Most Difficult Acca Exam

[Prisc Chandola]

Theaccounting profession has rapidly evolved in this data-driven age. Globalisation and technology call for fast-paced and forward-thinking accountants who can respond to ever-changing challenges in the marketplace.

This high-profile qualification can be found in large corporations and successful private practices worldwide. Your conduct as an ACCA member will need to be of the highest level of integrity, as the information you provide will be used to make important business decisions.

In terms of the basic entry requirements, those include: proficiency in English, and completed schooling (requirements for each country can be found on the ACCA website). If you do not meet the minimum requirements, you can apply for foundation-level awards.

If you have previous accounting qualifications, you may be eligible for exemption from some of the Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills exams. Application for exemption can be made in writing to ACCA Global. You will need to provide proof of previous qualifications for verification.

As you can see, at this level, Management Accounting (MA) presents the biggest challenge based on average pass rates. Once you have completed these modules, you can move on to the Applied Skills level.

Before you sit for these exams, it is highly recommended that you complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM). The ACCA has discovered that students who do this module first are 25% more likely to pass the SBL exam.

There are excellent online tuition providers out there who can help with free and paid study resources. For example, VIVA Financial Tuition is an award-winning online tuition provider that is rolling out comprehensive ACCA courses throughout 2023. Be sure to sign up to VIVA's mailing list to receive notification about early bird offers and more. Sign up here and get your free 64-page ACCA Subject by Subject Pass Guide!

You will need to prepare thoroughly for the SBR and SBL exams. These two exams are based on real-life examples and you will be required to apply the knowledge gained on the applied skills level by analysing information using the correct methods. This will not be possible if you do not grasp the theory well from the Applied Skills level.

There are four opportunities a year to sit for an exam. Quarterly exams take place in March, June, September, and December, giving students a chance to pass their ACCA exams several times throughout the year.

You have to pass 13 modules in the ACCA qualification. All the exams have a pass mark of 50%. There is no limit on the number of times you may sit for an examination, so if you fail, you can always book another exam.

However, at the Applied Skills level, Audit and Assurance (AA) is in some ways more difficult for students because the concepts are so novel, and there is a lot of new material and terminology and processes to learn.

The key topics examined in AA provide the foundational audit knowledge. Becoming familiar with these concepts can take some time, but a good pass rate at this level will provide the technical knowledge required to succeed in AAA.

The three questions in the AAA exam are all scenario-based. Students must understand the specific circumstances of the client presented, select audit procedures to reflect this understanding and correctly interpret the results obtained.

It is a mistake to think that the same skills applied for AA will be sufficient for AAA, as the latter takes students into real-world situations where they have to use all the tools at their disposal to evaluate and make an objective decision.

Many students want to know whether the Taxation (TX) exam is difficult. The answer to that question is no. Although the exam is lengthy and you must remember the taxation laws, the tax period and the tax calculations - there is nothing inherently difficult about the subject matter.

The tricky aspect of the exam is the timing. Rules, standards and rates change in June yearly. You have one year to write all tax-related exams and pass them before everything changes for the new tax year.

Taking the Taxation exam in March is risky. If you fail, you must understand all the new changes before the June examination. It is therefore not advisable to schedule your Taxation exam like this if possible.

A realistic view of what it will take to finish the qualification will help your mindset as you encounter inevitable obstacles and struggles along the way. Obstacles should be anticipated and accepted as part of life rather than expected to be avoided. In fact, learning how to work through them will become an important skill in itself!

ACCA is not necessarily more difficult than any other professional qualification. The key is the mindset that you adopt towards it. A qualification is a pathway towards a fulfilling career, not an obstacle to get through.

A good start is to view ACCA as the method for gaining valuable skills and experiences. Chartered Certified Accountants are in demand globally because they are prepared for the operational and strategic aspects of the accounting profession.

Choose a tuition provider that will give you high-quality on-demand tutorials, lecture notes and comprehensive coverage with highly-skilled tutors. VIVA Financial Tuition is geared to meeting precisely these needs and their high pass rates are a testament to that fact.

It takes a good deal of commitment and insight into your own motivations to stick with a long-term qualification, but it is achievable. Many other ACCA students will testify to this fact. Top companies worldwide seek out ACCA-qualified students.

So I would not say any paper to be easy. I spent less effort, but I was also not confident in passing. Maybe the most difficult ones were P2 and P4. Studying those felt very overhelming and depressing, I had a feeling that I am stupid and retarded and have no chance to ever pass them.

Diplomatically speaking, all the papers of the ACCA Qualification are relatively difficult. So be prepared to work extra hard and put on more shift to fulfill your dream of becoming an ACCA member. Coming to a conclusion on which ACCA paper is easy/difficult is complex as this is highly subjective. We are all different and it depends on a number of factors which include prior work experience, intelligence and commitment. Personally I am not intelligent, I am just an average hard-working individual who studied very hard to pass my ACCA exams and obtain the ACCA qualification.

Having said that, there are some ACCA papers which gave me a nightmare. Performance Measurement (PM) is one of them. I applied my strategies as normal as described in my previous article, but I would fail dismally whenever I practiced past papers and would certainly not understand anything when it comes to theory. This was mainly due to the fact that I never really liked Management Accounting (MA) and I had just barely passed it really. So generally my basics where not in place and my foundation was not solid. I put in extra work and eventually passed the ACCA paper and you guessed right, Advanced Performance Measurement was not an option for me.

Management accounting is difficult because it generally goes beyond the traditional accounting procedures which are book-keeping, i.e debit and credits. Most students find it difficult as evident in the ACCA pass rates simple because they have not done it in real life. It is difficult to see how it applies in real life as a student, but in practice, it is not as hard because the results of what you do will be in front of you.

The easiest paper for me was Audit and Assurance. This was mainly because I had a deep understanding of the IFRS from my Financial Reporting paper which I had studied very well. I had a solid study technique for this paper mainly because most students I had been in contact with deemed the paper to be difficult and the pass rates were scary, so I really wanted to pass it and so I put in an extra shift. ACCA Technical articles helped so much in this paper together with a lot of ACCA past exam papers.

Audit in practice is definitely challenging, not technically, but emotionally. I would say it is a mental test due to the challenges that you might face when in audit engagements and part of an audit team. Meeting deadlines and working long hours are the characteristics of audit and that is why most people hate audit. But generally, you get the opportunity to travel and interact with different people (clients), which is a factor that may motivate you to like audit, because if you like something, you are most likely to do well in that thing.

ACCA Performance Measurement (ACCA) was the hardest ACCA paper I ever wrote. Yes, this includes all the ACCA papers, APM included. It was just so difficult. During the study phase I could understand all the concepts and all the technical staff. And when I revised the ACCA past papers, eeeh I knew nothing. I expected that considering my woes with ACCA MA and I attributed my problems with the paper to lack of a solid foundation in MA. Surprisingly I passed it first time and I was the happiest man on earth. Management Accounting is certainly my weakest point when it comes to my field and am certainly looking forward to addressing that.

ACCA Taxation (TX) was annoying more than anything. There was a lot to grasp and no analytical thinking. It certainly required a certain level of focus and discipline to make it. It was the hardest to study but was easy to pass. The exam was straightforward and I knew I had passed the second I stepped out of that exam room. I did UK tax and I passed first time.

Passing the first 9 papers of the ACCA qualification was in no way easy. It required a lot of effort and dedication to get through all the papers in first attempt. I hope this encourages you to work very hard to achieve your educational goals. Good luck!

Hie Shallety, I will be posting a video sometime this week on the specific exam technique to follow in order to pass those papers! Stay tuned and subscribe to receive notifications when the article is posted!

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