What is the ACCA Qualification?

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is the largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy body with over a 100 years of experience and consisting of 345,000 students and members in 170 countries. More people around the world qualify in-country with ACCA than any other international body. Both its reputation and influence are respected worldwide by employers, governments and the profession itself.


Why choose ACCA?

The ACCA Qualification enables you to become a Chartered Certified Accountant and will help your career progress in any organisation. It is an established route to professional status whilst earning both your ACCA as well as MIA designatory letters on successful completion and application of membership. The ACCA qualification is recognised worldwide and your employers both local and global will understand and respect your qualification.


What is MIA’s relationship with ACCA?

The Malta Institute of Accountants is the only Joint scheme partner with ACCA in Malta, leading to both ACCA and MIA qualifications. Once qualified you may apply for membership with both ACCA and the Malta Institute of Accountants. The Institute currently has 940 registered Joint scheme students.


What are the minimum entry requirements and when can I register?

ACCA holds 2 examination sessions per annum; June and December examinations.

To sit for examinations in December you must apply before 14 August and to sit for June examinations you must apply before 15 December. You will need the following requirements and supporting documentation in order to apply through the Professional entry route:

These fees are due by 1 January for every year you are registered as a student


Can I claim exemptions from any of the ACCA exams?

For some ACCA Accredited degrees or diplomas relating to the content of the ACCA syllabus you may be granted exemptions of papers from the fundamental level of the syllabus. Therefore, If you have already obtained a degree or diploma you may apply through the Professional Graduate entry route by submitting the above documentation accompanied by the respective Degree/Diploma certificates and transcript, for ACCA to assess and consider exemptions, if any.


I do not satisfy the entry requirements, can I pursue ACCA?

If you do not have the minimum entry requirements you may register through the Mature entry route by submitting the above documentation without submitting any educational certificates. Preferably the respective applicant must be over 21 years of age and be involved in work experience related to Accountancy. Once the application form is submitted to ACCA it will be assessed in order to determine whether the applicant is eligible as a mature registered student. Registration is at ACCA’s discretion and there is no guarantee of acceptance. You will receive a confirmation of student registration after 6 to 8 weeks.


How many examinations am I obliged to sit for, and over what period?

If you register as a professional student you may sit for a maximum of 4 examinations per session, whilst if you are a registered mature student you are first required to achieve examinations from both F2, known as MMA and F3, known as MFA, within a maximum period of 4 examinations sessions (2 years) in order to progress further with ACCA examinations. The F2 (MMA) and F3 (MFA) examinations are not required to be achieved both at once as long as they are both achieved within a period of 2 years or 4 examination sessions.


How long will it take me to qualify?

The ACCA is designed to be flexible. You will have a maximum of 10 years to achieve a set of 14 papers in order to complete ACCA on a part time basis. On an average, an individual registering with the minimum entry requirements, working full time and studying part-time would complete the ACCA qualification between 3 to 4 years. However, depending on your previous qualification, practical experience and dedicated time for studying, you can complete the qualification much more quickly. If you prefer you may take it easy, plan a break after each section or at any other time, taking into consideration the duration of 10 years to achieve all ACCA papers.


What are the targets for success?

Through the Approved Learning Partners – student tuition programme, there are a range of approved learning partners worldwide to choose from who offer high quality tuition and student support. For more information visit the ACCA website, in the Approved Learning Partner section at www.accaglobal.com


What is the difference between Paper-based and Computer-based examinations?

You can choose to sit either through paper-based examinations in June and December or on-demand computer-based exams whenever suits you best. Computer-based exams are currently available for papers F1, F2 and F3. Both paper and computer based examinations for the knowledge papers F1 – F3 are of a 2 hour duration and multiple choice questions. Exams for papers in the Skills and Professional level are of a 3 hour duration, question and Answer or essay type. When opting for Computer Based exams you are not restricted to June and December exam sessions only. You can re-sit the exam at any time and there is no restriction on the number of times you can re-sit the exam. Your result is displayed on the computer screen at the end of the examination. A provisional result certificate is printed and provided to the student there and then. Results are uploaded by the licensed centre and will be transferred to your ACCA account within 72 hours.


What are the examination fees?

The paper-based examination fees payable to ACCA are as follows and subject to change by ACCA:

May I have a breakdown of the aims of each paper within the syllabus please?

The ACCA syllabus consists of 16 papers split into 4 sections. Below are the set of 16 papers whereby 14 papers must be achieved. You must complete each section consecutively in the following order: Knowledge, Skills, Essentials and Options, but papers within each section do not necessarily have to be attempted in order. If one paper from a section is still to be attempted, as long as you attempt the remaining paper, you may opt to attempt a maximum of three other papers from the following section including the remaining from the previous.

The following should also be taken into consideration:

F4 Corporate and Business Law and F6 Taxation from the fundamental level must be both achieved in Local Variant. This also applies to the P6 Advanced taxation in the Professional level. If you achieve any of the 3 papers in any other variant but Malta variant, once you have completed ACCA, you may not apply for MIA membership or local warrant unless you sit of the respective exam/s in Malta variant.

