You are on page 1of 70

Case study on why we study ACCA

Prepared By:
Dipock Mondal
ID#BBA070360590
Department of Business Administration
Northern University, Bangladesh

Date of Submission: 31 March 2010

1
Introduction:
ACCA is an international education system for us. It is a great
opportunity for us to achieve an international certificate in our
country. It is very easy education system and it's cost very low and
also comfortable fro our student's. The priority of ACCA in our
country is so high and not only in our country but also the world. In
Job sector it is also most required.

WHY ACCA?
We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of
application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in
accountancy, finance and management. Both our reputation and influence are
respected worldwide by employers, governments and the profession itself.
ACCA has been around for over 100 years, which means our growth is backed by
a solid history. Our reputation for excellence in qualifications and training is
acknowledged around the world, which will have a positive impact on your
reputation in the profession.
Our qualifications are examined in over 170 countries and based on international
accounting standards. But going global doesn’t mean that one size has to fit all.
We offer adapted papers in financial accounting and auditing, and variant papers
that test local law and tax. So you can feel confident knowing that you will have a
globally-recognized qualification that will also be relevant locally too.
As a professional you will be expected to ensure your knowledge and skills are
relevant to the constantly changing needs of the market. Professional development
will play a major part in your career, giving you opportunities to further enhance
your skills and knowledge. And we will be supporting you on your way to
qualification and beyond.

2
STUDY OPTIONS:
Choosing how you are going to study will be one of the most important decisions
you make during your time preparing for the ACCA Qualification, CAT or Dip
FM exams. Will you study with a tuition provider, or at home? How do you
decide, from all the institutions offering tuition, which will be most suitable for
your needs?
There are numerous tuition providers and a wide variety of different study
methods, so selecting the one which is right for you can be difficult. Taking
recommendations from friends and colleagues can provide some guidance, but
what is suitable for one individual may not be the best option for another.
If you choose to study with a tuition provider, ACCA strongly recommends you
opt for one which is approved under ACCA's Approved Learning Partner -
Student Tuition programmed, as you can be sure:

Official Publishers
ACCA works with two Official Publishers who publish a range of materials to
support students studying to take the ACCA and CAT Qualifications.
The textbooks are prepared by the Publishers and then reviewed by ACCA's
examiners to ensure syllabus coverage.
In addition to textbooks, BPP and Kaplan produce exam practice kits which are
invaluable to students when preparing for exams.
Professional Ethics:
Values, ethics and governance are essential skills for finance professionals.
As an ACCA student, your ethical and professional development starts from day
one - as soon as you have registered with ACCA. If you requested to receive a
CD-ROM version of the post-registration information - sent to you soon after you
registered as a student - it included a video presentation which focuses on the
importance of professionalism. The film sets out the rights, responsibilities and
obligations of the professional accountant. (If you received a printed version of
the post-registration information, it included a written transcript of the video).
You can view the video again by visiting my ACCA on the ACCA website, or on
the student and affiliates channel of ACCA.TV .
Based on the content of the video, we would now like you to test how much you

3
have learnt about professionalism by answering a few multiple-choice questions.

International Admission Fees System :

ACCA Qualification student & MSER fees

Initial Registration £69

Subscription £69

Duplicate card £11

£69, in addition to any amounts unpaid at the time of


Re-registration fee
resignation/removal.

Exam/Exemption June 2010

Knowledge £55

Skills £69

Professional £81

Affiliate subscription fee :


Your first annual affiliate or member payment needs to be made by 1 January
following the date on which you received your final exam results. Affiliates are
entitled to pay a reduced affiliate subscription for up to three years.

Affiliate fees

Subscription £99

Permanent subscription £189

Re-instatement £44

4
Admission to membership fee :

Annual subscription fee

Member £189

Member (reduced rate) £44

Admission to membership fee

Payable on successful admittance to membership £189

How to pay fees :


Payment can be made online by credit or debit card by logging on to my ACCA .
Payment can also be made by:

Fess System in our Country:


*CAT Tuition fees (Pass Guarantee Scheme)
1. GBC Admission Form : 300+Vat4.5%=313/-
2. GBC Admission Fee : 10,000+Vat4.5%=10,450/-
3. Package Tuition Fee (T1+T3):20,000+Vat4.5%=20,900/-
(Untill Pass).
4. Package Tuition Fee (T1-T4):28,000+Vat4.5%=29,260/-

5
(Untill Pass).
5. Package Tuition Fee (T1-T9):50,000+Vat4.5%=52,250/-
(Untill Pass).
6. Package Tuition Fee(CAT+Part-2):
80,000+Vat4.5%=83,600/- (Untill Pass).
*ACCA Tuition Fees(Pass Guarantee Scheme)
1. GBC Admission Form : 300+Vat4.5%=313/-
2. GBC Admission Fee : 10,000+Vat4.5%=10,450/-
3. Package tuition Fee (F1-F3): 30,000+Vat4.5%=31,350/-
(Untill Pass).
4. Package tuition Fee (F2+F3): 20,000+Vat4.5%=20,900/-
(Untill Pass).
5. Package tuition Fee (F4-F9): 45,000+Vat4.5%=47,250/-
(Untill Pass).
6. Package tuition Fee (F1-F9): 60,000+Vat4.5%=62,700/-
(Untill Pass).
7. Package tuition Fee (P1-P5): 35,000+Vat4.5%=36575/-
(Untill Pass).

Registration deadlines:
31 December – for June exams
15 August – for December exams.
You only need to complete the exam entry form if you intend to sit paper-based
exams, or paper-based exams and CBEs. If you only wish to sit CBEs you do
not need to complete the exam entry form and should contact your licensed CBE
centre for details*.

6
Mature student entry route (MSER)
exams:
The following exams are available via CBE:

• MMA Management Accounting (equivalent to F2)

• MFA Financial Accounting (United Kingdom) (equivalent to F3)

• MFA Financial Accounting (International) (equivalent to F3).

*CAT Subject Code:


1. T1 – Recording Financial Transactions.
2. T2 – Information for Management Control.
3. T3 – Maintaining Financial Records.
4. T4 – Accounting for Costs.
5. T5 - Managing People & System.
6. T6 – Drafting Financial Statement.
7. T7 – Planing Control & Performance Management.
8. T8 – Implementing Audit Procedure.
9. T9 – Preparing Taxation.
10. T 10 – Managing Finance.
*ACCA Subject Code:
1. F1- Accounting in Business.
2. F2 – Management Accounting.
3. F3 – Financial Accounting.
4. F4 – Corporate & Business Law.
5. F5 – Performance Management.

7
6. F6 – Taxation.
7. F7 – Financial Reporting.
8. F8 – Audit And Assurance.
9. F9 – Financial Management.

CAT(UK) Fees: 2010


CAT Registion /Annual Subscription /Re-registration Fees : GBP 60.00
CAT Examination Fees (T1-T4) : GBP 38.00 (Per Subject).
CAT Examination/Exemption (T5-T10) : GBP 49.00 (Per Subject)

ACCA(UK) Fees: 2010


ACCA Rgistion /Annual Subscription /Re-registration Fees : GBP 69.00
ACCA Examination/Exemption Fees (F1-F3) : GBP 5.00 (Per Subject).
ACCA Examination/Exemption Fees (F4-F9) : GBP 69.00 (Per Subject).
ACCA Professional Level Exam Fees (P1-P5) : GBP 81.00 (Per Subject).

ACCA QUALIFICATION:
This section contains information and resources for the CAT Qualification. Click
on an area for associated resources:
• Essential information: information on being a CAT student, including
important dates and fees, and how to update your contact details
• Exams: past exam papers, examiner reports, technical articles and
syllabus and study guides
• Practical experience requirements
• CAT graduates
• Transferring from CAT to ACCA

8
CBE closing dates:
Computer-based exams (CBEs) are available for the Introductory and
Intermediate Levels of the CAT exams. You must be registered as a CAT student
and be in receipt of your student ID card before you can enter for CBEs.
Introductory Level
• T1 - Recording Financial Transactions (UK)
• T1 - Recording Financial Transactions (International)
• T2 - Information for Management Control
Intermediate Level
• T3 - Maintaining Financial Records (UK)
• T3 - Maintaining Financial Records (International)
• T4 - Accounting for Costs
CAT CBE extended registration closing date
An extended registration closing period will be available if you wish to attempt
CBEs for the Certified Accounting Technician syllabus outside the normal
published registration closing dates.
These dates are:
1 January - 28 February for the June exam session; and
16 - 31 August for the December session.
The rules and regulations of the CAT CBE extended registration deadline are:
• It is only available for you to sit CBEs between:
o 1 January and 31 March, if you also wish to sit paper-based
exams at the forthcoming June exam session; and
o 16 August and 30 September, if you also wish to sit paper based
exams at the forthcoming December exam session.
• ACCA will only accept web registrations for this process.
• Declarations, documents and fees must be submitted by the licensed CBE
centre and not by individual students.
• Exam entries cannot be changed once submitted to ACCA.
Procedures
The following steps must be taken:

9
• You should complete an online registration and take note of your
reference number.
• The centre submits a form to ACCA, to include the reference numbers by:
o 28 February for the June exam session; or

o 31 August for the December exam session.

• A pre registration is created for you to enable you to sit the CAT CBEs.
• You sit your CAT CBEs.
• The centre will submit, on your behalf, the web declaration forms, photos
and supporting documentation for registration, along with exam entries
and fees by the extended deadlines of:
o 31 March for the June exam session; and

o 30 September for the December exam session.

• ACCA will complete the registration and process the exam entries. You
will then have your actual registration numbers confirmed.
Please note that this service is only applicable to CAT CBE students who wish to
sit paper-based exams at the immediate exam session after attempting their CBE
exams. All other students, i.e. those not requiring to be registered for paper based
exams at the next session, should submit their registrations through the usual
process, at least six weeks prior to their CBE session.

Exams:
We provide a number of online resources to help you with your studies, including:
• Syllabus and study guides: to help you plan your study and to provide
detailed information on what could be assessed in any exam session
• Past papers: to prepare you for the types of questions you might face
• Examiner reports
• Technical articles: on key examinable topics to support your study
Simply click on the relevant paper to find the resources you need.
• Paper 1 Recording Financial Transactions
• Paper 2 Information and Management Control
• Paper 3 Maintaining Financial Records

10
• Paper 4 Accounting for Costs
• Paper 5 Managing People and Systems
• Paper 6 Drafting Financial Statements
• Paper 7 Planning - Control and Performance Management
• Paper 8 Implementing Audit Procedures
• Paper 9 Preparing Taxation Computations
• Paper 10 Managing Finances

CAT graduates:
To apply for Certified Accounting Technician status you will need to have
successfully completed the Certified Technician exams and satisfied:
• ACCA’s practical experience requirements; or
• achieved a NVQ Level 4 in Accounting.
Achieving full CAT status will make you stand out from the crowd to employers,
provide you with a sound foundation in accountancy, and acts as a perfect way to
enhance your prospects.
When you have satisfied the criteria for Certified Accounting Technician status,
ACCA will confirm that you may refer to yourself as a Certified Accounting
Technician and you will be able to use the letters ‘CAT’ after your name.
The fee to apply for CAT status is £50. This fee should be sent with your
application form which is sent automatically after CAT exam results have been
released. You should complete this form and send it to ACCA with your TTR
forms or NVQ certificate.
BUT WHY STOP THERE?
The CAT qualification could be your stepping stone to the ACCA Qualification
and membership of the global body for professional accountants.
The knowledge, skills and practical experience you have gained studying the CAT
qualification can exempt you from certain papers and count towards the practical
experience requirement of the ACCA Qualification.
In a few easy steps you could be studying for the 'ACCA' letters after your name
and an exciting, rewarding career as a qualified finance professional.

11
Transferring from CAT to ACCA:
The ACCA Qualification is your passport to reaching the highest levels in any
organisation – and as a CAT graduate you have the knowledge, skills and
practical experience to get off to a flying start.
You will be automatically transferred to the ACCA Qualification register when
you have successfully completed your CAT exams, unless you chose not to select
this option when you originally registered as a CAT student or you are registered
as a student of the ACCA/FAP CAT Joint Examination Scheme*. You will be
awarded exemption from the Knowledge module of the Fundamentals Level (F1,
F2 and F3) and will not be charged an additional registration fee or exemption
fees.
You can still opt in for automatic transfer to the ACCA Qualification providing
that you put your request in writing to ACCA Connect before sitting your final
CAT exams. If you did not opt for an automatic transfer to the ACCA
Qualification and wish to continue with the ACCA Qualification exams, you will
need to submit an ACCA Qualification registration form and pay the relevant
registration fee.
Once transferred to the ACCA Qualification register, you will be subject to the
Bye Laws, rules and regulations applicable to ACCA Qualification students,
details of which will be sent to you on transfer.
Passing the remaining ACCA Qualification exams and gaining three year’s
relevant experience will lead to ACCA membership. The experience you have
already demonstrated to become a Certified Accounting Technician will count
towards the work experience you need for ACCA membership.
Get to study materials and information fast.
We realise it can be challenging studying for ACCA or CAT exams. So we've
tried to help by cutting through the volume of information which is available and
take you straight to the resources which are going to help you pass your exams.

