Hello ACCA aspirant. Hope you are doing well. Here at Career Compass, we are not just lecturers, but we are here to mentor students to support them in every manner. In this space we have highlighted about the Time duration of completion of ACCA. So, let us give you the brief about the Time duration of completion of ACCA
Time duration for completion of ACCA
Completion of ACCA qualification and attainment of membership is dependent on various factors for any student. As such, there can never be any fixed time period which can be specified in any particular case.
Few factors which affect the duration of ACCA course include:
- Availability of exemptions,
- Number of exams opted to appear in one exam session,
- Selection of subject combination,
- Availability of right guidance,
- Dedication of student, time devotion, seriousness and efforts, consistency, etc
Generally, ACCA exams take around 2-3 years to complete. We have listed below few suggestions and advices which we offer to our students based on their differing scenarios:
12th Pass out:
- If you are just out of 12th, you would pretty surely be having your college commitments. So despite being a full time student, we advise you to opt and appear for a single subject in every exam session, at least till the initial Fundamental subjects. This will make you more familiar with the format and will enhance your chances of passing the subject as well.
- As such 9 subjects of Fundamental level (4 on-demand subjects and 5 session-based subjects) can be cleared in 1.5-2 years. Further with Professional subjects also being appeared individually per exam session, 4 subjects can be cleared in 1 next year. This way you can qualify ACCA examinations in approx 3 years
B.com Graduate:
- If you are a graduate student, with 4 subject exemptions claimed, you are suggested to appear the remaining subjects individually in each exam session. This way you can complete the remaining 5 Fundamental subjects in 1 year. Also considering that you appear for every Professional subject one at a time in each exam session, you can complete the Strategic professional level in the next 1 year. This way you can qualify the ACCA examination in approx 2 years.
CA IPCC / Inter:
- If you are pursuing or have qualified CA – IPCC, and have claimed 4-5 subject exemptions, or even 6 if a graduate as well; with the right guidance, Fundamental level can easily be qualified in 2-3 quarters. And further appearing for Professional subjects one at a time, you can become an Affiliate by next 1 year. This way you can qualify the ACCA examination in 2 years or even less.
Chartered Accountant:
- If you are a qualified CA, you just have to appear for 4 subjects, and also considering your job work along, you can manage to give 1 Professional subject in every quarter. In this way you would be done with all the exams within 1 year, provided a proper dedication and consistency is maintained throughout. Already being a Qualified accountant gives you the benefit of earning an additional International degree within a year.
Additionally, attainment of ACCA membership requires 3 years of ‘Relevant Practical Experience’. This practical work experience can either be from before starting with ACCA exams, or done even along with pursuing and giving exams, or done after completing all the exams. This again affects how soon the membership for ACCA can be applied for.
Until attainment of membership and after clearing all the ACCA exams, the person qualifies as “ACCA Affiliate”.
Note: ACCA has set up a time period of 7 years to pass the Strategic Professional exams once the student passes his first Strategic Professional exam. Beyond which (until attainment of Affiliate status), all the existing passes would be invalid and exams would be required to be re-appeared.
However, there is no such time limit rule for Applied knowledge or applied skills level.
For more details or query regarding ACCA you can contact Career Compass.
Team of Career Compass hopes this article helped you and gave you more insights about ACCA.
Good Luck.
By Aditi Deepak Mehta
(ACCA Affiliate)
(Member of Mentors’ Team at Career Compass)