Having said this similarly, if you opt for P4 and P5 instead of P6 and P7 in the Option section of the Professional Level, you will not be able to obtain your Local Warrant (CPA) nor your MIA membership without achieving the Local variant P6 - Advanced Taxation, and you will not be able to obtain your Practicing certificate in Auditing CPA (pc) if you do not achieve P7 – Advanced Audit and Assurance.


Hereunder is a summary of the aims of each paper within the ACCA syllabus;

FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL

Knowledge Section Aims

F1 Accountant in Business
To develop knowledge and understanding of the business environment and the influence this has on how organisations and accountants operate and of the role of the accountant and other key business functions in contributing to an efficient, effective and ethical organisation and to build knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of effective management.

F2 Management Accounting
To develop knowledge and understanding of how to prepare and process basic cost and quantitative information to support management in planning and decision-making in a variety of business contexts.

F3 Financial Accounting
To develop knowledge and understanding of the underlying principles, concepts and regulations relating to financial accounting and technical proficiency in the use of double-entry accounting techniques, including the preparation of basic financial statements.

Skills section Aims

F4 Corporate and Business Law
To develop knowledge and skills in the understanding of the general legal framework, and of specific legal areas relating to business, recognising the need to seek further specialist legal advice where necessary.

F5 Performance Management
To develop knowledge and skills in the application of management accounting techniques to quantitative and qualitative information for planning, decision-making, performance evaluation and control.

F6 Taxation
To develop knowledge and skills relating to the tax system as applicable to individuals, single companies, and groups of companies.

F7 Financial Reporting
To develop knowledge and skills in understanding and applying accounting standards and the theoretical framework in the preparation of financial statements of entities, including groups, and how to analyse and interpret those financial statements.

F8 Audit and Assurance
To develop knowledge and skills in the process of carrying out the assurance engagement and its application in the context of the professional regulatory framework.

F9 Financial Management (FM)
To develop knowledge and skills expected of a financial manager - relating to issues affecting investment, financing, and dividend policy decisions.

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL

Essentials section Aims

P1 Professional Accountant
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in carrying out the role of the accountant relating to governance, internal control, compliance, and the management of risk within an organisation - in the context of an overall ethical framework.

P2 Corporate Reporting
To apply knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in the application and evaluation of financial reporting principles and practices in a range of business contexts and situations.

P3 Business Analysis
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in assessing strategic position, determining strategic choice, and implementing strategic action through business process and structural change, coordinating knowledge systems and information technology, and by managing quality processes, projects, and people.

Options Section (Two to be completed) Aims

P4 Advanced Financial Management
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement as expected of a senior financial executive or advisor, in taking or recommending decisions relating to the financial management of an organisation.

P5 Advanced Performance Management
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in selecting and applying strategic management accounting techniques in different business contexts and to contribute to the evaluation of the performance of an organisation and its strategic development.

P6 Advanced Taxation
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in providing relevant information and advice to individuals and businesses on the impact of the major taxes on financial decisions and situations.

P7 Advanced Audit and Assurance
To apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgement in analysing, evaluating, concluding and reporting on the assurance engagement and other audit and assurance issues in the context of best practice and current developments.


What is the Professional ethics module?

As part of your ethical development you are required to complete the Professional ethics module. This will give you exposure to a range of ethical perspectives and includes several self-tests which require you to reflect on your own ethical behaviour and values. You then apply what you have learned in a case study where you experience an audit situation from 2 points of view, that of the auditor and the corporate financial accountant. There is no exam for this module therefore you cannot fail this course; it is designed to encourage you to reflect on what you have learnt throughout the module. You are given access to the Professional Ethics module as soon as you become eligible to take Paper P1 - Professional Accountant. It is recommended that you take the Professional Ethics module at the same time as, or before, the Professional Accountant paper. While you have the flexibility to complete the ethics module in your own time as there is no set time allocated, it must be completed before applying for full ACCA membership.


How do I gain the BSc (Honours) Degree in Applied Accounting?

Through a unique partnership with ACCA and the Oxford Brookes University, the BSc degree is available exclusively to ACCA students who wish to obtain a degree while studying towards the ACCA qualification. It can be a stepping stone as you progress towards achieving ACCA and used to prove your skills and ability as you excel in your workplace. To be awarded the BSc degree, you must submit an 8,500 word business-related Research and Analysis Project consisting of a Research report with a maximum of 6,500 words, and a Skills and Learning Statement not exceeding 2,000 words. This will guide and support you while you complete your project, and reflecting on the experience of completing the project.


When can I submit my Research and Analysis project?

You can submit your project to Oxford Brookes University as soon as you have received your official ACCA exam results showing you have successfully completed the ACCA Fundamental level papers and completed the Professional Ethics module. There are 2 project submission periods each year which are March and September of every calendar year. You should send your finished RAP together with your submission form and assessment fee of £85.00 to:

ACCA Office
Oxford Brookes University Business School
Wheatley Campus
Wheatley
Oxford OX33 1HX
United Kingdom