ACCA QUALIFICATION:
This section contains information and resources for the ACCA Qualification.
Click on an area for associated resources:
• Essential information: information on being an ACCA student, including
important dates and fees, and how to update your contact details
• Exams: past exam papers, examiner reports, technical articles and
syllabus and study guides
• Professional ethics module: how to be an accountant that’s good, and

12
understanding the concept of professionalism
• Practical Experience Requirements (PER): information and resources
on performance objectives, workplace mentors and your PER annual
return
• Transfer to membership: benefits of membership and how to transfer to
ACCA membership.

Computer Based Exams (CBE):


1. How many computer based exams (CBE) are available within the ACCA
and Certified Accounting Technician qualifications?
2. What are the main differences between computer-based exams and paper-
based exams?
3. What are the benefits of computer-based exams versus paper-based
exams?
4. How is it best to prepare for the Knowledge module exams?
5. Are section weightings for Computer Based Examination the same as the
paper based?

F1 Accountant in Business:
To develop knowledge and understanding of the business environment and the
influence this has on how organisations and accountants operate, and of the role
of the accountant and other key business functions in contributing to an efficient,
effective and ethical organisation, and to build knowledge and understanding of
the basic principles of effective management.

Syllabus and study guide


Changes to the exam style for Paper F1
To ensure that Paper F1, Accountant in Business complements the exam style of
the other papers in the Fundamentals level, Knowledge module and to ensure that
the syllabus can be fully examined, ACCA is changing the style of exam
questions for Paper F1 to include a greater proportion of scenario-based questions
to better test comprehension and some application. This will apply to computer-

13
based exams with immediate effect and paper-based exams from December 2008.
The pilot paper has also been amended to reflect these changes. Any student
preparing to take Paper F1 should familiarise themselves with the new exam style
for Paper F1.
Questions included in the sample computer-based exam are similar to those in the
equivalent paper-based pilot paper. Therefore the given rationale for each answer
in the pilot paper should also be relevant for questions within the sample
computer based exam..

Exam timetables:
ACCA exams extend over an eight day period with one session of exams each
day. The exams are held concurrently in five different timezones.
Starting times in each of these timezones will be:
Zone 1 08:00
Zone 2 10:00
Zone 3 14:00
Zone 4 15:00
Zone 5 17:00
Local starting times will be set falling out from these base start times for every
centre. Details of local start times can be found against each centre on the exam
centre list accompanying your exam entry form (when this is sent to you).
To find an exam centre near you please visit the exam centres database.
• ACCA Qualification
• CAT Qualification
• DipFM
• DipIFR

ACCA Qualification:
June 2010 session
Monday 7 June F6 Taxation P6 Advanced Taxation
F4 Corporate and P7 Advanced Audit and
Tuesday 8 June
Business Law Assurance
Wednesday 9 June F3 Financial Accounting F8 Audit and Assurance
P4 Advanced Financial
Thursday 10 June F9 Financial Management
Management
F2 Management P5 Advanced
Friday 11 June
Accounting Performance Management

14
F5 Performance P1 Professional
Monday 14 June
Management Accountant
Tuesday 15 June F7 Financial Reporting P2 Corporate Reporting
F1 Accountant in
Wednesday 16 June P3 Business Analysis
Business

December 2010 session


Monday 6 December F6 Taxation P6 Advanced Taxation
F4 Corporate and P7 Advanced Audit and
Tuesday 7 December
Business Law Assurance
Wednesday 8 December F3 Financial Accounting F8 Audit and Assurance
P4 Advanced Financial
Thursday 9 December F9 Financial Management
Management
F2 Management P5 Advanced
Friday 10 December
Accounting Performance Management
F5 Performance P1 Professional
Monday 13 December
Management Accountant
Tuesday 14 December F7 Financial Reporting P2 Corporate Reporting
F1 Accountant in
Wednesday 15 December P3 Business Analysis
Business

CAT Qualification:
June 2010 session

Date Exam
Monday 7 June Papers T1 and T6
Tuesday 8 June Papers T2 and T7
Wednesday 9 June Paper T3
Thursday 10 June Paper T4
Friday 11 June Paper T5
Monday 14 June Paper T8
Tuesday 15 June Paper T9
Wednesday 16 June Paper T10

DipFM:
June 2010 session

Date Exam
Monday 7 June Module A Exam
Tuesday 8 June Module B Exam

15
DipIFR:
The examination for the Diploma in International Financial Reporting will be held
on the following dates in 2010:
• 10 June 2010
• 9 December 2010

Your examiners:
ACCA examiners are experts in their field, highly qualified individuals with many
years of relevant post-qualifying experience. This can be in practice, industry or
academia as best suits the relevant subject.
This section contains lists of ACCA's examiners for forthcoming exam sessions.
• ACCA Qualification
• CAT Qualification
• DipFM

ACCA Qualification:
June 2010 exam session
Exam paper Examiner
Paper F1, Accountant in Business Bob Souster
Paper F2, Management Accounting David Forster
Paper F3, Financial Accounting Nicola Ventress
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
John Kiggundu
(BWA)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Zhidong Chen
(CHN)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Pambos Ioannides
(CYP)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
David Kelly
(ENG)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Paul Kwong Kin Ning
(HKG)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Umesh Kumar
(LSO)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Louise Ellul Cachia Caruana
(MLA)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
S Thalmalingam
(MYS)

16
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Muhammad Haroon Mumtaz
(PKN)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Robert Souster
(RUS)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Erin Goh-Low Soen Yin
(SGP)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Robert Souster
(VNM)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Jopie Pretorius
(ZAF)
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Emmanuel Magade
(ZWE)
Paper F5, Performance Management Ann Irons*
Paper F6, Taxation (BWA) Terry Brick
Paper F6, Taxation (CHN) Kit Chung
Paper F6, Taxation (CYP) George Poufos
Paper F6, Taxation (CZE) Milena Hrdinkova
Betty Kwok Yuk Sim and Shirley Fu Me
Paper F6, Taxation (HKG)
Yuk
Paper F6, Taxation (HUN) Attila Csutora
Paper F6, Taxation (IND) N Rangachary
Paper F6, Taxation (IRL) Delma Carey
Paper F6, Taxation (LSO) Nthoto Ramalefane
Paper F6, Taxation (MLA) Mark Grech
Paper F6, Taxation (MWI) Andrew Chioko
Paper F6, Taxation (MYS) Shareena Othman (Cheong Shaw Gor)
Paper F6, Taxation (PKN) Nusswan Rustomjee
Paper F6, Taxation (POL) Jan Czerniawski
Paper F6, Taxation (RUS) Natalia Denisova
Paper F6, Taxation (SGP) Damien Hong Chin Fock
Paper F6, Taxation (VNM) Warrick Cleine
Paper F6, Taxation ( UK ) David Harrowven
Paper F6, Taxation (ZAF) Jennifer Roeleveld
Paper F6, Taxation (ZWE) Georgina Masike
Paper F7, Financial Reporting Stephen Scott
Paper F8, Audit and Assurance Pami Bahl
Paper F9, Financial Management Antony Head
Paper P1, Professional Accountant David Campbell
Paper P2, Corporate Reporting Graham Holt
Paper P3, Business Analysis Steve Skidmore
Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management Shishir Malde*
Paper P5, Advanced Performance
Shane Johnson
Management
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (CHN) Shirley Fu Me Yuk
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (CYP) Alexis Tsielepis
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (HKG) Betty Kwok Yuk Sim and Shirley Fu Me

17
Yuk
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (IRL) Louise Langan
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (MLA) Kevin Catania
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (MYS) Richard Thornton
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (SGP) Jenny Lim
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation ( UK ) Rory Fish
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (ZAF) Jennifer Roeleveld
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (ZWE) Steve Matoushaya
Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance Lisa Weaver

CAT Qualification:
June 2010 exam session
Exam paper Examiner
Paper 1 Clare Estlin
Paper 2 Nigel Coulthurst
Paper 3 Ronnie Patton
Paper 4 Nigel Coulthurst
Paper 5 Beverley Lee
Paper 6 Chris Pyke
Paper 7 Stephen Jay
Paper 8 Brian Pine
Paper 9 (GBR) Keith Molson
Paper 9 (IRL) James Skehan
Paper 9 (LSO) Masebolaoa Sebolaoa
Paper 9 (MYS) Yong Siew Chuen
Paper 9 (SGP) Frances Wong Lai Yong
Paper 10 Charlotte Bower*

DipFM:
June 2010 exam session
Exam paper Examiner
Module A Ronnie Patton
Module B Peter Atrill

Computer based exams:


Computer-based exams (CBEs) are available for the ACCA Qualification (Papers
F1-F3) and for Introductory and Intermediate papers of the CAT Qualification.
Sitting CBEs provides the following benefits:
• Flexibility - You are not restricted to June and December paper-based

18
exam sessions as you can sit CBE at any time of year. CBE also offers
flexibility for re-sits, which you can take at any time. There is no
restriction on the number of times you can resit the exams by CBE.
• Instant feedback - Your result is displayed on the computer screen at the
end of the exam.
• Results - Your results are uploaded by the licensed centre and will be
transferred to your ACCA account within 72 hours.
How does CBE work?
• Find a CBE centre offering the exam(s) you wish to sit by CBEs.
• You will need to pay the CBE centre directly for the exams you wish to
sit.
• Prior to the exam, the CBE centre will set up time-restricted access to the
exams. (The exam must be sat on the scheduled date and time).
• On the day of the exam, your identity will be checked by the invigilator
against the ACCA registration cards, further validity and eligibility checks
are carried out, and then the invigilator instructions will be read out.
• You are then asked to start the exam software and input validation details
into the software. This will further check your identity and eligibility to sit
the exams.
• Instruction screens will be displayed and you may then start the exam
when advised to do so by the invigilator.
• Once the exam is started, the questions are displayed on screen and the
answers are input directly onto the CBE software.
• On completion of the exam, the final percentage score is calculated and
displayed on screen.
• You will be asked to print two copies of the Provisional Result
Notification; one copy is retained by the CBE centre and the other is for
your records.
• The CBE centre uploads the results to the CBE system and these will be
transferred to your records with ACCA within 72 hours.
• Exam format
• Preparing for the exams
• CBE demonstration
• Progression information for CBE students

19
Exam format:
• CAT - Introductory level
Each exam is of two hours' duration; contains 50 questions; is out of 100
marks with a pass mark of 55%; and contains two-mark MCQ's only
• CAT - Intermediate Level
Each exam is of two hours' duration; contains 50 questions; is out of 100
marks with a pass mark of 50%; and contains question types: MCQ's,
multiple response questions, multiple response matching questions, and
number entry questions - all worth two marks
• ACCA Qualification (F1-F3)/MSER exams MMA and MFA
Each exam is of two hours duration; contains 50 questions (40 two-mark
questions and 10 one-mark questions); is out of 90 marks with a pass mark
of 50%; and contains question types: one and two mark MCQ's, one and
two-mark multiple response questions, two-mark multiple response
matching questions and two-mark number entry questions.
CBE question types
• Multiple choice (MCQ) (two marks) - where you are required to choose
one answer from four options by clicking on the appropriate ‘radio button'.
• Multiple choice (MCQ) (one mark) - where you are required to choose
one answer from either two or three options by clicking on the appropriate
‘radio button'.
• Multiple response (two marks) - where you are required to select more
than one response from the options provided by clicking the appropriate
tick boxes (typically choose two options from four).
• Multiple response (one mark) - where you are required to select more
than one response from the options provided by clicking the appropriate
tick boxes (typically choose two options from three).
• Multiple response matching (two marks) - where you are required to
indicate a response to a number of related statements by clicking on the
'radio button' which corresponds to the appropriate response for each
statement.
• Number entry (two marks) - where you are required to key in numerical
responses to a question shown on screen.

Variant / accounting and audit standards:

20
Tax and law variants
In a number of countries, you have the opportunity of taking exams based on
national tax and law – referred to as variant papers.
You will have chosen your variant papers when you completed your initial
registration form and you will not incur additional fees for choosing to take a
variant paper.
Due to national requirements, variant papers are not offered for all Joint
Examination Schemes. In such cases where the variant is not available, the UK
variant will be offered for tax papers and the English or global variant for the law
paper.
ACCA Qualification
Variant papers are available for:
• F4, Corporate and Business Law
• F6 Taxation
• P6, Advanced Taxation
Please check the tax and law variants table in the related documents section for
details of where variant papers are available. ACCA has a variant paper covering
global corporate and business law - you should choose this option if you intend to
work in a region where ACCA does not offer a national law paper.
CAT Qualification
Variant papers are available for:
• T9, Preparing Tax Computations.
A choice of local tax variant papers are available in Hong Kong, Ireland, Lesotho,
Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the UK.
Changing your variant paper
If you wish to change your tax and law variant papers please remember to do so
by 15 April if you are sitting exams in June and 15 October if you are sitting
exams in December. You can change your variant papers through myACCA, your
Joint Examination Scheme national body or by contacting ACCA Connect.

