The ACCA qualification is a wonderful way to start a career in Accounting and Finance because it is a globally recognized course with updated/industry-relevant information.
ACCA students can achieve a Diploma/Advanced Diploma in
Accounting and Business and then become ACCA Members.
Why did you choose ACCA?
- More
than 80 international Accountancy body relationships. Globally recognized
in over 180 countries.
- Because
your competency is tested for up to 13 rigorous exams, it communicates
credibility and is a terrific method to give your resume an advantage.
- A
well-designed and regularly updated curriculum that fosters the
development of industry-relevant knowledge, skills, and professional
values.
- ACCA
exams equip you to carry out strategic tasks at the highest levels of
management, which will lead to a long-term career.
ACCA course details
ACCA aspirants rigorously need to concentrate on their
studies, To pass the ACCA exams in a very less duration, You need to have a
structured study plan with proper study materials and an experienced mentor.
The best way to get all of these is to join the Best ACCA training program where
you will get the support, guidance, and all the requirements at a reasonable
price. Here are the ACCA course details, You shouldn’t miss out
To become an ACCA member, an applicant must complete the
following tasks:
- Attempt
and pass 13 exams (ACCA
allows up to 9 paper exemptions depending on the candidate’s experience).
- Record
your experience in a related capacity for at least 36 months.
ACCA Subjects
ACCA has three levels of studies and exams: Applied
Knowledge, Applied Skills, and Strategic Professional.
ACCA Subjects are offered at three levels:
For Applied Knowledge
- Business
Accounting
- Management
Accounting
- Financial
Accounting
For Applied Skills
- Corporate
and Business Laws
- Performance
Management
- Taxation
- Financial
Reporting
- Audit
and Assurance
- Financial
Management
For Strategic Professional
Compulsory
- Strategic
Business Leadership
- Strategic
Business Reporting
Optional
- Advanced
Financial Management
- Advanced
Performance Management
- Advanced
Taxation
- Advanced
Audit and Assurance
25 Tips to pass ACCA Exam on the First attempt
Here are 25 Tips to help you Pass your ACCA Exams. Much success in ACCA examinations can be achieved by following these simple guidelines which are relevant to all ACCA Examinations. I will be covering paper-specific advice in another article.
Planning Phase:
1. Planning
Before you start to prepare for your next ACCA exams, take
some time out to decide how you plan to prepare yourself for the examinations.
Do not wait until the results of your previous examinations have arrived since
by then you would have already wasted two precious months of the exam session.
When planning, consider for example the exams that you
intend to undertake, the amount of time you have to prepare for the exams, your
expected work routine, family commitments and so on. Try to draft a timetable
based on the number of expected days you have for each paper you intend to
appear in the ACCA examination.
When forming your own timetable try to be flexible and
realistic. The most important thing however is to actually draft one since a
written plan is more likely to secure your commitment and motivation early in
the exam session than one that only exists in you mind.
2. Familiarity with Syllabus and Structure
Studying the syllabus of ACCA exams would help you to focus
on just the examinable topics. Syllabus guide also details the depth at which a
certain topic is examinable by referring to the ‘intellectual level’ of a
particular topic. Guidance about intellectual levels referred to in the
syllabus and how to use them can be found here.
It is essential that you cover the entire range of topics
given in the syllabus. You should also try to familiarize yourself with the
exam structure early in the preparation.
3. Examiner's Approach Interview
Examiner’s Approach Interviews available at ACCA Website
give you first-hand insight into what examiners are looking for in answers
provided by a student, which syllabus areas they consider to be most important
and how they intend to approach the examinations in the future. They are
therefore a must-read for anyone intending to perform well in the ACCA exams.
Examiner Approach Interviews may be accessed from the
following link.
4. ACCA Approved Study Texts
You may wish to consult notes provided by your tuition
providers or friends but you must always study at least one of ACCA’s approved
study texts (latest versions) to be on the safe side. The approved study texts
are thoroughly reviewed by ACCA for coverage of the entire syllabus and also
for any revision incorporated after changes in the syllabus. Therefore, you
will be taking a huge risk by relying solely on exam notes which may not be as
comprehensive or up to date as the text books.
Studying Phase
5. Objective-Oriented Approach
Try to set achievable targets for each day. The targets you
set should be focused on factors that will actually help you to succeed in ACCA
exams (e.g. to cover a chapter or syllabus area in one day, to attempt a past
paper, etc). Setting targets based on for example number of hours may not be as
effective.
6. Concepts
Always try to understand the underlying concepts behind a
given topic. While you may be able to earn some marks for pure knowledge
(particularly in the Knowledge Module), most number of marks in ACCA exams are
for application of your concepts in a given scenario. Building your concepts
right from the beginning in your ACCA studies will help you further down the
road as you build upon those foundations in the more advanced papers.
