The certification offered by the ACCA is the world’s largest professional accounting qualification. This prestigious certification has global recognition and opens a range of career opportunities for professionals.
As more and more accountants in India are leaning towards acquiring this qualification, a proper ACCA course beginner guide is imperative to successfully navigate the complex ACCA course components.
In this guide, we are going to cover all aspects of this esteemed program to ensure that all finance aspirants are equipped for success before they set on this journey.
What Are the Benefits of The ACCA Course?
As we navigate through the fundamentals of the ACCA course, it is essential to understand the benefits brought by this certification. Moreover, understanding these benefits will have a significant impact in the holistic development of aspiring finance professionals.
New Terrain of Knowledge
From financial accounting to business law, the ACCA syllabus equips students with the ability to understand the comprehensive topics of business and finance. They explore the diverse topics of financial principles to unfold new stories and knowledge. Such versatile modules allow students to explore a variety of career opportunities in accountancy-related fields.
Global Recognition
Since this program is globally recognized, professionals are not confined by their location for the scope of their career. They can explore opportunities in international accounting bodies ranging from Australia, UK, and Canada, to Singapore, Germany, and Dubai. Moreover, they can find a myriad of multinational organizations ready to hire certified professionals.
Cost Friendly
The cost of education is getting expensive day by day. Students are having to choose expensive courses, while also managing the time period paying for the programs. The ACCA course is designed to be accessible by aspirants of all financial vectors. It promises affordability and maximized value in return. So, this program is the perfect choice for students looking to make a smart education investment.
Flexibility
Whether it’s reporting, auditing, or taxation, aspirants can pick course modules that align with their career goals. The adaptability offered by ACCA ensures that the program is not a one-size-fit-all, as it caters to the interests and ambitions of everyone in their own unique educational path.
Develop Life Skills
In addition to feeding theoretical knowledge, the ACCA program also allows students to hone their practical skills for real-world applications. These skills come in handy when you are trying to tackle a challenge in later stages of your career.
Understanding the ACCA Exam Structure
As the next part of our ACCA beginners guide, we are going to look at the three levels that make up the ACCA exam.
- The Exam Modules
Essentially, The ACCA exams are conducted in three primary components:
- Applied Knowledge
In this component, students get the fundamental knowledge to understand the world of finance. The syllabus and subjects here will cover management, accounts, business, and technology in business.
- Applied Skills
Here, students will build from previously learned financial processes with practical skills to build a strong base for their career. Thus, they can feel confident in catering to the needs of any industry vectors.
- Strategic Professionals
The last level of the ACCA exams will be the strategic professional section. The ACCA students will learn the professional, ethical, and technical skills to seek an opportunity in specific areas of their career in the future.
- The Ethics and Professional Skills Module
The Ethics and Professional Skills module is designed as an additional resource for aspirants to perform better in the strategic professional exam. In this module, they learn skills like commercial awareness, leadership, and communication to vastly improve their chances of employment. ACCA states that students who completed this module have a 19% better chance of passing the exam.
- Practical Experiment Module
The third module is Practical Experiment – this is not a mandatory module. However, it is recommended to attend this module after passing the exam, as 36 months of supervised experience in a finance or relevant role will greatly help students in the future.
The ACCA Exam Syllabus
The comprehensive syllabus of the ACCA exam is designed to cover every subject area that will help the aspirants ascertain their skillset and credibility in the professional world.
The following are the subject areas covered in the ACCA exams:
Business and Technology:
Understanding the legal, regulatory, environment, and economy aspects of the business.
Financial Accounting:
It involves reporting, recording transactions, preparing consolidated statements, preparing trial balance, and more.
Corporate and Business Law:
Capital financing of companies, company regulation, corporate fraud, insolvency law, law of obligations, and constitution of business organizations.
Taxation:
This syllabus is specific to the country it’s been taught. It includes, income tax, NIC capabilities, inheritance tax, VAT, and corporate tax liabilities.
Performance Management:
Cost management, decision making techniques, performance measurement, and employability and technological skills.
Audit and Assurance:
In this syllabus, students have to study the review and reporting, audit regulation and framework, and internal control.
Financial Management:
Business valuations, financial management environment, investment capital, risk management, and financial management function.
Strategic Business Leader:
This syllabus will cover topics related to governance, strategy, success and management, technology and data skills, and audit.
Conclusion
This ACCA beginner’s guide will enhance your chances of securing a dream role in various industry sectors around the world. In addition to understanding the fundamentals, it is essential to prepare for the exam in a holistic manner.