Accounting and auditing


standards:
You have the option of taking the accounting and auditing papers based on
international standards or UK standards, and for the ACCA Qualification you will
also have the option of taking the papers based on national standards in certain

21
countries.
You can select which standards you wish to follow for each individual accounting
and audit paper - for example, you may wish to study UK accounting standards
and International standards of auditing.
ACCA Qualification
The following papers are based on International standards for financial reporting
and auditing:
• F3, Financial Accounting (or MFA for students registered under the
MSER)
• F7, Financial Reporting
• F8, Audit and Assurance
• P2, Corporate Reporting
• P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance.
In Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore and the UK, these papers have been
adapted for national accountancy practices. If you live in a country where there
are no adapted national standards then you should choose either the International
or UK standards. If you live in a country where adapted national standards are
available, you should choose between International or the national adapted
standard.
The tax variant you chose at the time of registration will be used to determine the
accounting and auditing standards you can attempt. You will need to select which
accounting and auditing standards you wish to be examined on when you enter for
any of the accounting and auditing papers by completing the Examination Entry
Form.
The accounting and auditing table in the related documents shows the standards
you will be offered, based on the tax variant you selected.
CAT Qualification
The following accounting and auditing papers can be taken based on international
or UK standards:
• T1, Recording Financial Transactions
• T3, Maintaining Financial Records
• T6, Drafting Financial Statements
• T8, Implementing Audit Procedures

Special arrangements:

22
As part of ACCA’s Equal Opportunities Policy we can also make special
arrangements for you if you are disabled or have special requirements. As part of
this policy – and in accordance with the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 –
we actively strive to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged due to a
disability when they access our exams.
ACCA is committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to benefit
from suitable exam conditions in accordance with their specific requirements.
Our dedicated team of exam administrators work continuously with both students
and exam centres to ensure that the appropriate exam conditions are in place to
help all candidates demonstrate their competence in the disciplines being assessed
in our exams.
In many instances additional time to complete exams, provision of a scribe or
reader, enlarged text on question papers and many other ‘reasonable adjustments’
are arranged in order to achieve this.
Each and every request is dealt with on an individual basis by our experienced
team, focused on ensuring that no candidate is disadvantaged during the exam
process.
ACCA also provide a clear grievance procedure – in line with the requirements of
the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – to ensure any issue raised by a
student is resolved fairly and without unnecessary delay.
ACCA continually monitors the effectiveness of these policies and procedures to
ensure that our disability awareness is of the highest standard and that our
students benefit accordingly.
You may have submitted information regarding a disability on your Initial
Registration form and if so, we will already have a record of your requirements.
However, if your circumstances have changed since the time of your registration,
it may be possible for special arrangements to be made for you. If you need
special facilities then please notify the exams department in Glasgow. In such
cases, medical evidence of the nature of the disability must also be submitted.
ACCA Exams Department
2 Central Quay, 89 Hydepark Street,
Glasgow G3 8BW, United Kingdom
tel: +44 (0) 141 582 2000
fax: +44 (0) 141 582 2222
e-mail: students@accaglobal.com

HOW TO ACHIVE PASS MARK:


WHAT IS THE PASS MARK?
1. What is the pass mark for the examinations?

23
50% for all exams which is 45/90 for the Fundamentals Knowledge module exa
2. What are the styles of questions set in the ACCA qualification?
Exams vary in their structure and style. For detailed and specific guidance on this
candidatescnadidates should refer to the individual syllabuses and study guides on
the ACCA website. Most examinations will consist of a mix of computational and
written questions. Certain subject areas lend themselves better to written
questions than others, but in testing a particular area, both computational and
written theoretical questions may be set so you should be prepared for both.
3. Are the questions in the paper based Knowledge module exams the same
as in the computer based exams?
Both exams, paper based or computer based will cover the same syllabus areas
and will have the same number of questions. The difference is in the style of
question - the paper based exam consists of multiple choice questions only and
the computer based exam consists of a variety of styles including multiple choice,
number entry, multiple response or multiple response matching.

4. Are more practice questions available?


The ACCA website includes a full sample exam for both the paper-based and
computer-based versions. In addition ACCA’s approved publishers include
practice questions and practice exams as part of their study materials. These
materials are intended to support both paper-based and computer-based exams
and therefore include CDs and/or online materials to support revision for
computer-based exams

5. I would like to know why I can no longer access past examination papers
for F1 - F3? As a tutor, and indeed a previous marker, I know that a major
factor of exam success is practice of past exam questions and, as a result of
not having access, the hurdle for most students becomes higher?
The questions for the F1, F2 and F3 exams can be the same questions as those that
from the question bank for computer-based exams (CBE). As such, they are part
of a large bank of questions that are used on a regular basis and so cannot be
released. ACCA also wishes to discourage the temptation for candidates to simply
commit to memory a large bank of past questions and answers in the hope that
these are repeated in live exams. It is more important that they are aware of a
representative range of styles and type of exam style questions and prepare for
exams in a more formative way. This is best achieved by practicing on formative
style questions from the study materials and by self testing their knowledge from
interactive exercises supplied within these tuition materials and where relevant, in
class.
In order to help students prepare for their exams, there is a pilot paper available
for each of the exams. The pilot paper is available in both paper format and CBE
format.

24
Furthermore, after each session, the examiner for each of papers F1 to F3
produces an examination report that releases up to three questions in which
students performed badly, together with an explanation of what went wrong. Over
time this can be a useful additional bank of questions.
The examiners each reviewed the initial question banks by the Official publishers
(BPP Learning Media and Kaplan Publishing). Thus, using these texts gives
confidence that the students are practising questions of the right type and right
standard.
A technical article has been written to help with answering multiple choice
question types. A further article is available soon showing the full range of
resources available in preparing for these papers. This article emphasises the
importance of working longer questions in preparation for F2 and F3 exams as
this allows students to perform better on the questions that test application, as well
as smoothing the transition to the equivalent Skills module papers. In summary,
without providing actual past exam questions, there are a number of resources
available to students to assist them in passing these Fundamental Knowledge
papers.

6. Why have ACCA made all the papers at Fundamentals level contain
compulsory questions only?
Allowing any degree of choice at the Fundamentals level might have encouraged
some students to avoid learning certain aspects of each syllabus, on the grounds
that they could avoid answering a question on this topic in any given paper.
ACCA's view is that all the subject areas within the nine subjects are
'fundamental' to the work of an accountant. Therefore, only including compulsory
questions within examinations at the Fundamentals level will encourage students
to study more broadly to gain a more rounded knowledge and understanding of all
subject areas within each syllabus.

7. What should I do to make the best use of the additional 15 minutes of


reading and planning time?
Reading and planning time was introduced to the ACCA three hour examinations
as a way of helping candidates prepare and organize themselves better for taking
their exams. The main purpose is to ensure that candidates have time to read
requirements carefully so that they are clear on what examiners are asking for –
something that most examiners find that students are often not good at and
regularly comment on in their reports. Using the time productively can help a
candidate make the appropriate choice of questions to answer, where choice exists
and can help a candidate gain a better understanding of the material contained in
each question. This is particularly helpful in answering case study questions,
where quickly reading the information can help candidates with identifying key
pieces of information that may be relevant.
For more information there is an article on reading and planning time published in
student accountant

25
8. Does the published pass rate include CBE?
No, at present it is only written paper
9. Under the online marking system piloted in June 2009, markers have scripts
allocated to them on a completely random basis rather than being allocated most
or all the scripts from individual exam centres. Could this make it more difficult
for markers to achieve consistency, particularly where candidates from a centre
may take similar approaches to questions or have a similar perspective on issues
as a consequence of being more likely to have been taught together?
It is felt that randomising the allocation of scripts will make it much easier to
achieve marker consistency across examination centres and it will make it much
easier for examiners to monitor and ensure that markers are marking consistently
and comparably with each other.

Pass rates:
There is no quota for passing a set number of students each sitting, as evidenced
by the variable pass rates in all recent sittings. Instead, those who reach the
required standard in a given exam will get through. This is best achieved by
detailed practise of past exam questions, use of examiners reports and student
accountant articles, as well as good initial study of the material through home
study or a course.
• ACCA Qualification
• CAT Qualification
• DipFM

ACCA Qualification:
The current ACCA Qualification syllabus was first examined in December 2007.
Pass rates for the old syllabus (from June 2003) are also included here.
Paper Dec 2007 Jun 2008 Dec 2008 Jun 2009 Dec 2009
F1 81 83 67 73 66*
F2 56 51 59 57 58*
F3 67 48 50 55 64*
F4 42 46 39 43 42
F5 34 28 30 41 52
F6 50 45 53 61 51
F7 40 33 42 30 39
F8 43 32 43 34 40
F9 40 42 40 42 37
P1 53 49 53 48 49
P2 48 48 54 44 58
P3 56 49 52 50 48
P4 31 36 36 30 41

26
P5 42 37 43 32 42
P6 28 36 41 37 39
P7 33 33 39 37 39

* Results achieved by students for paper based examinations and computer based
examinations during the period of 1 August 2009 to 31 January 2010.

Professional scheme - pass rates


Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun
Paper
2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005 2004 2004 2003 2003
1.1 81 46 53 48 61 44 47 45 44 48
1.2 56 40 40 43 51 50 54 41 57 46
1.3 67 47 47 59 42 53 55 52 48 59
2.1 42 53 47 55 51 48 51 49 63 50
2.2 34 47 40 47 43 44 45 47 52 50
2.3 50 60 44 52 50 52 52 54 48 47
2.4 40 37 45 37 44 37 41 38 39 39
2.5 43 44 43 48 53 51 52 47 50 48
2.6 40 33 31 38 39 41 45 45 42 52
3.1 53 35 32 30 30 39 39 39 44 40
3.2 48 38 33 33 40 39 40 43 42 39
3.3 56 43 41 43 42 50 48 44 45 41
3.4 31 54 55 51 46 51 52 52 54 54
3.5 42 55 44 50 52 50 54 54 55 53
3.6 28 44 43 52 52 50 56 54 53 53
3.7 33 38 35 37 49 44 46 45 49 44

CAT Qualification:
The current Certified Accounting Technician scheme syllabus was first examined
in June 2004. Pass rates for the old syllabus (from June 2002) are also included
here.
Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun
Paper
2009 2009 2008 2008 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005
1 64* 63 77 60 60 56 54 67 67 48
2 65* 65 33 35 42 38 34 51 53 62
3 62* 59 45 62 53 62 41 54 54 50
4 63* 59 37 37 27 33 32 48 36 44
5 42 54 41 40 45 56 64 61 57 52
6 57 57 82 83 80 50 76 74 74 75
7 58 46 55 52 59 41 35 49 47 46
8 30 33 46 42 48 45 41 33 42 38
9 59 65 73 70 67 74 59 64 69 64
10 36 42 60 61 76 56 74 61 69 59

27
* Results achieved by students for paper based examinations and computer based
examinations during the period of 1 August 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Paper Dec 2003 Jun 2003 Dec 2002 Jun 2002
A1 63 67 76 59
A2 72 67 67 70
B1 52 78 74 68
B2 41 51 58 54
B3 54 62 58 60
C1 76 64 73 64
C2 39 41 40 44
C3 32 42 43 41
C4 65 50 54 64
C5 59 42 53 55
C6 67 48 40 40

DipFM:
Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun Dec Jun
Paper
2009 2009 2008 2008 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005
DA1 36 49 30 55 39 49 37 52 41 49
DA2 83 68 60 74 73 66 77 66 60 72
DB1 31 53 45 46 54 47 51 77 57 69
DB2 54 88 76 71 75 73 71 76 75 74

EXAM RESULT:
ACCA's exam sessions take place over an eight-day period in June and December, with
one exam scheduled each day. Our exams are held at the same time throughout the world
to ensure maximum security; which involves operating over five separate time zones. We
also take into account local time differences.

Receiving your exam results


The quickest way to receive your exam results is via email. Don't forget to
register for this service through myACCA and to make sure you keep your e-mail
address up to date.

28
Receiving your exam results:
Make sure you can access your exam results as soon as they are available by
registering to receive your exam results online.
All you need to do is visit myACCA , check to make sure we have an up-to-date
email address for you and opt in to receive your exam results via email. You have
until 12.00 BST on Friday 20 August to subscribe.
And when you have subscribed to the online exam results service you will then
continue to receive your exam results online until you have completed all your
exams or decide to unsubscribe from the service.
We will start to despatch exam results via email the week commencing
Monday 23 August and you will also be able to access your results via myACCA
Exam results will be sent via post to all students from Wednesday 25 August.
So if you haven't already done so, why not subscribe to the online exam results
service today and then wait for your exam results to arrive in your inbox
on 23 August.
Result!