7. Seek Help
If you are struggling with a particular topic, do not
be embarrassed in asking your teacher or a friend to help you. Get help
immediately and avoid letting things to pile up until it is too late.
Practicing Phase
8. Past Papers Practice
Extensive past paper practice under exam conditions is
essential to improve time management, concept building and stress management
during the exam. Nothing hurts your chances to pass more than unanswered
questions because of lack of time. Always time your practice questions and
although it might be very tempting, never peek at the answers before you have
finished! Simulating exam conditions during past paper practice will not only
help you in keeping track of time during the exam, it will also assist you in
managing stress.
ACCA students are extremely lucky to have Model Answers to
past paper questions from the examiners themselves. It is very helpful and
vital resource for students as it provides them insight into how an answer may
be ideally structured and drafted.
However, care must be taken when studying the suggested
answers. Firstly, the answers may only reflect the syllabus, laws and standards
in place at the time of the respective examination. Exam kits from ACCA-approved publishers may be more appropriate for practice of subjects that are
constantly evolving such as Financial Reporting and Taxation. Secondly, do not
waste time memorizing chunks of the model answers since they have been provided
for the purpose of guidance only. Examiner cannot possibly expect a student to
produce an answer of such caliber and depth under exam conditions. However, you
should try to learn the general content, logic, flow, style and structure of
the model answers and try to reproduce those qualities in exam.
9. Examiner Reports
Examiner Reports are published on ACCA Global Website after
every exam sitting highlighting the common mistakes and problem areas
encountered by students. It is surprising how few students actually make use of
this resource. A careful read of the examiner reports could assist you a lot in
improving your exam technique especially in case you have been stuck with a
paper for quite some time now and have not been able to figure out the cause of
failure yet (or have been attributing it to bad luck!).
10. Marking Schemes
Marking schemes can help you in judging the number of
distinct points that you need to mention in respect of a given question and the
depth of your answer. Studying marking scheme when practicing past paper
questions can assist you in understanding the relative marking for different
types of question requirements. A typical marking scheme for example would
allocate one mark per point for a basic question requirement such as ‘list’,
‘identify’ or ‘define’. More than one mark per point is usually reserved for question
requirements that require students to demonstrate a higher capability such as
‘explain’, ‘compare’, ‘distinguish’, ‘analyze’ and so on. An awareness of the
likely basis of how your answer will be marked by the examiner can guide you in
writing the right number of points in your answers and in appropriate detail
instead of focusing on just one or two main points. So for example, if a 10
mark question asks you to ‘list’ certain factors, it would be safe to assume
that a brief list of ten, short and punchy, points can secure most marks on
offer. If however a question requires you to ‘explain’, it would be better to
provide five points with a bit more detail.
11. Exam Paper Analysis
It may be useful to look at the trend in past examinations.
For example, what type of questions are most frequently asked? Which topics are
tested most? Has an important syllabus area not been tested in last several
attempts? You could use this information to prioritize certain key topics that
you would like to focus more on. However, do not rely on pure guesswork. Trying
to extrapolate the trend into your next exam sitting may leave you with a few
surprises. Just use your analysis as a tool to highlight important areas rather
than to eliminate syllabus areas that you feel will not be tested again from
your study plan.
12. Examiner Analysis Interview
ACCA publishes Examiner Analysis Interviews for each exam
paper on its website detailing the examiners’ view of the performance of the
students in previous examination sessions highlighting the prevailing
weaknesses among students and the future focus of examinations. Analysis
interviews are very helpful in guiding students on how to improve their
performance in exams.
Examiner Analysis Interviews can be accessed through the
following link.
13. Technical Articles
Student Accountant magazine offers several exam relevant
technical articles geared towards topics in which students have often underperform.
Pay special attention to technical articles released just before the month of
the exam since they might hint at topics that could potentially be tested in
the upcoming examination. Examiners also discuss in these articles the impact
on ACCA examinations of the changes in syllabus, examination structure,
standards and legislature and should therefore not be ignored by students.
Student Accountant magazine can be accessed through the
following link.
Preparation Phase
14. Revision
Allocate sufficient time in your study plan for
revision towards the end of the exam preparation. Going through the whole study
text when only two or three days remain in the exams is not recommended. You
would probably feel overly exhausted and stressed from trying to retain the
information contained in the study texts in such a short span of time. A better
approach would be to draft your own study notes through out the exam session
which you could then use for revision purposes right before the examinations.
Exam Pass Cards from one of the approved publishers could prove handy in case
you are not in the habit of making your own notes.
15. Visit the Exam Center
I personally know a friend of mine who could not make it to
the exam center in time because of a traffic jam. He could have avoided this
delay (like most others managed to do so) by knowing alternative routes to the
exam center. It is therefore important for you to know not only the precise
location of the exam center but also alternative routes to get there. If
unsure, plan a visit to the exam center before the exam date. This may also
help you in estimating the amount of time required to get there.
