All About ACCA and How to Become ACCA-Qualified

Are you someone who works in accounting or someone who wants a career in accounting? If you answered yes, consider enrolling in an ACCA course and start working towards that ACCA qualification.

Read on to learn more about the ACCA qualification and how to obtain one.

What Is ACCA?

ACCA is an acronym that stands for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. People who have the ACCA designation have fulfilled all the necessary conditions of the ACCA qualification.

What is an ACCA designation? ACCA is a globally recognized professional designation in the field of accounting.

Therefore, if you meet Jane Doe, ACCA, you’ll know without asking that she is a professional accountant. You should also know that she would have at least three years of practical experience in a relevant role, and she would have sat and passed at least 13 exams. In short, the ACCA designation will tell you that Jane Doe, ACCA is a capable, experienced accounting professional.

If you are interested in obtaining the ACCA qualification, you must meet specific conditions.

How to Qualify for ACCA

To qualify for ACCA, you need to find an ACCA training institute and an ACCA-approved learning partner, and register for their ACCA training program. You have the option to learn online, in the classroom, or a mix of both.

To register with an ACCA training institute and work your way to earning the ACCA qualification, however, you must satisfy minimum eligibility requirements.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

Minimum eligibility requirements vary depending on the country. For instance, in the United Kingdom, an International Baccalaureate Diploma is sufficient for registration. In the United States, someone who passed his advanced placement examination with a grade of three and above in at least three subjects plus a high school diploma can register for ACCA.

There are many other potential eligibility paths to registration, like matriculation to university for a bachelor’s degree, a graduate certificate, and different combinations of GCE, GSCE, and O-level passes. You should check the ACCA website for the minimum eligibility requirements that apply to your country.

As a general rule, a high school diploma is not sufficient for registration.

ACCA Qualification Requirements

Once you have been allowed to register for ACCA, the next thing you need to do is attend the online or classroom tuition or revisit sessions. To be awarded the ACCA qualification, you must satisfy the following requirements.

1. Pass 13 Exams

One of the critical requirements of an ACCA qualification is passing the ACCA exams. There are 15 exams available, but you are only required to sit for and pass 13 exams. ACCA administers four exam sessions every year. However, some of the tests are available on-demand as computer-based exams.

The 13 exams are divided into four broad categories: Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills, Strategic Professional Essentials, and Strategic Professional Options.

Applied Knowledge

The applied knowledge exams will test your general accounting knowledge. There are three exams under this category: business tech, management accounting, and financial accounting.

Applied Skills

Applied skills exams will test your practical skills. Under this category, you will sit for exams in corporate and business law, performance management, taxation, financial reporting, audit and assurance, and financial management.

Strategic Professional Essentials

The strategic professional category of exams will test your potential to take on a financial leadership role. It will assess your ability to be strategic in your approach to financial matters and make crucial business decisions.

There are two exams in the strategic professional essentials category: strategic business leader and strategic business reporting.

Strategic Professional Options

There are also four optional strategic professional category exams: advanced financial management, advanced performance management, advanced taxation, and advanced audit and assurance. You need to take only two of them.

2. Earn 36 Months of Practical Work Experience in a Relevant Role

To earn your ACCA qualification, you must spend at least three years in a role or roles that will let you have hands-on experience in accounting, finance, audit and assurance, taxation, forensics, insolvency, and other related technical areas.

You may submit (for assessment) any work experiences you have earned before you registered for ACCA as long as the work is relevant and your supervisors in those roles are willing to certify that you did the tasks you claim you did.

3. Complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module

You will also need to complete the ethics and professional skills module to satisfy the requirements for an ACCA qualification. This module consists of 10 units:

Unit 1: Ethics and Professionalism

Unit 2: Personal Effectiveness

Unit 3: Innovation and Skepticism

Unit 4: Commercial Awareness

Unit 5: Leadership and Team Working

Unit 6: Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Unit 7: Data Analytics

Unit 8: Integrated Case Study

Unit 9: Strategic Professional Support

Unit 10: End of Module Assessment

Why Become ACCA-Qualified?

If you work in accounting (or are planning to build a career in one), you want an ACCA qualification. It is something that demonstrates to your employer (or would-be employer) that you have the knowledge, skills, and experience that your role (or the role you will fill) requires.

Since ACCA is a globally recognized professional qualification, you won’t have to explain the designation. Those in the field of business, accounting, and finance will automatically know how an ACCA qualification means well-rounded training in accounting and related domains, that it requires passing 13 exams, and that it means at least three years of practical work experience.

In other words, an ACCA designation should be sufficient proof of your accounting experience and expertise.

More than proving you have practical accounting knowledge and skills, an ACCA qualification also means you can be strategic and have leadership potential. Your employer can be confident about grooming you to head their advanced accounting advisory services or some other specialized division. It is also an assurance that you have the ethics and the values required of a financial professional.

Accelerate Your Career

Anyone in business, accounting, and finance will benefit from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants designation.

ACCA is a globally recognized professional qualification that signals one’s experience and expertise in accounting and related technical areas. It also indicates that one has the values and leadership abilities that financial roles require.

Yes, it takes hard work and at least three years of commitment before one can become ACCA-qualified, but it is worth it. ACCA can accelerate your career, so you must get it if you can.