About your results:


Section A - EXAMINATION RESULTS
The mark attained for each paper attempted at the last session of examinations is
shown overleaf. Please read the following notes for additional information.
ACCA Qualification candidates
The pass standard in all papers is 50 %.
All passes remain valid for ten years from December 2007.
MSER candidates
The pass standard in papers MFA and MMA is 50 %.
You must pass papers MFA and MMA within four consecutive examination
sessions following registration, calculated from the first examination session you
are eligible to sit. If you do not attend a session, this will still be counted as one of
the four sessions.
If you have completed the MSER examinations this session, you have been
transferred to the ACCA Qualification register. This is reflected overleaf.
If you have failed to complete the MSER examinations in the time available, you
have automatically been transferred to the CAT Qualification register and further
information in this regard will follow under separate cover.

29
CAT Qualification candidates
The pass standard for each level is as follows:
• Introductory Level papers - 55 %
• Intermediate Level papers - 50 %
• Advanced Level papers - 50 %
All individual paper passes will be retained.

DipFM candidates
The pass standard in all papers is 50 %.
All passes in individual papers will be retained.
Project titles for the next sitting are included. Projects, together with completed
Project Submission Forms, must be received by the date stated.
Administrative Review
ACCA has a range of procedures in place which reviews the academic
judgements made by examiners and these ensure that the final results are
robust. However following publication of the results if you do not feel that your
result reflects your perceived performance, you may request an Administrative
Review under the following circumstances:
• ACCA 's procedures have not been properly applied in arriving at your
mark
• you have received an absent mark but you were present at the examination
• you were not present at an examination but have received a mark.
If you wish to request an Administrative Review, please complete the form which
you will find in student accountant and submit it to the return address at the
bottom of this form within 15 days from results release date, enclosing the
appropriate fee.
ACCA will carry out an Administrative Review of all processes followed to
determine your final mark. You will receive written confirmation of the outcome
of the Review in week commencing 22 March for February results and week
commencing 20 September for August results. If your mark is amended as a result
of the Administrative Review, you will receive a refund of your Administrative
Review fee and an amended examination entry form, if applicable.
If on receipt of your Administrative Review you believe that ACCA did not apply
its procedures properly you may appeal to the Examination Appeals Committee
by submitting your appeal in writing to Head of Examinations within 10 working
days of the issue of your Administrative Review by ACCA and submitting the

30
required fee. Your appeal will be forwarded to the Committee for consideration.
Please note that candidate scripts remain the property of ACCA and will not be
returned under any circumstance.
Section B - EXAMINATION STATUS
This statement shows your examination status following the most recent
examination session and includes all exemptions awarded and CBE passes
achieved before the date stated.
Students holding provisional converted passes in P1 and P4 must pass either P1 or
any outstanding option other than P4 in addition to twelve other papers in order to
complete the exam requirement of the syllabus .
Section C - ETHICS
The Professional Ethics module is a mandatory element of the ACCA
Qualification for students registering or re-registering from 1 January 2007 . The
module - which is interactive - can be accessed through myACCA .
If the Professional Ethics module is not mandatory for you to complete but you
would like to do so, simply log into myACCA and follow the link to the
Professional Ethics module. To take the Professional Ethics module you must be
eligible to sit a Professional level paper.
If you have opted in to complete the Oxford Brookes BSc in Applied Accounting
and have not yet submitted the research and analysis project, you are required
to complete the Professional Ethics module prior to submitting the project.
If you do not have regular access to the Internet you can request a CD-rom or
paper version of the Professional Ethics module. Please note that a handling fee
will apply. To order please contact:
• by telephone:+44 (0) 141 582 2000
• by fax: +44 (0) 141 582 2222
• by email:info@accaglobal.com quoting 'Request for Professional Ethics
module' in the subject title
• In writing to: ACCA Connect 2 Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street Glasgow
G3 8BW
Your status for the Professional Ethics module will show as completed on the
statement overleaf where you have either completed the module online, or your
"module completion form" which accompanies the CD-ROM and paper version
of the Professional Ethics module has been submitted and recorded by ACCA, by
the date shown in the examination status section of the form.
Section D - PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT (PER) STATUS

31
This section shows the performance objectives you have achieved and recorded
with ACCA as at the date of this status report. In order to be eligible to apply for
ACCA membership, you need to achieve all nine Essentials and at least four
Options performance objectives.
If you are using the online trainee development matrix (TDM), any additional
performance objectives you have achieved since the date of this report will be
reflected online. If you are using the paper TDM, you will have the opportunity to
update your performance objective status on your annual PER return. You can
access the TDM and online annual PER return through myACCA . Alternatively,
you may use the paper annual PER return that is dispatched with your annual
subscription demand.
This section also shows the time (in months) that you have accumulated and
recorded in a relevant accounting or finance role. To be eligible for membership
you are required to complete 36 months in a relevant role. This information can
also be updated on your annual PER return.
Section E - OXFORD BROOKES STATUS
Your current status on the Oxford Brookes University degree is detailed in this
section. If you wish to study towards the degree, and are eligible to do so, you
must opt in prior to attempting Papers F7, F8, or F9. If you intend to take the
research and analysis project after 1 August 2008 you will be required to
undertake the Professional Ethics module prior to embarking on the project,
irrespective of your date of registration.
Section F - YOUR PROGRESS TO MEMBERSHIP
This section shows your progress towards ACCA membership. To be eligible for
membership you must complete all 14 examinations, 9 Essential and 4 Options
within the performance objectives and have a minimum of 36 months experience
in a relevant accounting or finance role. If you registered with ACCA after 1
January 2007 you must also complete the Professional Ethics module.

How we process your results:


The life of an ACCA exam paper
We go to great lengths to ensure that each exam paper is rigorously checked and
tested so that it fairly and accurately tests the abilities of well prepared students.
This section explains the process involved when setting and checking all ACCA
exam papers.

Setting the exam papers


ACCA’s exam papers are set by a team of Examiners and subsequently checked
by a panel comprising the Examiner, an Assessor, Subject Co-ordinator and Exam

32
Sitter. Each Examiner is responsible for setting the question paper, writing the
suggested published answers and producing a marking scheme. No member of the
team is permitted to teach students who may be sitting any of the papers for which
he/she is responsible. Examiners are required to report to us any attempt made by
a student to discuss future papers with them.
Once an exam paper has been drafted, it is reviewed by an Assessor whose job it
is to ensure that the questions are relevant to the syllabus and that the paper is fair
and balanced throughout. The Assessor also ensures that the suggested answers
and marking schemes are suitable for publication.
Next, a Subject Co-ordinator examines the agreed version of the question paper,
suggested answers and marking scheme to ensure that they have been set in
accordance with the standards required for that level of the exams. The Subject
Coordinator also checks to see that the exams are consistent with previous exam
sessions, avoid unnecessary overlap with other papers and ensure progression.
Once the paper has been fully considered, it is attempted by the Exam Sitter – our
examiners don’t expect you to sit a paper that they are not prepared to sit
themselves! The purpose of this is to ensure that the paper can be completed by an
average student in the time available. The Exam Sitter then produces a report
outlining in detail any problems encountered sitting the question paper.
At all stages, the Examiner, Assessor and Subject Co-ordinator for each paper
works with ACCA’s full-time team of Education Advisers who co-ordinate and
monitor the papers throughout the process, providing an additional level of quality
assurance.

Marking exam scripts


Each Examiner co-ordinates a team of Qualified Markers responsible for marking
candidates’ scripts. Markers’ meetings are held as soon as possible after the final
paper for each exam session to discuss potential problems and establish a clear
marking strategy. To ensure fairness in the marking of scripts, the marking team
does not know the identity of the candidates.
We do not set a target percentage of candidates to be successful at each exam
sitting. Your results in each and any paper are totally uninfluenced by any
previous exam record, or the performance of other candidates. Examiners and
Markers pay particular attention to borderline scripts and the need to ensure
consistency between exam markers.

Exam certificates:
ACCA issues certificates for certain ACCA and CAT exams twice a year after the
exam results are released.
Please see below for a summary of exam certificates awarded.

33
ACCA QUALIFICATION
Certificate of Achievement
Students are awarded a Certificate of Achievement if they achieve a pass mark
of 85% or above for individual passes in Papers F1, F2 and F3.
Fundamentals Level Certificate
Students are awarded a Fundamentals Level Certificate when they have
successfully completed all of the exams in the Fundamentals level of the ACCA
Qualification (Papers F1–F9).
Professional Level Certificate
Students are awarded a Professional Level Certificate when they have
successfully completed all of the exams in the Professional level of the ACCA
Qualification (P1–P3 and any two of the Options papers from P4, P5, P6 and P7).
CAT QUALIFICATION
Introductory Level Certificate
Students are awarded an Introductory Level Certificate when they have
successfully completed all of the Introductory level exams (Papers T1 and T2) of
the CAT Qualification.
Intermediate Level Certificate
Students are awarded an Intermediate Level Certificate when they have
successfully completed all of the Intermediate level exams (Papers T3 and T4) of
the CAT Qualification.
Advanced Level Certificate
Students are awarded an Advanced Level Certificate when they have
successfully completed all of the Advanced level exams (Papers T5–T7 and two
of the three options papers from T8–T10) of the CAT Qualification.
Passed Finalist Certificate
Students are awarded a Passed Finalist Certificate when they have successfully
completed all of the papers of the CAT Qualification.
DIPFM
Students are awarded an exam certificate only when they have successfully
completed all the Diploma in Financial Management papers.

Prizewinners:
At ACCA we believe outstanding exam achievement deserves recognition.
Students who achieve 85% or above for papers in the Knowledge module (F1–F3)
will be issued with a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of their success.
Cash prizes sponsored by major employers and educational institutions will be
awarded to candidates attaining the highest mark worldwide under the Skills
module of the Fundamentals level and Professional level. Medals will be awarded
to candidates who achieve Affiliate status and have attained the highest aggregate
marks worldwide for papers in the Professional level – Essentials and Options

34
module papers (P1–P7).
The above awards will only be given to those candidates who achieve the highest
marks on their first attempt.
Prize-winning students will normally be notified about three weeks after the
publication of results. In countries where ACCA has offices, branches and student
societies, or Joint Examination Scheme arrangements with the national
accountancy body, additional local prizes may be awarded. In addition, a number
of prizes are awarded from trust funds.

Administrative reviews:
ACCA undertakes many checks and controls during the marking process to
ensure that all exam results are accurate.
Before marking starts, all markers attend a meeting with the examiner to discuss
the exam paper and agree a detailed marking scheme. The examiner moderates
the marking process closely and, at the end of the marking period, each examiner
is required to review a sample of marked scripts for their paper. This is to ensure
that the marking scheme has been applied consistently by all markers. In addition,
the examiner pays special attention to scripts where marginal marks have been
awarded. At each session, ACCA also has a team of script checkers who ensure
that each question on your script has been marked, that the correct marks have
been transferred to the results sheet, and that the total for the final mark is correct.
Altogether, there are nine independent checks during the marking process to
verify that data returned to ACCA by markers is correct. Any discrepancies that
are found during this process are investigated and resolved before results are
finalised. Once your results have been added to your student record, and your
entry options have been created for the next exam session, ACCA then conducts
further checks at the printing stage to ensure the printed results are accurate
before they are released.
The quality controls applied at each stage of the marking process ensure the
integrity of ACCA's results data. However, ACCA recognizes that students may
sometimes feel that their results do not reflect their perceived performance in the
exam. In response to this, you can request an administrative review of your results
if you:
• receive an absent mark but you were present at the exam and submitted an
exam paper
• were not present at an exam but received a mark for your paper
• feel that ACCA's quality controls have not been applied properly in
arriving at your mark.

35
The administrative reviews allow ACCA to ensure transparency and fairness, and
are available for all qualifications that are assessed by exam. However, this is not
a re-marking service.
As part of the administrative review you will receive information on whether or
not you reached the pass standard in each question attempted. This will take the
form of P (Pass) or F (Fail) - actual marks will not be disclosed. This change to
the service is in response to requests from students and tuition providers. It will
provide an indication as to where a good understanding of a topic area has been
demonstrated, and should assist with revision in cases where students have failed
an examination. No additional fee is being charged.
If you would like an administrative review to be undertaken you must request it
within 15 working days of the results release date.
Should an error be found in the review, you will receive the corrected mark before
the exam entry closing date for the next session. Your mark will be adjusted to
reflect your true result. Please note that your mark may be lowered if an
administrative error had inflated your original mark. If your mark is amended as a
result of the administrative review you will receive a refund of your review fee
and a revised Examination Entry Form, if applicable.
If on receipt of the outcome of your administrative review you believe that ACCA
has not applied its procedures properly you may appeal to the Exam Appeals
Committee. To do this you should submit your appeal in writing to the head of
examinations within eight working days of the issue of your administrative review
by ACCA. The appeal date for the December 2009 session is 5 April. Your appeal
will then be forwarded to the Committee for consideration.
If you would like to request an administrative review please complete the form
(see 'Related documents') and submit it to: Examination Operation Services,
ACCA, 2 Central Quay, 89 Hyde park Street, Glasgow G3 8BW, UK. You must
enclose the appropriate fee (per paper):
• CAT - Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced Level (per paper) - £40
• ACCA Qualification Knowledge Module (per paper) - £40
• ACCA Qualification Skills Module (per paper) - £45
• ACCA Qualification Professional Level (per paper) - £50
The deadline for requesting an administrative review of your December 2009
results is 15 March. You will receive written confirmation of the outcome of the
review from ACCA in the week commencing 22 March.

