ACCA Professional Qualification

Introduction

The ACCA professional scheme is a course designed by the internationally reputed accountancy body the "Association of Chartered Certified Accountants" (ACCA). This qualification can lead to a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and business management. The ACCA qualification comprises a combination of exams and practical experience.

ACCA Professional Qualification:

The new ACCA qualification consists of fourteen papers bifurcated into two levels - fundamentals and professional. The fundamentals level consists of nine papers, of which three knowledge papers and six skills papers. The professional level consists of three essential papers and four optional papers of which the student should choose any two papers.

New ACCA qualification = 14 papers + professional ethics + three years relevant practical experience

Professional Level

The Professional level is divided into two modules - Essentials and Options. Both modules have been set at an intellectual level focus to build upon the technical skills already acquired, and explore more advanced professional skills, techniques, and values that are required and used by the expert accountant acting in an advisory or consultancy role at a senior level. The Essentials modules (P1-P3) contains three papers, all students must complete these three papers. The Options module (P4-P7) contains four papers. These are directly underpinned and supported by their equivalent within the Skills module in the Fundamentals level. Students select two out of four Option papers and are advised to choose the options that relate to their chosen or anticipated field of work.

Essential Modules

• P1 - Professional Accountant PA
• P2 - Corporate Reporting CR
• P3 - Business Analysis BA

Optional Modules

• P4 - Advanced Financial Management AFM
• P5 - Advanced Performance Management APM
• P6 - Advanced Taxation ATX
• P7 - Advanced Audit and Assurance AAA

Students studying for their ACCA qualification are eligible to obtain a BSc Honours Degree in Applied Accountancy from Oxford Brookes University.

ACCA Examinations:

Students have the choice of sitting either computer-based (CBE) or paper-based exams. For papers F1,F2 and F3 at the Fundamental level, the student has a choice to take either a computer based or paper a based examination. All other examinations are paper based and are held twice a year - in June & December. The London School of Management is an ACCA approved Computer Based Examination (CBE) centre and conducts exams almost every month.

Access to ACCA via CAT qualification

• no academic qualifications required
• sit Certified Accounting Technician
• (CAT) qualification first and then transfer to the Skills module of the ACCA Qualification by claiming exemption from the first three papers in the Knowledge module.

ACCA Progression

• On completion of Knowledge modules, students progress to Skills modules.
• On completion of Skills modules, students progress to Professional level and or complete Oxford Brookes degree programme.
• On completion of Professional modules with Professional Ethics module and required training for three years, students become full ACCA members.

ACCA Registration

Students must be registered with ACCA before taking any exams. They may however be eligible to claim exemptions on the basis of previous academic qualifications or relevant work experience.
Closing dates for submitting ACCA registration are as follows:

For June exams - 31 December (of the previous year)
For December exams - 15th August (of the same year)

These deadlines do not apply for students who elect to sit computer-based exams (CBEs), which are available for papers F1,F2 and F3. CBEs can be taken at any time of the year although students require their ACCA student registration number before they can sit the exam.

Enrolment on a course at LSM does not automatically register you with ACCA.

Course Delivery

Students who meet the minimum entry requirement commence their studies from Knowledge modules at the Fundamental stage and are expected to sit computer-based exams (CBEs) for Papers F1,F2 and F3. On completion students may then sit paper-based exams for subsequent levels. Students may choose one of the following study options:

"Please Note: Students may enroll for individual paper subjects."
(Terms & Conditions apply)

Option One

PapersF1, F2, F3
then, Papers F4, F5 and F6
then, Papers F7, F8 and F9
Thereafter students progress to Professional level - Papers P1,P2 and P3, then Optional papers P4 and P5 or P5 and P6

Option two

Papers F2 and F3
then, Papers F1 and F4
then, Papers F5 and F6
then, Papers F7, F8 and F9

Thereafter students progress to Professional level - Papers P1,P2 and P3, then Optional papers P4 and P5 or P5 and P6

Class Schedule & Duration and Commencement Dates :
LSM offers both full and part time tuition and students may select one of the following schedules:

Daytime Classes (full time) - Monday to Friday, 1000 - 1700 hrs
Evening Classes (part time) - Monday to Friday, 1730 - 2030 hrs
Weekend Classes - Saturday & Sunday, 0900 - 1700 hrs

Students who choose Option 1 will be expected to take two and a half years to complete the full program. Students who choose Option 2 should expect to take 3 complete years to complete the full programme. All full time students attend classes for 15-18 hours per week.

All Levels commence twice a year, in either January or July.

Revision Classes

LSM also offers revision classes to those students who require additional support in preparing for their exams. These revision classes are normally offered during April/May for June examinations and October/November for December examinations. Classes can be arranged on weekdays, evenings or weekends depending on the level of demand.

Entry Qualifications:

ACCA allows various entry points on to the ACCA Qualification, depending on your age and previous academic qualifications.

• Normally over age 21
• no academic qualifications required
• must pass the equivalent of Papers F2, Management Accounting and F3, Financial Accounting within two years before further progression to the ACCA exams is permitted.

** This route is not available to students applying to LSM from overseas.

• relevant degree holders from ACCA-accredited institutions may be exempted from all nine exams within the Fundamentals level and register directly at the Professional level. Non-relevant degrees may also qualify for some exemptions

• no academic qualifications required
• sit Certified Accounting Technician
• (CAT) qualification first and then transfer to the Skills module of the ACCA Qualification by claiming exemption from the first three papers in the Knowledge module.