The ACCA Qualification gives you the most up-to-date skills you need to become a finance professional.
You need three GCSEs and two A Levels in five separate subjects including maths and English (or their equivalent) to start the ACCA Qualification
Find out more about the minimum entry requirements for all of our qualifications.
| Work experience | Three years. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | Up to 13, depending on exemptions. |
| How long does it take? | Three to four years on average. |
| What else is involved? | Ethics and Professional Skills module. |
If you are starting out in accounting and finance or already working in finance but have no formal qualifications, you can start your journey with ACCA at our foundation level.
You simply need to be a registered ACCA Student and have opted-in to the BSc Degree Scheme.
| Number of exams | Successfully complete all Applied Knowledge and Applies Skills exams, including passing Financial Reporting (FR), Audit and Assurance (AA) and Financial Management (FM) exams |
|---|---|
| How long does it take? | The degree must be completed within 10 years of the earliest date of your first examination pass or the date of your first ACCA exemption being granted, otherwise your eligibility will be withdrawn |
| What else is involved? | Complete and pass the Oxford Brookes University Research and Analysis Project and the ACCA Ethics and Professional Skills Module |
Currently we offer two pathways to the MSc in Professional Accountancy; pathway one for students and pathway two for affiliates and members. From 2021 we will no longer be accepting applications to pathway one.
Requirements
For the student pathway, you simply need to be a registered ACCA student and have successfully completed the Strategic Professional Essentials exams.
For the affiliate and member pathway you are automatically eligible, however, if it has been more than five years since you passed your final Strategic Professional exam you will be required to successfully pass the University of London Professional Accountancy Online Preparation Test.
| Number of exams | Student pathway: 2 modules each assessed via coursework and an exam (2 exams in total) | |
|---|---|---|
| What else is involved? | Complete and pass the Strategic Financial Project | |
| How long does it take? | You can complete the MSc in under a year or take longer if that is more convenient (up to a max of 5 years). Each module and the Strategic Financial Project are studied over a 22 week session, requiring an average of 12 hours of study per week |
ACCA member or a minimum of three years’ professional/managerial work experience.
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but three years' professional/managerial work experience is required for entry. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | Assignment-based and two exams. |
| How long does it take? | If an ACCA member, as little as 21 months. |
| What else is involved? | Two face-to-face workshops. |
There are no formal entry requirements, but we recommend that an educational or vocational background in business valuations is gained before starting this certificate. Primarily the course is aimed at people who already have a professional accountancy qualification.
| Work experience involved | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | None. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 20 hours. |
The ACCA Certificate in Digital Innovation for Finance is aimed at accountancy, finance, business and advisory professionals who wish to develop their knowledge, skills and awareness of innovations in digital technology and its impact on the finance profession.
No prior knowledge required.
| Cost | ACCA members: 200 GBP Non-members: 255 GBP |
|---|---|
| How long does it take? | 20 hours |
| Access period | 12 months |
This Certificate is targeted at those working in Global Business Services or looking to work in GBS.A level of accountancy knowledge equivalent to FA1/MA1 is recommended before starting the CertGBS. It has been prepared for new entrants to the Global Business Services, Shared Services and Outsourcing industry as well as staff with practical experience but without formal professional qualifications.
This certificate also benefits ACCA members who would like to develop their skills and knowledge within their outsourcing environment.
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | One online assessment. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 20-30 hours. |
Designed for professional accountants and auditors qualified in their national accounting standards who need to update their skills to meet the challenges involved in adopting and implementing IFRS in their workplace. An educational or vocational background in financial reporting is recommended before starting the Cert IFR. This course also benefits ACCA members who gained their qualification prior to the introduction of IFRS. For ACCA members whose qualifications are already based on IFRS, the Cert IFR is an opportunity to update their IFRS knowledge for recent IASB publications.
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | One online multiple-choice assessment. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 20 hours. |
What's involved?
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
| Number of exams | One written exam. |
| How long does it take? | Three to six months. |
Who is it for?
Professional accountants and auditors working in practice and industry and qualified in national accounting standards are eligible to take the qualification.
Practitioners not yet qualified, but who can verify at least one of the following, are also eligible:
Designed for professional accountants and auditors working in audit or seeking to make a move in to audit practice. An educational or vocational background in auditing is recommended before commencing the Cert IA.
This course would benefit ACCA members who qualified before the clarified ISAs were introduced or for members who wish to ensure that their audit knowledge is up to date with all relevant IAASB publications.
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | One online multiple-choice assessment. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 25 hours. |
No formal qualifications are required. Designed for professional accountants and auditors qualified in national accounting standards or International Financial Reporting Standards, the module is written as an introduction to IPSAS, on the assumption that the reader knows a reasonable amount or has sufficient experience of accounting and financial reporting.
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | One online multiple-choice assessment. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 20 hours. |
There are no formal educational requirements to beginning the Cert PFM.
It has been prepared for:
| Work experience | None involved in qualifying, but the qualification is designed to accompany relevant work. |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | One online multiple-choice assessment. |
| How long does it take? | Average of 40 hours. |
Equivalent to the ACCA Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business, these Russian Language exams develop the strong, broad and practical finance skills required of future strategic professional accountant in any sector or industry.
| Number of exams | Up to 6, depending on exemptions. |
|---|---|
| How long does it take? | 18 months on average. |
| What else is involved? | Professional Ethics Module |
The CertDA will help you learn about big data, the various sources of data, types of analytics, and become familiar with the range of tools and techniques required to extract, manipulate and interpret and present data
No prior knowledge required.
| Cost | ACCA members: 60 GBP Non-members: 90 GBP |
|---|---|
| How long does it take? | 4 hours |
| Access period | 6 months |