36
RULES & REGULATIONS:
The disciplinary procedures cover matters such as professional misconduct,
misconduct in exams and breaches of regulations which include any actions likely
to bring discredit to you, ACCA, or the accountancy profession.
The rules governing disciplinary procedures for students (and members) are set
out in ACCA’s Bye-laws and Regulations. All registered students are bound by
these Bye-laws and Regulations.
If you wish to make further enquiries about matters which may be subject to
disciplinary procedures, please write to our Professional Conduct Department at
our London office in the UK. ACCA’s Rulebook, which contains the Bye-laws
and Regulations, is available for reading online, or at ACCA offices.
Principles related to misconduct in examinations are reproduced here for easy
reference.

Your obligations:
It is the duty of every member, firm or registered student to co-operate throughout
the course of the investigation.
If the Assessor concludes that a prima facie case amounting to liability to
disciplinary action has been made out against the registered student, he or she has
two alternative courses of action:
a. to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee; or
b. to rest the matter on the registered student’s file. This option is reserved
for complaints which the Assessor believes renders the registered student
liable to disciplinary action, but which are not serious.

Liability to disciplinary action:


A registered student is liable to disciplinary action, whether or not he or she was a
registered student at the time of the offence, if he or she falls within any of the
circumstances set out in Bye-law 8. These include being guilty of misconduct in
the course of carrying out his or her professional duties or otherwise, or breaching
any regulation, in particular, the regulations set out here. Misconduct includes

37
(but is not limited to) any act likely to bring discredit upon the registered student,
ACCA, or the accountancy profession.

Misconduct in an examination:
a. The Supervisor is empowered to discontinue the examination of a
registered student suspected of misconduct and require him or her to leave
the examination room
b. A registered student found guilty of contravening an examination
regulation may be disqualified from any examinations for which the
results have not yet been issued, barred from sitting examinations for a
specified period, removed from the student register, and/or be liable to
such other penalty as the Disciplinary Committee may determine. A
registered student found guilty of a breach of the examination regulations
will normally be removed from the register
c. Publicity will always be given to the Disciplinary Committee’s decision
and in all but exceptional circumstances the registered student will be
named. ACCA reserves the right to withhold the results of a registered
student’s examination while a complaint against him or her is under
investigation or consideration
d. The Examination Regulations and disciplinary procedures also apply to
registered students sitting examinations for internally examined courses.

Rights and obligations:


The following information is taken from regulation 8 of the ACCA Rulebook. It is
important that you read this information as it outlines what activities you are
permitted and not permitted to do as an ACCA student.
(1) A application of the Charter, bye-laws and regulations Upon and following
admission as a registered student, the Charter, the bye-laws and the regulations
made pursuant to the bye-laws for the time being in force shall insofar as
applicable to them apply to and bind every person so admitted for so long as he is
a registered student and, insofar as the Charter, bye-laws and such regulations so
provide, thereafter.
(2) Permitted activities of ACCA students
(a) A CCA students of the Association may not claim to be members of the
Association, nor may they be, or hold themselves out to be, in public practice, or a
partner, director or controller of a firm or a member of a limited liability
partnership which carries on public practice. ACCA students are, however,
permitted to provide basic bookkeeping services for reward, either directly to the
public or for an accountant, provided that they do not refer to their studentship or
potential membership of the Association. Such service may be provided by the

38
ACCA student acting in a self-employed capacity, or as an employee. Basic book-
keeping services are defined as:
(i) T he recording of basic accounting data up to and including the preparation of
accounting records to trial balance stage
(aa) bank accounts
(bb) cash
(cc) sales ledger and purchase ledger
(ii) Payroll
(aa) wages
(bb) PAYE, National Insurance deductions
(iii) VAT or its equivalent.
(b) A ny accountancy services, other than basic book-keeping services, can only
be provided for reward by an ACCA student working for, and under the
supervision of, a person who, in the opinion of Council, is suitably qualified
and/or suitably experienced. The ACCA student may undertake such work either
as an employee or as a self-employed person.
(c) T he provision of basic book-keeping services directly to the public cannot
constitute approved accountancy experience, for the purpose of regulation 3(a)(ii).
However, basic book-keeping and other accountancy work undertaken under
supervision may constitute approved accountancy experience.
(d) A n ACCA student or affiliate who wishes to provide basic book-keeping
services may obtain or seek such work by direct approaches to existing or
prospective clients by mail or any other means unless prohibited by law in the
country in which the student operates and subject to the requirements in
paragraphs (e) and (f) below.
(e) A n ACCA student may inform the public of his book-keeping services by
means of advertising, or other forms of promotion, subject to the general
requirement that the medium should not, in the opinion of Council, reflect
adversely on the ACCA student, the Association or the accountancy profession,
nor should the advertisement or promotion material, in the opinion of Council:
(i) as to content or presentation, bring the Association into disrepute or bring
discredit to the ACCA student, firm or the accountancy profession;
(ii) discredit the services offered by others whether by claiming superiority for the
ACCA student’s services or otherwise;
(iii) contain comparisons with the services offered by others;
registered students rights and obligations
(iv) be misleading, either directly or by implication;
(v) fall short of the requirements of the Advertising Standards Authority as to

39
legality, decency, honesty and truthfulness.
(f) A advertisements and other promotional material may refer to the basis on
which fees are calculated, or to hourly or other charging rates, provided that the
information given is not misleading.
(g) Where ACCA students provide services pursuant to the above rules, they are
subject to the same rules of professional conduct which apply to members who
provide such services.
(h) R regulations 8(2)(a)–(g) do not apply to ACCA students:
(i) who are members of one or more of the UK or Irish Institutes of Chartered
Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants or The
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting and who hold practicing
certificates or the equivalent status from such bodies; or
(ii) who are authorized for appointment as company auditor under Section 25 of
the Companies Act 1989; or
(iii) who are resident outside the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey and
Dependencies, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland, and hold a
professional accountancy qualification which confers the right to practice in their
country of residence.
A CCA students falling within these categories are permitted to engage in public
practice (although, in respect of category (iii), in their country of residence only)
provided that they describe themselves only as members of the professional
bodies to which they belong (if any) and not as students of the Association.
(3) MSER students
The provisions of regulation 8(2) apply to MSER students in respect of their
permitted activities.

Exam regulations:
Taking your ACCA exams is part of your journey towards becoming an ACCA
professional accountant and we therefore expect you to act in a professional
manner when taking your exams. The following rules on conduct apply to
students completing projects or sitting paper-based and computer-based exams, as
well as those taking internally-assessed ACCA courses.
1. You are required to comply in all respects with any instructions issued by
the registrar, exam supervisor and invigilators before and during an exam.
2. You may not attempt to deceive the registrar or the exam supervisor by
giving false or misleading information.
3. You are not allowed to take to your exam desk, possess, use or intend to
use while at that desk, any books, notes or other materials except those

40
authorised by the registrar. If you are found to have taken to your desk, or
possessed while at that desk, unauthorised materials which are relevant to
the syllabus being examined, it will be assumed that you intended to use
them to gain an unfair advantage in the exam. In any subsequent
disciplinary proceedings, it shall be for you to prove that you did not
intend to use the materials to gain an unfair advantage in the exam.
4. You may not assist, attempt to assist, obtain or attempt to obtain assistance
by improper means from any other person during your exams.
5. You are required to adhere at all times to the Instructions to Candidates,
which you receive with your Examination Attendance Docket.
6. You are required to comply with the exam supervisor’s ruling. Supervisors
are obliged to report any cases of irregularity or improper conduct to the
registrar. The supervisor is empowered to discontinue your exam if you
are suspected of misconduct and to exclude you from the exam hall.
7. You may not engage in any other unprofessional conduct designed to
assist you in your exam attempt.
8. You are not permitted to remove either your script booklet or your
question paper from the exam hall. All exam scripts remain the property of
ACCA.
9. Once the exam has started, you are not allowed to leave the exam hall
permanently until the end of the session and then only when instructed by
the supervisor.
These regulations are reproduced on your Examination Attendance Docket – you
should take time to familiarise yourself with them. In order to be eligible to sit
your exams you must sign your docket confirming your agreement to comply with
these regulations.

Disciplinary committee:
When a complaint is referred to the Disciplinary Committee, the Professional
Conduct Department will notify the registered student of the date when it
proposes to hear the case. The registered student is entitled to be heard before the
Committee and is permitted to be represented and to call witnesses and cross-
examine witnesses called against him or her. The disciplinary hearing will
normally be held in public. If the Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the
complaint has been proved wholly or in part, it can make any one or more of the
following orders:
1. that he or she be removed from the student register;
2. that the period specified in the order shall not be reckoned as part of the
registered student’s approved professional experience;

41
3. that he or she be declared ineligible for such period as shall respectively
be specified in the order to sit such examination or examinations of ACCA
(or such part or parts thereof) as shall be specified in the order;
4. (iv) that he or she be disqualified from such examination or examinations
of ACCA (or such part or part thereof) as shall be specified in the order
not being an examination (or part thereof) the result of which shall have
been duly notified to him or her by ACCA prior to the date of the order;
5. (v) that he or she be severely reprimanded, reprimanded or admonished.
In addition, the registered student may be ordered to pay costs (see later section
on costs).
Sometimes a registered student’s conduct may be investigated under these
disciplinary procedures after he or she has taken ACCA examinations, but has not
yet received the results. In these situations, the results will be withheld until the
case has been concluded. If the registered student is removed from the ACCA
student register, the examination results will not be released.

Appeal committee:
If an order is made by the Disciplinary Committee against a registered student, he
or she has 30 days, from service of the notice of the Committee’s findings, in
which to appeal. His or her notice of appeal must be in writing addressed to the
Professional Conduct Department and must state the grounds of appeal.
If the registered student appeals against the findings made by the Disciplinary
Committee, the appeal hearing will be a fresh hearing. The Appeal Committee
may affirm, vary or set aside the decision of the Disciplinary Committee, and may
substitute any other order that the Disciplinary Committee could have made.

Costs:
The Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee may order the student to
pay a sum by way of costs to ACCA. Where the Disciplinary Committee orders
that a student be removed from the student register, and that student appeals
against such a finding, he or she must ensure that he or she pays any costs so
ordered by the Disciplinary Committee before his or her appeal is heard. Failure
to do so will result in the notice of appeal being treated as invalid.

Publication of findings:
The findings and orders of the Disciplinary and Appeal Committees are always
published in ACCA's publications accounting & business and student accountant.
Press releases are also sent to local, national and professional press. In all but
exceptional circumstances the registered student is named. As these hearings are

42
held in public the press may attend. ACCA has no control over what may be
published in the press.

EXPERIENCE:
Practical Experience Requirement (PER):
In order to become an ACCA-qualified accountant you will need to complete the
practical experience requirement (PER) as well as passing your exams and the
professional ethics module.
It is a key component of the ACCA Qualification and will help you to:
• apply in practice the knowledge and techniques gained through your
studies towards the ACCA exams
• observe and be involved in real-life work situations that help you to
develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviors that you will need to possess as
a qualified accountant
• develop your judgment, encouraging you to reflect on the quality of your
work and how you may improve your work performance in the future.
Employers expect ACCA members to show high levels of knowledge and ability
in the workplace, and to behave ethically.
The PER provides a framework for ACCA trainees to gain this knowledge and
ability. It does this by setting you a range of performance objectives to achieve
and ensuring you gain enough experience in one or more relevant roles,
demonstrating that you have the abilities and maturity required to become a
member - making you a more valuable employee.

What do I have to do?


To begin achieving your PER, you need to be working in an accounting or
finance-related role. You may feel that the opportunities to achieve your PER in
your current role are limited, but you should consider the options available to you
before you decide to seek alternative employment.
If you are a full-time student or are not working in a relevant role, you may want
to start thinking about what steps you will need to take in the future to gain the
practical experience you need in order to become a member.
There are four components to your PER:
• completing three-years' employment in an accounting or finance-related
role(s)

43
• achieving the nine Essentials and any four Options performance objectives
to the satisfaction of your workplace mentor
• recording and reporting your PER progress through the trainee
development matrix (TDM)
• making a PER return each year.
You can gain your practical experience before, during or after completion of the
exams. There is no time limit to gaining practical experience and applying for
ACCA membership. However, the performance objectives are closely linked to
the exam syllabus and it is recommended that you co-ordinate your study and
practical experience achievement.
You should aim to get your employer's support to help you gain the PER and you
will also need to work closely with your workplace mentor.

