ACCA changes!

ACCA changes!

 Have a read of the recent changes made by ACCA regarding - four sittings a year, one  exam week not two, professional exams being taken in any order and a new 7 year rule!

Four sittings a year from 2016
 From 2016 the ACCA is moving to four exam sittings a year; March, June, September and  December, with a pilot in a limited number of exam centres in September 2015 (e.g KL but  not Singapore). This will give you more flexibility to adapt your study around work and  personal commitments, and if unsuccessful you can sit it again relatively quickly.

One week of exams from December 2015

ACCA have changed the December exam timetable. No longer will the exams be sat over two weeks, now it will be just one, to accommodate the new four exam sittings. This means that some paper combinations will no longer be possible. In particular if you are coming to the end of your studies, you will no longer be able to sit P3 with P6 and P1 with P5 as now the exams will be on the same day.

Professional level can be taken in any order
Currently if you are studying at the Professional level the Essentials papers (P1-3) must be sat before the 2 options. However for all exam sittings from September 2015 the Professional level exams (P1–P7) can be taken in any order. This may help make the Option papers feel more manageable as you could sit an Option paper closer to the underpinning Skills paper.
My advice is that if you plan on taking the P7 exam that you take the P2 exam in advance of, or at the same time as any accounting standards examinable at P2 are also examinable at P7 and these standards are assumed knowledge for P7.
Progression rules for the Fundamentals and Skills papers will remain in place.

The 10 year rule becomes the 7 year rule
Under the current rules, students are removed from the register if they have not completed the exams within 10 years of their initial registration date but under the new rules a seven year limit will be introduced at the Professional level. There are no time limits for passing the Foundation or Fundamental level exams. Students will have seven years to pass the exams at professional level (P1-3 and two of the options papers P4-P7). If students do not pass all the Professional level exams within seven years, they will lose any passes that were achieved more than seven years ago and will need to retake those exams. The seven year time limit starts when you pass your first Professional level exam. Current ACCA students cannot be worse off.