New exams enjoy successful launch
Results from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) examinations in December 2011 show there continues to be strong demand for a professional accountancy qualification in times of economic uncertainty. More than 190,000 students sat papers, with over 6,000 taking a major step towards membership of the global body for professional accountants.
Candidates around the world took more than 363,000 papers, with 6,313 students successfully completing their final ACCA exams.
At the Fundamental level, pass rates were particularly pleasing. The pass rate of the F7 Financial Reporting exam at 56% was significantly higher than in recent times. All other pass rates at the Fundamental level remained close to their historic averages. At the Professional level, the results for the Essential papers remain strong whilst results for the Options papers are less good. The P5 Advanced Performance Management result was very disappointing at 29%. In response to a number of sessions of poor performance in the Options papers ACCA has carried out work to offer a range of support for students taking these papers to help improve the pass rates. This will be available shortly.
Clare Minchington, ACCA executive director - learning, said: 'We congratulate those who have succeeded in their exams – and we are delighted to see that more than 6,000 have completed their examinations, having been able to demonstrate the financial knowledge and professional skills which are needed by organisations in challenging economic conditions. We look forward to welcoming them to ACCA membership on completion of their practical experience requirements'.
In December 2011, ACCA’s new Foundations in Accountancy suite of awards was first examined as paper-based and computer-based exams (CBEs). This is an exciting and significant milestone achieved for ACCA. Almost 13,000 paper-based Foundation in Accountancy exams were sat in December 2011 in addition to over 34,000 exams sat as CBEs that month.
Commenting on the successful first exam session for Foundations in Accountancy, Clare Minchington said: 'We are really proud that we have successfully delivered our first exam session for Foundations in Accountancy. As a global body, the planning and implementation of any new qualification and syllabus is a lengthy process – simply because we have to ensure a robust infrastructure is in place to deliver the awards to the high standards our stakeholders expect and deserve from ACCA'.
As a professional body which has professionalism and ethics at the core of everything it does and stands for, ACCA made the decision when it introduced Foundations in Accountancy to make it mandatory for every student completing a diploma or certificate from the range of awards to pass Foundations in Professionalism – a free online interactive module which tests ethics and professionalism.
'All accountants, irrespective of what level they choose to operate, should know, understand and demonstrate what it means to act professionally and ethically when carrying out their work,' said Clare Minchington.
ACCA will start to award the new certificates and diplomas after the February exam results are released, to students who have successfully passed the relevant exams and completed the online ethics module.
For more information about Foundations in Accountancy, see the 'Related Links' section to the left of this article.
December 2011 session ACCA Qualification pass rates were:
Paper F1, Accountant in Business, 63%*
Paper F2, Management Accounting, 53%*
Paper F3, Financial Accounting, 54%*
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law, 49%
Paper F5, Performance Management, 38%
Paper F6, Taxation, 48%
Paper F7, Financial Reporting, 56%
Paper F8, Audit and Assurance, 36%
Paper F9, Financial Management, 38%
Paper P1, Governance, Risk and Ethics, 51%
Paper P2, Corporate Reporting, 48%
Paper P3, Business Analysis, 51%
Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management, 34%
Paper P5, Advanced Performance Management, 29%
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation, 39%
Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance, 31%
December 2011 session Foundations in Accountancy pass rates were:
Introductory Certificate in Financial and Management Accounting
FA1, Recording Financial Transactions, 69%*
MA1 Management Information, 65%*
Intermediate Certificate in Financial and Management Accounting
FA2, Maintaining Financial Records, 62%*
MA2, Managing Costs and Finance, 57%*
Diploma in Accounting and Business
FAB, Accountant in Business, 46%
FMA, Management Accounting, 41%
FFA, Financial Accounting, 42%
Foundation Specialist papers
FAU, Foundations in Audit, 53%
FTX, Foundations in Taxation, 70%
FFM, Foundations in Financial Management, 40%
* Combined pass rates for paper-based and computer-based exams.