Three years' practical experience:


It doesn't matter what sector or organisation you work in – ACCA trainees work
in every sector and size of organisation. What’s important is to look for the
opportunities to help you meet your PER and to obtain a total of 36-months' (three
years') experience in a relevant role, or roles.
Ideally, this means that you have a job where the majority of your time is spent on
activities and tasks that are accounting, finance, audit and assurance related, or in
other related technical areas such as taxation, insolvency, and forensics.
If your job includes only a small amount of accountancy and finance work it can
count, as long as you pro rata the time you spend on these activities. For example,
if only a quarter of your working time (equivalent to three months) during the
year is spent in an accounting capacity, you may only claim three months as
relevant time in your PER annual return. This may mean that it will take you more
than three years to accumulate the relevant experience, because some of your
experience is not relevant.
Your experience doesn’t have to be gained in a single role or one continuous
period and relevant experience gained prior to joining ACCA may be counted,
providing it can be verified by a workplace mentor.

Performance objectives:
Performance objectives are ACCA's indicators of effective performance, and set
the minimum standard of work that you are expected to achieve and demonstrate
in the workplace.
They describe the kinds of work activities you may carry out, and the values and
attitudes you are expected to possess and demonstrate as a trainee accountant.

44
They also include information about the work outcomes you must produce and the
quality of your work.
If you have ever taken part in a performance management or appraisal process at
work, you may find ACCA's performance objectives are similar in structure to
those work-related objectives and expectations agreed by you and your manager.
Performance objectives are divided into key areas of knowledge which are closely
linked to the exam syllabus – reinforcing that any knowledge developed through
the exams will have a clear application in the workplace. You will demonstrate
your achievement of the performance objectives to your workplace mentor by
answering three unique challenge questions for each performance objective.
You will be required to achieve 13 performance objectives in total:
• all nine Essentials - performance objectives one to nine, and
• any four Options - performance objectives 10 to 20.

Professionalism, ethics and governance


• 1. Demonstrate the application of professional ethics, values and
judgement
• 2. Contribute to the effective governance of an organisation
• 3. Raise awareness of non-financial risk

Personal effectiveness
• 4. Manage self
• 5. Communicate effectively
• 6. Use information and communications technology

Business management
• 7. Manage on-going activities in your area of responsibility
• 8. Improve departmental performance
• 9. Manage an assignment

Financial accounting and reporting


• 10. Prepare financial statements for external purposes
• 11. Interpret financial transactions and financial statements

45
Performance measurement and management
accounting
• 12. Prepare financial information for management
• 13. Contribute to budget planning and production
• 14. Monitor and control budgets

Finance and financial management


• 15. Evaluate potential business/investment opportunities and the required
finance options
• 16. Manage cash using active cash management and treasury systems

Audit and assurance


• 17. Prepare for and collect evidence for audit
• 18. Evaluate and report on audit

Taxation
• 19. Evaluate and compute taxes payable
• 20. Assist with tax planning

Recording experience:
The trainee development matrix (TDM) is an online tool specifically for ACCA
trainees (students and affiliates) to plan and record your achievement of the
practical experience requirements (PER).
It will help you through every stage - from planning your development, targeting
performance objectives, and writing the answers to your challenge questions -
through to having these questions reviewed and signed off by your workplace
mentor. It will also help you maintain a virtual CV, charting your employment
and career progress. You will also need to use it to complete your annual PER
return.
You can access your personal TDM through myACCA, it can be found within the
Practical Experience Requirements section and will launch in a new window.

Approved Employers
If your employer is a gold or platinum ACCA Approved Employer - trainee
development stream, you may be exempt from using the TDM to record and

46
report achievement of your performance objectives.
This is because ACCA recognizes that your employer already has a robust
training and development programme in place. However, it is important to
confirm that your employer has this level of approval and whether they want to
claim exemption from the TDM for their employees. Please note that it is your
employer - not you - who decides whether to claim exemption from using the
TDM for recording the achievement of performance objectives. And even if your
employer decides to use the TDM exemption, you will still need to use the TDM
to submit your annual PER return.

Need more information?


See the 'Approved Employer TDM exemption FAQs' in 'related documents'.

Are you a trainee leaving an Approved Employer?


See the 'Approved Employer PER summary form' in 'related documents'.

Annual return:
As part of the PER, every trainee is required to submit an annual return stating
what practical experience they have obtained, if any, in the last 12 months.
The purpose of the annual return is to help you and ACCA track your practical
experience and your progress towards gaining ACCA membership. It also allows
ACCA to assist you by developing products and services to help support your
training and development.
Even if you are not currently working in a relevant role, for example if you
are a full-time student, you must make an annual PER return.
How do I make an annual return?
To complete your annual return select the ‘annual return’ button in the online
TDM – this can be accessed through myACCA. There are various sections you
need to complete depending on your working status but the whole process will
only take you a few minutes.
The annual return allows you to:
• view or confirm the performance objectives that have been signed off to
date by your workplace mentor(s) if relevant to your circumstances
• confirm the time (in months) that you have been in a relevant role since
your last annual return
• confirm that the information you have given is true by signing a
declaration and agreeing that you are committed to your development and

47
to ACCA’s Code of Ethics.
When do I have to do my annual return by?
The closing date to make your annual return is 1 January each year. But this does
not mean that you have to wait until December to make your return, you can
complete your annual return online at any time during the year.
For example, if you know that you will be studying full time for the rest of the
year and will not be in a relevant working role, you can make your annual return
now, stating that you have no relevant work experience to record at this time.
I am not working do I still need to make an annual return?
Yes. All trainees are required to complete an annual return, including those
studying on a full-time basis, those working in a non-relevant role, and those not
working for other reasons, such as ill health.
I have already made my annual return for this year but have more
experience to declare – what do I do?
If you need to, you can make more than one annual return in a year, however
please be aware that your most recent entry will overwrite what you declared
previously, so make sure your latest entry includes any previous information
entered.
You can record as little as one month’s experience when you make your annual
return – if it is relevant it will all add up to the 36 months required.
PER audit
ACCA reviews trainees' workplace achievement. Non-completion of the annual
reporting requirement, lack of recording, and continued non-achievement of
performance objectives (where you are in a relevant role), will be among the
factors taken into account when selecting trainee records for review.
Trainees' online TDM or paper-based records will be subject to the same levels of
PER audit.

ACCA Careers :
Hundreds of thousands of people choose a career in Accountancy, opening up a
wealth of opportunities for them. We take your career progression seriously and
want to ensure we support the development of your employability.
ACCA offers many career options in terms of roles and sectors, and our
worldwide qualification and global standards, enables you to develop a rewarding
career internationally too.
ACCA Careers is here to support the many choices you may face at every stage in
your career. In collaboration with leading experts in their field, ACCA Careers
provides comprehensive guidance, insight and tips to ensure that whatever
decision you make, you have the right information to help you.

48
What's new on ACCA careers

Emotional Intelligence in the workplace: listen to our pod casts from the CIPD
Read the CIPD’s guide to using Emotional Intelligence at work, in the second in a
series of articles on Tactical Skills
Get up to 32% off careers and self development books with Foyles and ACCA
Careers
Find out about what Tactical skills you can make use of in your accounting career
to help with engagement and high performance
Read the CIPD’s guide to Managing Yourself and your Reactions in the first in a
series of articles on Tactical skills

Content partners
Foyles
ACCA and Foyles have joined forces to bring you a must read selection of books
to help you get the perfect job or progress your career in accountancy.
Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company. Accenture is an expert within organizational design and
development and will be bringing a wealth of knowledge and insight on business
development and performance management. The first of a series of articles will
cover Green Talent and The New Talent Equation.
GAA Pweb
GAA Pweb is the UK’s leading jobsite for Accountancy and Finance
professionals. GAA Pweb is working with ACCA to provide you with the
knowledge and tools for getting a job; from Example CVs to Interview Tips.
CIPD
CIPD support and develop the experts who are responsible for improving
organizational capability through the management and development of people
within organizations. CIPD will be providing the latest insight into organizational
resourcing techniques, including What skills make people marketable in a
recession and insight into professional development.
Naked Generations
Naked Generations is a specialist in advising businesses on how to engage and
leverage multi generation employees. Naked Generations will be bringing to
ACCA Careers its expertise from Selecting a Recruiter through to Networking
guidance, providing an insight into the latest developments in the employment
sector.
Financial Services Skills Council
Directions is the acclaimed interactive online careers information service (based
in the UK) from the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC). Developed for
anyone considering a career in financial services, accountancy and finance; find
out what accountancy roles are open to you.

49
Developing your career:
Your career and professional development is important to us and we want to help
you in making the best informed decisions and career plans as possible. The
'Developing your career' area provides support and guidance from leading
organisations as well as insight on key business trends. We will be providing and
sharing knowledge on best business practice, case studies and insight on emerging
business development issues, supporting you in identifying future requirements
for you development to help you make the most of your career.

More information
• Foyles and ACCA - Careers and self-development
• Leadership
• Management insights
• CPD

Foyles and ACCA - Careers and self-


development
ACCA and Foyles have joined forces to bring you a must read selection of books
to help you get the perfect job or progress your career in accountancy. ACCA
members, students and affiliates can now get up to 32% discount on careers and
self-development related titles - helping empower you to make the most out of
your career and progress to the next level.
Foyles provide FREE UK delivery on orders over £10. International ACCA
Careers users can also benefit from this partnership, ensuring that no matter where
you are in the world – you will have access to some of the best careers and self-
development titles on the market.
Go to Foyles to take advantage of this special offer.
About Foyles:
Founded by two brothers in 1903, Foyles quickly established itself as the world's
most famous bookshop. Today with 5 floors, 36 departments and over 220,000
different books at our flagship store on London's literary mecca of Charing Cross
Road plus new branches across Central London and a fast & efficient website
from where you can order any book in print, whatever you want you'll find it at
Foyles.
Great value offers, 200,000 plus titles for immediate dispatch & millions more to
order.

50
In 2008 Foyles were named UK Bookseller of the Year at the British Book
Industry Awards.

Leadership
Leadership is one of the most relevant aspects within organisational culture; not
only does effective leadership enable individuals to thrive and realise their
potential, it can integrate and maximise resources in an inspirational way to help
an organisation exceed expectations.
Here leading experts have agreed to share their knowledge and discuss the role of
emotions, vision, communication and tactical skills that we hope will leave you
inspired for both individual and organizational success.

PDFs
• Stop Being Soft about the Skills that Really Make the Difference
• Tactical Skills One: Managing Yourself and your Reactions
• Emotional Intelligence: Accounting for the Head and the Heart at Work

Podcasts
• Emotional Intelligence - part 2
• Emotional Intelligence - find out how you can turn EI to your advantage in
the work-place in the 1st of 2 pod casts
• Be inspired! Gain insight into the secrets of success at work and find out
how to keep staff motivated and enthused

CPD
In today's competitive market, it is important to showcase continuous
development, enhancing both your skills and employability. Employers are
looking for the highest standards and skills available and your ability to
demonstrate proactive progression will help to put you ahead of the competition.
We believe that not only is ongoing learning and development essential for all
ACCA members, but it is also the best route to career development and
progression. All members are required to undertake relevant CPD to ensure that
they maintain and develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in today's
dynamic and demanding business environment.
To find out more about CPD and what counts as CPD please visit our CPD web

51
area. We also have an E-learning Gateway which provides a suite of online
learning products available directly from ACCA and out expert partners.

Management insights
The role of the accountant is changing; increasing numbers are being asked to
adopt business partner and advisor roles, working more closely with the business
to interpret and explain financials to non-finance departments and contribute to
key commercial decisions. There is sometimes a disparity between what
employers and employees believe are the skills an accountant needs to excel in
their career.
In collaboration with leading experts in their field, this section of ACCA Careers
provides insight into the mindsets and skills necessary to help drive excellence in
an organisation, and help you further your career in these challenging times.

PDFs
• Savvy Firms Can Find Opportunities In the Current Economic Crisis
• Managing risk for high performance in extraordinary times
• What skills make people marketable in a recession
• With record levels of unemployment and competition amongst job
seekers, we wanted to find out what skills and attributes make people
marketable and stand out from the crowd in the current economic
environment.
• The new talent equation
• The objective at the heart of successful talent management in difficult
times: to think ahead and to think more strategically about creating a
workforce with the capabilities to outperform the competition as the
economy turns around. A number of fresh approaches are available to help
companies go beyond responses focused only on staff reductions.
• The Emergence of “Green Talent” - Lessons from the Internet Revolution
• Several factors are driving an increase in supply and demand for “green
talent”—employees with the mindsets and skills to drive sustainability in
an organization. But many business leaders do not fully understand the
implications of this change in the workforce. Fortunately, companies can
draw on memories of a recent challenge with similar features, the Internet
revolution, when they also had to learn to integrate new talent pools into
their workforces.

