ACCA: All 13 Papers Decoded
Knowledge, Skills and Strategic Professional — your global accounting roadmap
13 papers4 exam windows/yearExemptions available180+ countries
Exam Pattern & Papers
Applied Knowledge (3)
- Business & Technology (BT)
- Management Accounting (MA)
- Financial Accounting (FA)
- On-demand CBEs — take anytime
Applied Skills (6)
- Corporate & Business Law (LW)
- Performance Management (PM)
- Taxation (TX)
- Financial Reporting (FR)
- Audit & Assurance (AA)
- Financial Management (FM)
Strategic Professional (4)
- Essentials: Strategic Business Leader (SBL), Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)
- Options (pick 2): AFM, APM, ATX, AAA
Exemptions
- Class 12 Commerce: start from Knowledge level
- B.Com/CA-Inter/CA: up to 9 paper exemptions — get your eligibility checked free
Pass criteria: 50% in every paper. Maximum 8 papers per year; Ethics module required before membership.
First-Attempt Strategy
Plan exemptions first
A 10-minute eligibility check can save a year — we do it free.
One paper per window early on
Quality over speed at Skills level builds the base for Professional.
Question-based learning
ACCA rewards applied answers; practice kits beat re-reading texts.
SBL is a business simulation
Practise full 4-hour cases; professional-skills marks decide passes.
Use examiner reports
ACCA publishes what went wrong each sitting — gold for avoiding repeat mistakes.
Ethics module early
Do EPSM before Strategic Professional — it teaches the SBL style.
Mistakes that cost attempts
Skipping the practice kit
Attempting too many papers per window
Ignoring professional-skills marks in SBL
Not checking exemptions before starting
Get the complete ACCA success kit — free
Study plan PDF + chapter priority list + past-paper analysis, on WhatsApp