FAQs on the Ethics and Professional Skills module

Finance professionals need to demonstrate that they understand and can apply ethical and professional behaviour in real-world work situations. The EPSM helps you develop these practical real-world skills so you can make an impact from day one in organisations. 

Professional skills are specific skills that you generally acquire through work-place experience – for example team-working, communication, negotiation ability.

As a result of the changing business landscape globally, employers are looking for finance professionals to add value immediately. So to have technical knowledge, skills and abilities - combined with professional skills and qualities - will be much more in demand by employers.

The module helps you to develop the professional skills you need to demonstrate in your Strategic Professional exams. It helps focus your thinking on real world work scenarios, developing your understanding and skills on how to approach the challenges presented. This is very similar to the approach you’ll be required to take at Strategic Professional exams.

The module will support you to exam success at Strategic Professional.  We therefore recommend you complete the module towards the end of completing your Applied Skills exams and before attempting any Strategic Professional exams.

No, however EPSM will support your learning for Strategic Professional exams so we would still recommend that you take the EPSM if you have any of these exams yet to complete.

The module takes approximately 20 hours to complete and you are able to access any of the module content again once completed if you wish to refresh your knowledge.

There is no time limit to complete the module. There is however, a 2 hour time limit in place to complete the final assessment.

Access to EPSM is available as soon as your booking is complete via your myACCA.

This may be a browser issue, please check you are using the latest version of your browser. If this doesn't resolve the issue please contact ACCA Connect and provide as much detail as possible.

This should include the module name, URL, the browser you are using and screenshots (if possible), so we can investigate.

Click on the 'forgotten your password?' link on the myACCA sign in page. You will be emailed a generated link which will allow you to reset your password.

Your username will be your myACCA ID. If you have forgotten your username/myACCA ID or password, from the myACCA sign in page, click on the 'forgotten your password' or the 'forgotten your username' link. You will be emailed a generated link which will allow you to reset your password or sent a reminder of your username. If you are still having problems signing in, please visit the help page

There is a one off cost for the module, with no resit fees.  Once a student has paid for the module they will be able to attempt the assessment multiple time and have unlimited access to the rest of the module content.

To find out the cost of the module please visit our pricing page.

We currently accept payment by credit/debit card only. American Express and Maestro are not accepted.

An order confirmation email will be sent upon completion of purchase. This will include details of the transaction and payment details.

You will receive an order confirmation email to confirm receipt of purchase. Invoices are available upon request after purchase. Please contact ACCA Connect to request an invoice.

To redeem a voucher or discount code, add the module to your cart, then at the point of purchase enter the code in the voucher/discount code field and click Apply. The voucher/discount code value will be applied to your purchase before payment.

We are not able to extend discount codes, please ensure that you redeem your discount within the specified timeframe as advertised.

Please check the email confirmation isn't in your junk/spam folder. You may also need to check the purchase was finalised. If this doesn't resolve the issue please contact ACCA Connect.

The module has 10 units, with 7 learning units and 3 assessment and support units. For more information on the syllabus and structure read our EPSM syllabus guide.

If you think there is an issue with the content in the module please contact ACCA Connect and provide as much detail as possible. This should include module name, the URL and screenshots (if possible), so we can investigate

Just like our exams, we regularly update the module so it contains all the latest ethical, professional and digital skills needed by finance professionals today. This means there may have been new units added to the module since you completed it and received your completion certificate. 

Should this be the case your completion bar may fall below 100%, but this does not impact your completion status and it is not compulsory for you to complete any new content added to the module. However, you will be able access this new content should you wish to keep your skills up-to-date.

There are a series of quizes throughout the module and the final unit of the module is an assessment which you will need to pass.  

If you don’t pass first time, you can try again until you are successful - without having to pay any additional fees. 

• You will receive a Certificate of achievement and a transcript showing the skills you have demonstrated throughout the module
• You will have completed one of the three key requirements towards ACCA membership (the others being exams and experience)
• As you work through the module, you will be asked to complete different tasks which you would expect to see in a real-world work scenario.  You may wish to save these to present to your employer,  or in an interview situation, to demonstrate how you would approach and resolve these real-world scenarios. You could also share them with your PER mentor to demonstrate achievement towards your performance objectives.

Please make sure you have completed all elements of the learning to obtain your certificate. Once you have completed all elements, your certificate will be available to download via a download button on the module page.

The name shown on your certificate will be based on the details within your myACCA account.

Please ensure that your name is correct in your myACCA account to prevent any errors with the name which will appear on your certificate. You can contact ACCA Connect and request amendments to your name by providing proof such as your birth certificate, passport or driving licence.

In units 8 and 10 of EPSM you will be assessed on the topics and skills you have learned in all previous units, including units 1-3. Therefore, before attempting these assessment units you should ensure that you are confident in your knowledge of the learning included in any units which were completed as part of an earlier qualification.

The new version  of EPSM introduced in June 2023 includes a change in the way which the learning aspects related to peer assessment are delivered, in order to enhance the student experience. Peer assessment has been replaced with a presentation review exercise. The skills tested in relation to preparing presentations and appraising the work of others remains the same. However, students will no longer have to wait for other students to complete reviews, nor review the work of other students, in order to progress.

We understand that the EPSM service issues may have disrupted existing ACCA journeys. As a token of our appreciation for your patience during this time, we are temporarily offering EPSM at our lowest price band for all users. We hope that this allows as many students and affiliates as possible to continue their progression towards membership without any further delay.  

When we transferred students to the new platform we could establish which individual units had been completed however it was not possible to establish where students had left a unit that was part complete.

To ensure that all students complete the required learning and assessment to fulfill the requirements of EPSM and gain the full benefit of completing EPSM it is necessary for incomplete units to be completed in full on the new platform.

If you are comfortable with the parts of a unit they have already completed previously, there is no need to consider these sections in depth again. 

In units 8 and 10 you will be assessed on topics and skills they have learned in units 1-7. Therefore, before attempting these assessment units you should ensure that you are confident in their knowledge of the full module

As a result of the service issues with the previous hosting platform, it was necessary to move the EPSM onto a new hosting platform. This new hosting platform will provide us with a more robust and reliable service, which minimises the risk of service issues impacting users in future.

All the valuable learning outcomes from the EPSM which enhance your employability skills and chances of exam success at Strategic Professional remained unchanged. However, due to software differences between the old and new hosting platform, some aspects of the module look and function differently to what you may have been used to before.

Some of the module content is accessible via mobile devices, but for a full learning experience we recommend you use a desktop or laptop computer.

Data is used as outlined in our Privacy Policy.

Please contact ACCA Connect with details of your enquiry.