52
Recession proof your career:
As we say goodbye to 2009, not only are we entering a new decade, but we bid
farewell to one of the worst global recessions in history. This, for some would've
been their first experience of recession and was probably quite a shock to the
system. Many graduates are finding it hard to get a job, and many people are
finding themselves faced with redundancy and not knowing quite what to do next
to make their situation better.
ACCA students and members benefit from being aligned to the only truly global
body for accountants, meaning that you have far greater flexibility and means of
avoiding the hardest hit areas through moving country or role, given the global
nature and respect of the qualification and the wide skill-set you posses. However
the recession is a global issue and for most people, the economic events over the
past 18 months have been unavoidable.
Given how quickly the economic situation can change, it's vital to have yourself
in the correct position if you want to maintain career momentum in the down-turn.
As such, we have put together some pointers to ensure you are ready for whatever
challenge the economy throws your way – so you can continue to flourish
throughout your career in accountancy:
1. Do nothing!
Consider staying exactly where you are. Companies very rarely get rid of
their top employees; in fact it's a company's top employees that will need
to be held onto if they are going to survive the worst of a downturn. If you
are in such a position then it may be wise to stay where you are and wait
for the economic upturn to arrive before you consider changing jobs.
2. Move to a Country with better growth prospects
The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) countries have been highlighted
as areas where there has been sustained growth and have not been affected
too badly by the recession. Russia's Oil and Gas Industry has meant that
it's a mecca for strong finance professionals; Brazil is very similar to
Russia in that its boom is due to its provision of raw materials such as
Wood and Steel. Both India and China are dominant global suppliers of
manufactured goods and services; having changed their political systems
to embrace capitalism, all four countries are set to be the world's dominant
economies by 2050.
3. Get involved in a big project
Get yourself stuck into a project which is more than likely to run for many
months; doing this will help ensure that you are a critical member of the
team and (hopefully) exempt from redundancy
4. Education, Education, Education
If you have always wanted to do an MBA, then this may also be the time
to start applying. Not only is it an ideal opportunity to apply yourself with

53
little distractions, but once the upturn arrives you would have shown a
diligent approach to progressing your career.

If you feel that you would like to change your specialism - then now
would also be a good opportunity to steer your required CPD hours in the
right direction.
5. Move to another department
If you feel that despite the recession you are still in need of a new
challenge, why not look at other departments within your firm that look
set to grow? Moving from a stagnant division to one which is driving
profits may be worth considering. Many large organizations advertise their
roles on the intranet, or it is always worth speaking with your HR
department to find out what other opportunities there are internally.
During time of economic hardship, many organizations want to retain their
talent; if a role does become available it is a lot more cost effective for
them to hire internally than to have to start the recruitment process with
outside candidates.
6. Don't choose a risky sector
Certain industries are at greater risk than others during a downturn.
Housing and construction has been one of the major casualties of the
recent recession, with many construction sites being deserted in the USA,
UK and more recently Dubai. The retail industry has also been quite hard
hit, although if you do move look for those with strong brand names in
their field, a reputation for quality and excellent customer service.
7. Network
There's one thing every accountant should be doing and that's
strengthening their professional network. With companies looking to
reduce costs in all departments, hiring managers and heads of department
will examine their networks and the networks of other friends and
colleagues in an attempt to avoid costly recruitment fees. Ensuring that
your name and the work you do is well known may well open up doors
when you least expect it. See Naked Generations article on how to
network effectively for a more in-depth guide into the art of networking
(in Getting that Job).
8. Volunteer
If you are one of the many people who has suffered from redundancy and
are keen to get yourself back to work as soon as possible, volunteering for
a charity is a good way of keeping yourself busy and your skills up-to-
date. It also sends out a good message to prospective employers for when
you are applying for new roles, and may indeed help you stand out from
the crowd.
GOOD LUCK!

54
Working internationally:
As the global body for professional accountants, ACCA's students and members
are welcome in every corner of the world; having an ACCA qualification is
regarded as having a passport to a variety of career opportunities. Globalisation
has seen a massive increase in the mobile workforce, with accountants plying
their trade in emerging and established markets around the world. Many
employers experiencing difficulty attracting home-grown finance talent are
undertaking proactive campaigns abroad - and ACCA students and members are
in particular demand.
In the working internationally section of the site, we will guide you through the
relocation progress, with a focus on particular global hotspots. You will find
country-specific advice on job markets, visa requirements, salary levels, working
conditions, and housing and schooling options, helping you make the most of
your globally recognised qualification.
Coming soon to this section you will find an executive summary of critical
information on a selection of key business cultures. For access to detailed
information on over 50 country business cultures, together with an assessment
tool that identifies your individual cultural orientations and their impact on your
working style, please visit our Country Navigator e-learning tool.

More information
• Australasia
• The European Union
• The Middle East
• Rest of world

Australasia:
An increasing number of people emigrate to Australia and New Zealand each
year.
Both countries are multicultural, diverse and actively embrace the influx of skilled
migrants. They offer a high standard of living, beautiful and varied landscapes,
and a stable political and economic infrastructure. Unemployment levels are low
and there are plenty of opportunities for experienced finance and accountancy
professionals in larger towns and cities.
Work Opportunities
The majority of accounting, finance and banking opportunities in Australia are
city-based, permanent roles. Over 80% of Australia's population live along its vast

55
coast, so it's likely you'll enjoy the best of city and beach life.
Even though Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, you're far more likely to
find a finance or accountancy opportunity in Wellington – capital city and home
to the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Be wary of moving to New Zealand without
securing a role beforehand; it can take even the most experienced candidates six
months or more to find a suitable position.
There are various accounting bodies in both Australia and New Zealand that
should provide you with up-to-date industry information. See our ‘Useful
Websites' section for a full list of these organizations.
Visas
Australia has a Skilled Migration Programme that operates on a points-based
system. You are awarded points depending on your experience, professional
qualifications and according to how ‘in demand' your skills are. If you have
accountancy or finance qualifications, you will be in a good position to qualify to
work in Australia. In most cases, you will have to work on a four-year temporary
basis before you are awarded permanent residency.
Immigration laws in New Zealand can be strict, so make sure you research them
thoroughly (check out the immigration website found in ‘Useful Websites').
Regardless of your home country, you'll be require a skilled migrant employment
visa.
Culture, Education and Housing
Australia has high standards of public and private education, from pre-school to
university. Renting can be difficult in Australia, so it's worth considering getting a
foot on the property ladder.
In New Zealand the education system is also strong. The main difference is that
Maori is the language taught in some schools. New Zealand has a free national
health service for all its residents.
Useful Websites
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship
The official website for the Australian government department of immigration
Australia's Skilled Migration Programme
Comprehensive information with regards to gaining a skilled migration visa
Immigration: New Zealand
Government site on the immigration rules for New Zealand

The European Union:

56
The European Union (EU) comprises 27 member states housing almost 500
million citizens. Sixteen of these member states have adopted the Euro currency
and are referred to as the Euro zone.
Work Opportunities
Your experience of finding work within the EU depends on whether you are
already an EU citizen; if you are not an EU citizen, then please refer to our ‘Visas'
section for more information.
There are literally millions of opportunities across all industries and sectors within
the EU. When targeting a finance or accountancy-related role, you should be able
to find plenty of European opportunities on GAA Pweb.
Your present employer might give you the opportunity to work abroad as a
‘posted worker', whereby they will let you know about your pay and working
conditions before you leave. If you decide to look for opportunities once you've
arrived in your chosen country, ensure you've thoroughly researched the current
employment market.
If you're an EU citizen, you can generally expect the same recruitment process in
the public and private sectors as is required from the nationals of that country. Be
aware that some high-security public sector roles will only employ people who
are native to that particular member state.
Once employed, you will be entitled to the same benefits as your co-workers. This
includes basic rights regarding your pay, sick leave and maternity or paternity
leave. You will be expected to pay tax, so make sure you inform your home
country's tax office to avoid any duplication.
In most cases, your family, spouse, and in some cases, your parents will be
allowed to move with you, regardless of their nationalities.
Visas
If you are an EU citizen, then you do not need a visa to gain entry to or work in
another EU country. You will be given an identity card for the first three months
of your stay. As soon as you have found work and no later than three months after
your arrival, you must apply for a residence permit.
If you are not an EU citizen but would like to work within the EU, it's likely that
you will need a visa. Make sure you contact your home Embassy or Consulate
long before you travel to make the relevant visa arrangements. Be aware that you
could be subject to passport and medical checks.
Culture, Education and Housing
The EU comprises a diverse collection of countries. Each member state is rich
with its own history and heritage. Whether you're looking for a cosmopolitan
environment, cityscape, beach or mountains (or even all of these in one country),

57
there's definitely something for you within the EU.
Most English-speaking international schools in Europe offer the International
Baccalaureate (IB) in addition to GCSE and A Level examinations.
Some countries are subject to housing licences and property agreements, so do
your research.
Useful websites
Europa
The gateway to the European Union and the portal for all information and
legislation within the region.
The European Commission: Your Europe
Provides information on rights and opportunities of EU citizens
European Employment Services
A hub for jobseekers looking to work or study in the EU
International schools in Europe
A comprehensive guide to international schools within the EU

The Middle East:


Over the past decade the Middle East has become extremely popular attracting
thousands of migrants every year. Key attractions of the Middle East include: year
round sun, a luxury lifestyle and favorable tax rates. It is also a critical region for
many international organizations and operates in a time zone which allows it to
trade between Australasia, Europe and America.
Work Opportunities
Previously many of the finance opportunities in the Middle East have been found
in Dubai, but with the recent economic downturn you may need to look a little
further afield. Abu Dhabi is well grounded to grow successfully. Other regions to
consider are Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and even Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.
Roles available can vary from junior credit controllers to senior directors, but as
the region is so popular with people around the globe, competition is fierce, so
make sure you research the potential country and company in-depth.
Depending on whether the company you're applying to is international or local
then there are some common practices to be mindful of when applying. For
instance, a Middle Eastern employer may consider it rude if you don't follow up
on an interview with a phone call or email within a couple of days. This only
needs to be a simple thank you for their time and include anything you may have
forgotten to mention during the interview.

58
Visas
The easiest way to gain a residency visa in the Middle East is through an
employer. Once you have accepted a job they will normally take care of all the
formalities, as you'll need a residency visa to obtain a bank account, driving
licence etc.
Contacting your local embassy for the country may be unproductive as they are
geared towards dealing with corporates rather than individuals, so its best to make
sure the company you are accepting the job with will be taking care of this.
• UAE visa requirements
• Bahrain visa requirements
• Kuwait visa requirements
• Oman visa requirements
• Saudi Arabia visa requirements
• Qatar visa requirements
Culture, Education and Housing
The culture in the Middle East is very different from Europe, so it is advisable to
visit the country beforehand.
One of the biggest changes is that the weekend will centre around Friday which is
the religious day in the Muslim calendar. Most international companies will still
have a two day weekend, but this will include Friday. If you are going to work for
an Arab company then be prepared for a six day week.
Another concern for many moving to the Middle East is the consumption of
alcohol. Whilst it is possible in most countries to drink alcohol in certain areas it
does vary between country and even city, so do your research in advance.
Property-wise, many companies will either arrange this for you or will give you
an allowance to rent somewhere. If you do want to buy, bear in mind that not all
countries will let immigrants own property or land. Prices can also vary greatly
depending on location, with Dubai being similar to some of the more expensive
parts of the UK and US.
Education and healthcare are both excellent with numerous high quality
international schools to choose from and healthcare is normally privately funded
by insurance, which you will either need to have or your company will provide.

Rest of world:
As the global body for professional accountants, ACCA's students and members

59
are welcome in every corner of the world; having an ACCA qualification is
regarded as having a passport to a variety of career opportunities. Globalisation
has seen a massive increase in the mobile workforce, with accountants plying
their trade in emerging and established markets around the world. Many
employers experiencing difficulty attracting home-grown finance talent are
undertaking proactive campaigns abroad - and ACCA students and members are
in particular demand.
In the working internationally section of the site, we will guide you through the
relocation progress, with a focus on particular global hotspots. You will find
country-specific advice on job markets, visa requirements, salary levels, working
conditions, and housing and schooling options, helping you make the most of
your globally recognised qualification.
Coming soon to this section you will find an executive summary of critical
information on a selection of key business cultures. For access to detailed
information on over 50 country business cultures, together with an assessment
tool that identifies your individual cultural orientations and their impact on your
working style, please visit our Country Navigator e-learning tool.
• Brazil
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• South Africa
• Singapore
• USA

Links
• Canadian employment information
• Canadian website resource

• Contact us
• Legal
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Site map

Which job?
60
With so many career options available, it can be difficult to determine where to
start or indeed how to enhance your career or make an entire career change.
'Which job?' provides an insight to the many different areas accountants specialise
in, providing you with the necessary information to support you in choosing the
right role and sector for you.
Drawing upon the expertise within ACCA's global network, here you can find an
overview of the main Accountancy roles including: Finance Manager, CFO,
Auditor and Managing Partner. Our 'ACCA member insights' section informs you
of how other ACCA finance professionals have made the most of their
qualifications and achieved their career.

