ACCA Exam Structure and Pattern

The entire ACCA qualification is divided into 3 levels consisting of a total of 13 papers as under – 

For a student to become an ACCA affiliate, one of the major requirements is that the student needs to complete all 13 papers (with or without exemption). One of the biggest differentiators of ACCA as a course, is the way the subjects and curriculum have been integrated seamlessly across the 3 levels with a focus and blending of conceptual understanding and application to real life scenarios.  

A student’s journey across the 3 levels, moves as under – 

• Applied Knowledge level – A student grows through a subject primarily to develop conceptual understanding. All 3 subjects are mandatory for a student to study and clear the exam. However, this is subject to exemptions that a student may be eligible for, as per the ACCA guidelines.
    
• Applied Skills Level – At this level a student continues to further deepen their conceptual understanding and begin applying the knowledge to real life situations. All 6 subjects are mandatory for a student to study and clear the exam. However, this is subject to exemptions that a student may be eligible for, as per the ACCA guidelines.
    
• Strategic Professional Level – By the time a student clears the skills level, they are generally aware of their subject interests, career opportunities and job profiles. As a result, they are able to make informed choices about the optional subjects they want to move forward with. At the professional level, ACCA encourages students to develop specialisation in the subjects of their choice. Out of the 6 subjects at the professional level, SBL and SBR are the two mandatory subjects. Out of the remaining 4 optional subjects (APM, AFM, AAA and ATX), a student has to choose any 2. 

Please note – 

We encourage our students to interact and engage with their mentors / coaches before choosing 2 optional subjects that would be better aligned with their career interests and aspirations. 

Additionally, our students are personally advised by our accounting program leaders on how to decide about which paper (across levels) to attempt and when. After all it is all about smart work Vs. hard work with a broader aim to make the student journey throughout the course as seamless as possible. 

Exam Pattern

• Applied Skills Level – All 3 papers are 100% MCQ (Multiple choice questions) based exams and the passing percentage is 50%
• Applied Skills Level

• • Corporate and Business Law is a 100% OTQ (Objective type questions) based exams and a student needs to secure 50% to clear the exam. 
  • All the other 5 exams (FM, FR, PM, AA and TX) consist of 60% OTQ’s (Objective Type questions) and 40% subjective questions. A student needs to secure, 50% to clear the individual exams.

• Strategic Professional Level – All 4 papers (2 mandatory and 2 optional) are 100% subjective exams with a passing percentage is 50% per exam

Paper patterns for the different ACCA subjects and levels are as under – 

Please note that all ACCA exams are computer-based exams. Students can opt to appear for their exams either through an approved ACCA examination centre or appear for a proctored exam. We would highly recommend students to opt for a centre-based exam, unless and until there is a challenge in finding a nearby centre (either due to distance or non- availability of a centre)

Timing of Exams

• ACCA course is a pro-student qualification and offers a high-level flexibility to students in choosing the subject of which they want to appear for the exam. The timing of exams for the different levels are as under – 

• Knowledge level (KL) – Students can book and appear for their exams on demand
• Skill level (SL) – Exams happen once every quarter (March, June, September, and December)
• Professional Level (PL) – Exams happen once every quarter (March, June, September, and December)

Through an extensive exam preparation methodology (including quizzes, mock exams, practicing questions from the examination kit, doubt sessions, mock exam evaluation, past papers and detailed feedback sessions) faculties should generally work with individual students so that they are comfortable and take a confident decision to book the respective exam on time. 

Exam Booking

In order to appear for the respective exams, students would need to book their examination slot as under – 

Please note that the booking of an ACCA exam is also subject to availability of examination slots at the respective ACCA approved centres. 

Exam Duration

In terms of the time duration of the different ACCA exams, they are of two types as under – 

• Applied Knowledge Level exams are for a duration of 2 hours.
• Applied Skills and Strategic Professional Level exams are for a duration of 3 hours.

Student Registration

As and when a student starts their ACCA journey, they need to go through a simple registration process. ACCA approved learnings partners (e.g., The WallStreet School is one of the sought after Approved Gold Learning Partner of ACCA), generally assist and guide students through the registration process. The registration fees is approx. 30 pounds, which would translate to an amount of INR 3,000 (considering a standard exchange rate of 1 Pound = INR 100).

Exam Fees

The examination fees for the different ACCA subjects is as under – 

Please remember to check for any benefits on fees (as applicable) with the Approved ACCA Learning Partner