Planning your ACCA studies

First Fintech Asia

4 min readJan 3, 2023

Planning your ACCA studies — ACCA Online | First Fintech Asia

ACCA Applied Knowledge

The Applied Knowledge level consists of three modules:

Business and Technology
Management Accounting
Financial Accounting

The exams at this level can be attempted any time (they are “on-demand” exams) and in any order.

The most common approach for students at this level is to study these modules one at a time.

At the Applied Knowledge level, each module will require in the region of 35–50 hours of study. This includes attending tuition sessions if you study via a classroom or Online Live course. Consequently, many students find that planning to study each module over 6–8 weeks is a reasonable target.

Therefore, students can aim to complete the Applied Knowledge Level in 6–8 months, which allows for plenty of time to study with a few well-earned breaks!

ACCA Applied Skills

The Applied Skills level contains 6 modules. Corporate and Business Law can be sat at any time, whereas the remaining 5 modules are usually examined in one of four sittings a year: March, June, September and December.

Each module will take between 45–60 hours of study. This includes attending tuition sessions if you study via a classroom or Online Live course. Most students spend 6–8 weeks studying each module.

Many students start the Applied Skills level by completing the Corporate and Business Law module. This exam is computer-based and on-demand. It follows a very similar pattern to the Applied Knowledge modules.

Once you have completed Law, the vast majority of students will aim to complete the remaining exams over three sittings. The June and December sittings are the most popular exam sittings, however.

For those completing ACCA who are working in a financial accounting role, we recommend the following exam combinations:

If you are in a non-financial accounting role, we recommend the following exam order:

Nevertheless, the flexibility of the ACCA allows you to move through the qualification at a pace that suits you.

ACCA Strategic Professional

The Strategic Professional level has two components; Essential modules that every student must complete: Strategic Business Leader (SBL) and Strategic Business Reporting (SBR). ACCA students must also complete two of four optional modules.

As with Applied Skills exams, Strategic Professional exams can be taken at one of four sittings a year: March, June, September and December.

If you have completed the Applied Skills level in line with our advice above, you can sit your first Strategic level module alongside your final Applied Skills module. For example, you could complete SBR alongside Financial Management in the example we have used above.

An example of the study route you may follow would be:

How to get started

Once you have a plan, you can get started with your studies. With Online, Online Live and Classroom course options, you can join an ACCA course at any time.

If you are ready to get going with your ACCA studies, you can see our course dates and book here. Alternatively, you can read more about the ACCA qualification programmes.

Find out how to study for more than one accountancy paper

If you have any questions and would like to discuss your options with our expert team, please contact us below and we’ll be in touch. We’d love to hear from you!

Above information and content are refer to Planning Your ACCA Courses Studies — First Intuition — FI Hub.

For more information can visit to: First Intuition — Personalise Your Professional Education

Online Courses

The shift to online delivery and online professional exams require a high level of digital literacy.

Our Learning Management System (LMS) has a built-in CBE test platform allowing students to not only better prepare for the final ACCA exam but also for the digitalisation of the workplace.

Enroll for our online courses anytime and anywhere.

Single subject registration will allow access up to 6 months. Request for extended access is subject to our approval and discretion.

Enjoy a discount of 10% for a bundle (same package) of 2 subjects or 15% for a bundle (same package) of 3 subjects valid for a period of 12 months.