16. Sleep well before the exam
Ever got the feeling that you are suddenly forgetting
everything you have learned right before the exam? It was probably because you
stayed up too late the night before the examination. A good rest before the
exam is essential in order to remain alert and focused during the exam. While
it may be very tempting at 3 am in the night before the exam to study ‘one
final chapter’, fact is you would probably be doing yourself more harm than
good. Sleep early and rise fresh on the exam day.
17. Panic Control
ACCA exams require you to apply your knowledge in a given
context. This requires you to be able to think logically. Last thing you want
happening to yourself is to get panicked before the exam. This can leave you
confused during the whole exam and force you into making errors that could be
easily avoided. The trick is to just think positive before the exam starts. You
may try to recall your achievements and accomplishments, the effort you have
(hopefully) put in and the prayers of your loved ones. Stay away from students
who are trying to memorize a 500 page text book 15 minutes before the exam.
They will only make you more nervous. Just relax and hold your nerve!
Performance Phase
18. Reading Time
Effective use of the 15 minute planning and reading time
could help you to produce more relevant, well planned and structured answers in
the exam. Reading time is ideal for highlighting and understanding the key
requirements of all questions. Remaining time could be used to draft brief
answer plans and in case of Professional Stage examinations, you may use this
time to select the most appropriate optional questions you wish to answer.
19. Question Requirements
Close attention should be given to the precise requirement
of each question. If it appears to you that two parts of a question are asking
the same thing, don’t congratulate yourself but rather read the question
carefully again. It is important to have understanding of what the examiner is
demanding before you proceed to answer the question. It would be a waste of
time if you realized half way through the answer that you have misinterpreted
the requirement of the question.
20. Answer to the Point
ACCA marking scheme is very specific in rewarding marks. If
a seven-line introduction to an answer does not relate to the question
requirement in any way, it will not attract any mark. It is therefore more
worthwhile to go straight towards answering the question requirement rather
than wasting time in lengthy introductions. A valid exception to the above
would be instances where you have been specifically asked to draft answer in a
form of a report or a memo. In such cases, try to keep the into as brief as
possible.
Examiners also encourage students to include several
different points in their answers rather than explaining few points in too much
detail. Studying marking schemes and examiner reports could help you understand
these aspects of exam technique.
21. Plan your Answers
Examiners always appreciate well-structured answers. A
little planning at the start could help you give the necessary structure and
coherence to your answers. Try to insert short answer plans before the answers
which should be crossed afterwards to avoid confusing the examiner. This gives examiner
the impression that you have tried to organize your answers and also, in case
time runs out, an answer plan mentioning the key points could be rewarded few
marks even if the answer was left incomplete.
22. Facilitate the Examiner
Examiners have a tough time checking loads of answer sheets
from hundreds of exam centers worldwide. Make every effort to ensure their time
is not wasted unnecessarily while checking your answer sheet. Mark the question
numbers clearly and try to follow the sequence of sub-parts to avoid confusion.
Writing is perhaps not something that could be changed over a short notice.
However, if people in the past have found your writing hard to read, try to
improve it over the course of time. Make sure you leave ample space in the answer
booklet for any unanswered question that you may wish to return to later in the
exam in order to avoid having to squeeze your answer in a little space or
asking examiner to find the remaining portion of the answer elsewhere in the
answer book. Cross out any rough workings clearly to avoid any confusion.
In short, make life easy for the examiner and at least you
will avoid any repercussions for not doing so.
23. Do not leave any questions Unanswered
If you fear you will not be able to complete the answer to a
question in time, simply jot down a list of main points before proceeding to
answer in detail. In case you were unable to complete the answer, examiner
would know that you aware of the main points and reward you accordingly. If you
do not know the right answer to a question, guessing would not hurt specially
in the objective type questions in the knowledge module. However, always answer
questions that you know first and leave the guesswork towards the end of the
exam.
24. Review
As you advance in ACCA examinations, it becomes increasingly
hard to complete the exam in the allotted time. If luckily you have some time
remaining towards the end of the exam, review the entire question sheet first
to make sure you have missed any question part. You may then quickly review
your answer booklet for any obvious errors. If you still have time left, try to
improve answers that you feel you can most easily do in the remaining time.
25. After the Exam
If you have another exam scheduled soon, try not to waste
too much time discussing the exam you have already given with your friends
(especially if it did not go too well!). Go home, get a good rest and come
fresh and well prepared for the next exam.
I hope you have found these tips helpful. Please share this article with your friends if you found it useful! I will be posting some exam-specific advice for ACCA students soon. Best of luck with your Exams!