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The ACCA offers the following qualifications:
A. Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) - Professional Scheme
The Professional Scheme is the primary qualification of the ACCA and, following completion of up to 14 professional examinations and three years of supervised, relevant accountancy experience, enables an individual to become a Chartered Certified Accountant.
In accordance with ACCA's traditions, there is open access to its examinations.
As part of the Professional Scheme, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Applied Accounting (after completing Part 2 of the Professional Scheme and submitting a Research project), is offered in association with Oxford Brookes University)
The current syllabus is made up of 14 examinations, although some exemptions are available. The papers are split into three parts. Within Part 3, there are four optional papers (of which two must be selected) and three core papers (which must be sat and passed together, subject to the referral rules).
Subjects examined include financial accounting, management accounting, financial audit, taxation , company law, financial management, management information systems and strategic management.
A new ACCA qualification will start from the December 2007 examination sitting. The new syllabus updates the qualification for recent developments in the accountancy profession and reorganises the papers within the qualification. It is ACCA policy to update the examination syllabus on a regular basis. Changes were made previously in 2001 and 1994.
The ACCA Professional examinations are offered worldwide twice yearly, in June and December.
B. Certified Accounting Technician (CAT)
This is an introductory accounting technician qualification. Although CAT can be obtained as a standalone qualification, it is often the case that individuals study for CAT as an introduction to accountancy prior to starting the Professional Scheme. It usually takes 1.5 years to complete the Certified Accounting Technician exams. However, there is no restriction on the number of papers that can be attempted in one attempt.
Alternatives to the CAT qualification include the Association of Accounting Technicians qualification. ACCA was a sponsor of the AAT before breaking its links in favour of the CAT qualification in the mid 1990s.
Currently, the Certified Accounting Technician qualification (CAT) has been placed on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) National Qualifications Framework and publicly funded educational institutions are now eligible for funding to train towards the qualification in United Kingdom.
C. Other qualifications
The ACCA offers other qualifications:
an MBA (for ACCA full members, offered in association with Oxford Brookes University)
Diploma in Financial Management (DipFM). Introduced in the mid-1980s as the Certified Diploma in Accounting and Finance this is a financial qualification designed for non-finance managers.
Diploma in International Financial Reporting (DipIFR)
Diploma in Corporate Governance
Certificate in International Auditing (CertIA)
Certificate in International Financial Reporting (CertIFR)
Upon completion of the examinations, student members are automatically transferred to Affiliate status. To become a Chartered Certified Accountant, or a full member of the Association, affiliates must have three years of supervised, relevant accountancy experience and must have documentary evidence of this in the form of the Student Training Records. In common with many United Kingdom professional bodies, full membership of ACCA is known as Associateship, which are entitled to describe themselves as Chartered Certified Accountant and carries the designatory letters ACCA.