Financial services, Accountancy and


Finance job profiles
To help you make the right choice when you are just starting out on your career in
accountancy, ACCA Careers introduce the Financial Services Skills Council
(FSSC) who have developed Directions; the acclaimed interactive online careers
information service for anyone considering a career in financial services,
accountancy and finance. Directions provides specialist and sector approved
careers information, including job profiles and video case studies, and aims to
give individuals a greater understanding of what today's employers want. To find
out more visits with financial services employers and industry bodies based in the
UK.

• Financial accountancy
• Management accountancy
• Corporate governance
• Business advisory
• Forensic accounting
• Tax accountancy
• Management consultancy
• Asset management
• Fund accounting
• Financial control
• Government accounting

61
• External audit
• Internal audit
• Accounts receivable
• corporate treasury
• Credit insolvency
• corporate recovery
• Payroll
• Valuations
• Pricing
• Book keeping

Getting that job:


Current economic conditions mean it is now more important than ever to enhance
personal employability skills to give you that competitive edge.
When searching and applying for a job, the standard of your application,
interview and general approach will determine your success in achieving your
ambitions.
Here leading experts have agreed to share knowledge to help you secure that all
important job including; CV writing support, interview tips and guidance on
which job is right for you through to networking skills. We've also tapped into the
latest insights from talent management specialists to provide practical know how
to help you along the way.
We wish you every success in taking your career as far as you want it to go....

Potential interview questions:


Questions to prepare for:
What do you know about our company?
This is where the interviewer is looking to see if you've done your homework. It's
good to know where they sit in the market, competitors, what's happening in the
industry and where the company's going.
Why do you want to work for our company?
The key here is to be enthusiastic, passionate and highly detailed about everything
that motivates you. Your self-esteem should be at a high if the role you are
interviewing for and the company truly matches your criteria for a new job.

62
Where do you see yourself in five years' time? How does this role fit in with
your career plan?
Interviewers are trying to identify if you are ambitious and whether your ambition
will fit with the organizations. You need to pitch your response so that you
demonstrate ambition and career advancement without sounding arrogant and
unrealistic.
What have been your five greatest achievements?
The interviewer is looking for a clear and concise list of five points with evidence
to back it up. They want to know what you've done that's quantifiable, for
example solving problems or finding new ways of doing things. It's unlikely you'll
be asked to name all five, but it's good to be prepared, then you can pick your best
examples.
If I asked a friend or colleague to describe you in five words, what would
they say?
Be honest and show an awareness of how you are viewed by colleagues. You
shouldn't be intimidated by what others think about you, but be aware of those
opinions and use them to your advantage so that you fit in with those around you.
Your five words could be, friendly, focused, motivated, creative and
compassionate.
What are your weaknesses?
This question although negative in focus is an opportunity for you to turn it into a
positive. You should never answer that you don't have any weaknesses as this
shows too much arrogance. Instead when you identify a weakness it no longer
becomes a weakness as it has been identified then it's something you are now
properly equipped to deal with. The key is to show how you have identified the
weakness and what action you are taking to improve it.
What can you bring to this role that nobody else can?
We all have something unique to bring to a company, normally based on our past
experiences. So what have you done that will differentiate you for the crowd?
During your research, see if you can identify any areas which you think you in
particular could help with.
Tell me about a time when you were under pressure. How did you handle it?
What was the outcome?
Interviewers are looking for someone who can demonstrate their composure
whilst solving a problem, dealing with deadlines or working under difficult
conditions. Your ability to stay calm and composed during the interview will give
the interviewer further insight into how well you cope under pressure.
Questions to ask:
Why is the position available?
This gives you some insight into the process that led to the company deciding to
interview you for the role. It may also give indication as to the way the company

63
is going. If it's a new role then they may be growing.
Will I be working on new projects or concentrating on previously established
products and services?
This one demonstrates that you are keen to get involved and make your
impression on new projects and gives the interviewer the chance to explain why
they think you'd contribute to already established products or services.
What is the training and career development potential like?
By asking this you will find out how serious the company is about your personal
development and how important employee retention is.
Can you tell me a bit more about the team I'd be working with? Structure,
background, etc.
Asking this will give you an insight into the team you will be working with and
how you will fit into the team. It will also help the interviewer do the same, so it
can be good to get them imagining you being part of the team.
When will you be making a decision and is there any other process to go
through?
This is a pretty standard question and gives you an idea of when to expect to hear
from them.

JOB Condition In Bangladesh:


I n Bangladesh ACCA is most required in job sector.

CV writing skills:
Your CV helps to position you as the perfect candidate for the job.
Tailor your CV to the job you're applying for. Think carefully about your
prospective employer and what they'll be interested in; your CV needs to make
sense to whoever's reading it.
If you write your CV with your career aims and goals in mind, it's likely you'll
produce a document that completely represents who you are and what you're
looking for. Keep your language clear and concise.

A CV isn't your biography; it's a structured presentation of some aspects of your


career, qualifications and experience and should be 1 to 2 pages long.
Ensure that everything you say is quantified by specifying the actions you took
and the results - outline the impact or benefit that came from your experiences and
provide examples and evidence. The key is to say how you achieved something,
not just that you achieved it.

It's become commonplace to include a paragraph detailing your career

64
objective/statement/summary. This should act as an introduction to your work
experience, selected achievements and highlight your technical skills.
Things to include in your CV include:
• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Career objective/statement/summary (tailor for each position)
• Where you've worked (with your most recent job usually listed first)
• When you worked there (month and year)
• The nature of business, what you were accountable for
• What you achieved and the value you added
• Your qualifications

There are two basic types of CV: Chronological


and Functional. The Chronological CV markets
you primarily on your employment record, and the
Functional CV markets you chiefly on your skills.
As a graduate, you might want to start out with a
functional CV, as this may be the best way for you
to display your skills and talents. Where to look
Finding the perfect job takes time, energy and a lot of hard work. There are now
more ways than ever to find a job and you never know where your next job
opportunity will come from, so the best advice is to explore as many options as
you can.

Internet
Jobsites list jobs from both recruitment consultants and directly from employers,
giving you the potential to search both at once. You can also upload your CV
enabling recruiters to headhunt you, as well as setting up personalized job alerts
which are sent directly to your inbox.

65
Offline
The majority of vacancies are handled by recruitment consultants. Register with
these agencies and you'll need to be proactive; it's up to you to call recruiters
regularly to remind them you are actively looking and ask if they have any
appropriate vacancies.
It's also worth checking both your local newspaper and key trade press for jobs to
make sure you don't miss out on any opportunities.

Networking
People often talk about the hidden job market and how up to 80% of all jobs are
not publicly advertised. The main way to access this hidden job market is to
network either face-to-face at industry events or online using sites like Linked In
and Xing.
Face-to-face networking is a great way to make new contacts within the industry,
not just for your current role, but also for the future.
Over the last few years, online social networking has become the favored method,

with Linked In being the most popular business networking site. Recruiters use
these sites to proactively source candidates, so make sure your profile is up to
date and complete and that it demonstrates your skills, abilities and experience.
And if you network with the right people online, you can also hear about
opportunities before they're publicly advertised.
It's also important to remember that recruiters and employers use sites like Linked
In and Face book to filter applications, so make sure your online profile only
includes information that you don't mind potential employers viewing.
By using all three methods combined, you will maximize your chances of
securing your next role.

New Ways of Recruiting:


A lot has changed in the past 10 years when it comes to finding a new job; no
longer is a covering letter and good CV alone enough to ensure that you'll get the
role you want – ensuring that you have a good online presence and know how to
engage with potential employers (prior to application) now forms a key part in
ensuring that you stand out from the crowd. Following on from Naked
Generations article on Social Media and Web 2.0, we have put together a guide as
to what new recruitment methods employers are using to attract new talent, and
what you should be prepared for in 2010.

66
The social recruiting phenomenon
There's been phenomenal growth in social media platforms and there is a school
of thought that the term we should be using is ‘social recruiting'. Many
organizations have been using the slack recruitment time of the recession as a
time to plan their future recruitment methods. Many are looking at social media
and working out how they can use these tools when the upturn arrives to attract
new talent.
Some recruiters will be using targeted advertising on social media platforms such
as Face book and Linked In to attract new talent. Although Face book is more
“social” than Linked In and not necessarily considered to be a job-hunting site,
many employers are looking to connect with potential employees by establishing
groups to start a dialogue with potential employees to find out “what makes them
tick.” If employers are looking to attract a certain type of person, then using both
Linked In and Face book can prove to be very successful tool to ensure the right
people are hired.
Portable content
In the past, if an employer had a hard to fill role that they needed to recruit for,
they would advertise on their website, place an advert on a job posting site, and
perhaps place an advert in a relevant publication – the aim being to effectively
“drag” candidates through the recruitment process. Now, if a recruiter places their

content in the right place for the audience, it can take on a life of its own.
If an organization is using video, for example, then you may well be able to
access this on You Tube rather than one of the more traditional platforms such as
a destination site. ACCA have used You Tube in the past to attract students to the
profession and to take up the qualification; the recruitment industry is starting to
use platforms such as You Tube more effectively to find the right people for their
roles.
Referral networks
Employee referrals have traditionally been one of the most effective methods used
by recruiters and will continue to do so – but in a slightly different guise. Referral
Networks are one of the next big things when it comes to recruitment; ensuring
that you are well connected on Linked In and have a good online dialogue means
that when a role becomes available – you are more likely to get recommended.
Building on this phenomenon, many employers are designing their own referral
networks to help find the next batch of talent for their various departments; using
technology to understand the links between people, and then using the links to
find the right people for their organization will prove to be very interesting for

67
candidates who are proactively looking for roles.
Authentic conversations
Companies are becoming more aware of the need to give their brand more of a
voice than ever before. If you are actively looking for a new role and are keen to
find out more about them – it's worth doing some social research of your own.
Authentic, real-time conversations between current, past and future employees are
becoming a central part of the recruitment process.
To get ahead of the game when it comes to sourcing your next role, do some
research on Twitter and Linked In to find out what real-time conversations are
occurring online about your chosen organization; not only will this potentially
give you an insight into what it's like to work there, but you may also find
information on interesting projects being worked on, or even about a role that is a
available to is yet to be advertised.
Social sourcing
Similar to the above point, many recruiters are now looking beyond traditional
CV databases in terms of proactively looking for talent, but they are now mapping
out sources of talent in the social world. Using hash tag research on Twitter, some
HR professionals are following the trend of ‘chatter' on Twitter to source the next
generation of talent for their organization. Recruiters benefit from this as they are
able to build a better picture of the people that they are interested in hiring, if you
are having difficulties finding a role; it's worth keeping abreast of developments
in the accounting world and micro-bogging about them on Twitter. Utilizes the
hash tag function and your posts will appear in search results – and bring you to
the alert of recruiters.

Take advantage of ACCA RSS feeds so that you will have real-time news hit your
inbox, allowing you to Tweet about it immediately – and be seen a s a thought
leader within your profession.
Corporate recruitment sites
Despite all of the basics mentioned above, some of the best sources of information
regarding a company will be their corporate site which will act as an anchor for
more traditional recruitment processes. Go to Getting that Job section of the
ACCA careers to find out more information on where to look for getting that next
role.
All of the traditional methods of finding your next role still exist, what's really
interesting is the way social media has changed not only people's behaviour – but
how organisations source talent. We are a far more connected, global society and

68
our online actions can affect how people find their next role.

Salary and benefits:


Accountancy and Finance candidates are always viewed as valuable assets to
organisations and as such, have been able to command high salaries that match
the hard and work and dedication that it takes for them to reach membership
status. In such a turbulent climate not only is gaining employment an added
pressure, but it is proving more difficult to measure what salary is the right salary
for your occupation and level of experience and expertise?
High quality, skilled candidates with rounded business knowledge are still in high
demand. Accountants need to ensure that they are able to provide forward-looking
analysis, good communication and business skills as well as an ability to work
with non-finance departments. Talented professionals are in demand, and as such,
if you are able to fill the skills gap, then you can expect to command a respectable
financial remuneration. This section will provide in future, valuable insight on
salary and remuneration for accountants to assist you in benchmarking your value.

Life Style:
CAT & ACCA must be change your life condition. You must be take quality full
job in Bangladesh or any country of the world. You live a peace full life with a
good salary .By getting a a good job you may visit a lot of forging country.

69
Conclusion: So it is now almost clear that ACCA is so
much important for job sector and make our life very
comfortable by earn a lot of money. And also base in foreign
education and foreign job sector.

70

You might also like