficient manner. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Organizational structure, 
• Governance, and 
• Management
• Influences and barriers to environmental priorities in business and accounting
• The role of storytellers in the business
• Individual and team management

F2 - Management Accounting (MA)

This paper on ACCA syllabus provides you with information on how to prepare and process basic value information, which can then be used to support decision-making processes at the management level. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Environment and purpose for management and accounting costs
• Cost-sharing and learning about ethics and its purpose
• Computer spreadsheets and business statistics
• General costs and budget
• Ways of calculating costs
• Various ways to make decisions

F3 - Financial Accounting (FA)

 This paper in ACCA teaches you the basic concepts and core principles that govern accounting activities. It will also help you to develop the technology of double-entry accounting, which is the basis for preparing and interpreting all the basic financial statements. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Background and purpose of financial reporting
• Interpretation of high-quality financial information
• The basics of accounting
• Double use of accounting
• Recording of accounting transactions and events
• Adjustment of trial balance
• Preparation of basic financial statements

Skills level

This module of ACCA syllabus helps you to develop expertise in some of the key areas, including tax, law, auditing and financial management, performance management and financial reporting.

F4 - Business and Business (LW) Law

This paper of ACCA curriculum helps you understand the broad legal framework by introducing you to specific business-related business matters. It also teaches you to identify those situations where you should seek the advice of a professional legal adviser. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Fundamentals of the business legal system
• Employment law
• Constitution of a business organization
• Company management, administration, and control
• The legal implications of a troubled company
• Moral and business governance issues

F5 - Performance Management (PM)

 This paper of ACCA syllabus helps you to develop your skills and learn different management techniques for calculation. The purpose is to teach you how to apply the available value information and quality in the planning, decision-making and performance appraisal process. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Ways of calculating costs
• Budget and forecast
• Performance measurement strategies
• General cost and variance analysis

F6 - Taxation (TX)

The purpose of this paper in ACCA is to provide you with detailed information on the business tax plan and to help you understand how it affects individuals and companies. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Grants and profits from the real estate business
• Lease income, investment income and trading profits
• Personal tax, business tax, high-interest rate and value-added tax
• National insurance

F7 - Financial Reporting (FR)

The purpose of this paper under ACCA curriculum is to develop your skills to understand the basic principles of accounting standards and financial reporting. It also emphasizes the principles on which the financial statements are based, which will ultimately help you to better analyze and interpret Financial statements. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Regulatory framework and concept of financial reporting
• Preparation of financial statements
• Analysis and interpretation of financial statements

F8 - Audit and Assurance (AA)

This paper under ACCA will give you the information you need to make sure you are involved and ensure that you understand all aspects of the same professional management. 

The following articles have been featured in this paper:

• Audit control framework
• Risk planning and assessment
• Internal control information
• Recording evidence for audit
• Review and report on audit results

F9 - Financial Management (FM)

This paper of ACCA teaches you how financial managers use their knowledge and experience in investing, financing and various other decisions.

Timeline for each paper: Preparing for the ACCA Exam

The time required to prepare each paper of ACCA depends on the level of ability of the individual and that is why it is entirely dependent. However, it can be said that each paper from the basic level takes about 2 to 3 months, while each expert level paper takes about 4.5 months.

The weightage level of each paper in ACCA

The difficulty level of each paper in ACCA can vary from person to person as it is a matter that depends very much on your level of ability, area of interest and perspective. However, one of the most effective ways of determining the level of difficulty is the historical pass rate. The historical pass rate indicates how many people can pass the test and the low pass rate indicates that the paper is very difficult. Average global pass rate of ACCA is 40-50%.



 

Guide to Approach ACCA Exam

The ACCA exams are one of the most flexible tests in the accounting world and provide ample opportunity for students to choose how they would like to write their exams. In addition to the flexibility offered to ACCA students, the pass rate for ACCA students ranges from 40% to 60% from one subject to another. You may have passed the ACCA exam by having the right strategy to prepare for the test; our guide will enable students to successfully and successfully familiarize themselves with future ACCA exams.

ACCA Examination Tips:

Now we will provide you tips on how to prepare and the most important areas that need to be covered to pass the ACCA exam. Follow the rules below to clear all levels of paper in one effort:

Enroll in NorthStar Academys ACCA program

It is important for students to take live classes from NorthStar Academy, the best institute for ACCA in India, read the complete reading text and solve problems in the revision kit. Make sure you make short notes on your own to read them, in case, if you cannot make these short notes then the brief notes given by the NSA mentors can be read thoroughly.

Understanding technical articles 

Technical Articles are articles published in ACCA global where the latest trends are published for a particular subject and such information is important for students as it can be tested in this area in future tests. Please note that technical articles are published by topic and provide detailed information on the content and topic.

General reading 

Students should read daily for at least 2 hours a day. It sounds very easy to learn only 2 hours a day but consistency is required.

Sound Sleep 8 hours 

Students should sleep well 8 hours a day, this will give the student the ability to concentrate and make the student understand the lesson.

Health Maintenance 

Students should keep their health organized, which is very important for them to be able to write exams. If you have learned everything and are well prepared and if health is not right, then everything will go in vain. Keeping healthy has 2 important aspects one is to drink clean and fresh water and secondly to have proper diet cycles.

Learning Program 

One of the most important aspects of an ACCA student life is having a efficient learning program. If the student does not have an action plan to study, then the student will not know that the student is on the right track to complete the sections on time. Here it is important for students to plan, based on the test day and postpone the number of days available.

Knowing pros and cons about group study 

It is important to know the cons of group study, try as much as possible to avoid group study as during the writing of the tests the student should write the tests on his / her own, not as part of the group. In group studies, there are always only certain group members who benefit. You can have doubts in the group or discussion sessions in the group. But pro is that one can learn more being part of the group. Choose accordingly.

Resolving previous exam and mock papers

It is recommended that atleast previous 5 papers should be resolved by the student before going ahead with the actual exam. These papers are also available at ACCA global, unfortunately, multiple-choice questions and activities are not available in these questionnaires and students will have to rely on other sources to solve and gain confidence in those questions.

It is important for students to solve questions rather than just look at and read them. The problem-solving feature will help them to know where they are wrong and prevent them from making such mistakes in the future. Many students have a habit of simply looking at problems and not solving them, facing major difficulties and challenges in the exam hall.

ACCA Exam Success Formula

The Success Formula for Test is 2 + 2 = Success. This means that students need to read the textbook 2 times and review it 2 times before writing the exams. This type of activity will equip the student to complete the test and will enable the student to score well. Lastly, it is important for students to write at least 2 full mock exams before writing the final exams. This will let the student know the areas to focus on in the exam hall.

Conclusion

From the above, it seems that writing the ACCA exam is just a matter of having a proper and systematic approach to assessment that will help the student to achieve the required success in his or her tests. You always remember that achieving success in ACCA requires 50% hard work and 50% smart work. Join NorthStar Academy today to pass the ACCA exam in one go!
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