ACCA pass rates – which papers have the highest success rates?

The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) qualification stands tall as a prominent benchmark for accounting and finance professionals worldwide. As candidates embark on this journey, understanding the ACCA pass rates can offer valuable insights into the challenges that lie ahead. In this article, we provide a comprehensive breakdown of the ACCA qualification levels, their associated papers, and the pass rates of each ACCA paper.

Understanding ACCA pass rates

Pass rates signify the percentage of candidates who successfully cleared a particular paper against the total number who took it. These rates offer a glimpse into the challenges of specific papers and the readiness of candidates who attempt them.

ACCA qualification structure

The ACCA qualification is strategically structured into three primary levels:

1. Applied Knowledge Level
2. Applied Skills Level
3. Strategic Professional Level

Let’s delve into each level and its associated papers:

1. Applied Knowledge Level – pass rates

(Note for the BT, MA, FA and LW exams which are on demand, ACCA provide 6 monthly exam pass rates and not quarterly like the remaining papers.)

BT (Business and Technology):

• Description: Provides an introduction to the broader business environment, its influence on financial and managerial accounting, technology and organisational structures.
• Pass Rate:
  • Jun 2023 – 83%
  • Dec 2022 – 79%
  • Jun 2022 – 85%
  • Dec 2021 – 84%

MA (Management Accounting):

• Description: Imparts knowledge on how to prepare and analyse management accounting data, facilitating managerial decisions.
• Pass Rate:
  • Jun 2023 – 63%
  • Dec 2022 – 61%
  • Jun 2022 – 64%
  • Dec 2021 – 65%

FA (Financial Accounting):

• Description: Serves as the foundational bedrock for financial accounting, including financial statement preparation.
• Pass Rate:
  • Jun 2023 – 72%
  • Dec 2022 – 68%
  • Jun 2022 – 69%
  • Dec 2021 – 71%

2. Applied Skills Level – pass rates

LW (Corporate and Business Law):

• Description: Enlightens students about the overarching legal framework, emphasizing areas crucial to business and when to seek specialized legal advice.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 84%
  • Jun 2023 – 80%
  • Dec 2022 – 82%
  • Jun 2022 – 82%
  • Dec 2021 – 83%

PM (Performance Management):

• Description: A deeper exploration of organization performance management and control, accentuating budgeting, variance analysis, and performance evaluation techniques.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 40%
  • Jun 2023 – 40%
  • Mar 2023 – 44%
  • Dec 2022 – 43%
  • Sep 2022 – 40%
  • Jun 2022 – 41%
  • Mar 2022 – 40%

TX (Taxation):

• Description: Offers insights into the comprehension and application of tax systems and their compliance.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 54%
  • Jun 2023 – 56%
  • Mar 2023 – 53%
  • Dec 2022 – 52%
  • Sep 2022 – 52%
  • Jun 2022 – 52%
  • Mar 2022 – 51%

FR (Financial Reporting):

• Description: Deepens students’ grasp of financial reporting, ensuring alignment with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 47%
  • Jun 2023 – 49%
  • Mar 2023 – 52%
  • Dec 2022 – 49%
  • Sep 2022 – 50%
  • Jun 2022 – 51%
  • Mar 2022 – 50%

AA (Audit and Assurance):

• Description: Encompasses the audit process’s entirety, aligning with current auditing standards.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 42%
  • Jun 2023 – 45%
  • Mar 2023 – 44%
  • Dec 2022 – 40%
  • Sep 2022 – 44%
  • Jun 2022 – 39%
  • Mar 2022 – 44%

FM (Financial Management):

• Description: Empowers students to make informed financial decisions, focusing on the practicality of financial management techniques.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 49%
  • Jun 2023 – 52%
  • Mar 2023 – 49%
  • Dec 2022 – 51%
  • Sep 2022 – 51%
  • Jun 2022 – 52%
  • Mar 2022 – 50%

3. Strategic Professional Level – pass rates

SBL (Strategic Business Leader):

• Description: A holistic integration of governance, risk, ethics, and strategy, using real-world scenarios to evaluate various skills.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 50%
  • Jun 2023 – 51%
  • Mar 2023 – 50%
  • Dec 2022 – 49%
  • Sep 2022 – 49%
  • Jun 2022 – 50%
  • Mar 2022 – 50%

SBR (Strategic Business Reporting):

• Description: Intensifies the depth of financial reporting understanding, emphasizing complex financial information evaluation and interpretation.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 50%
  • Jun 2023 – 51%
  • Mar 2023 – 50%
  • Dec 2022 – 47%
  • Sep 2022 – 51%
  • Jun 2022 – 49%
  • Mar 2022 – 46%

At this level, students also select two from the four options below:

AFM (Advanced Financial Management):

• Description: Probes into advanced financial management topics, such as intricate investment decisions.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 45%
  • Jun 2023 – 47%
  • Mar 2023 – 45%
  • Dec 2022 – 41%
  • Sep 2022 – 42%
  • Jun 2022 – 41%
  • Mar 2022 – 43%

APM (Advanced Performance Management):

• Description: Builds on the PM paper with intricate performance management techniques.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 34%
  • Jun 2023 – 34%
  • Mar 2023 – 35%
  • Dec 2022 – 33%
  • Sep 2022 – 34%
  • Jun 2022 – 33%
  • Mar 2022 – 34%

ATX (Advanced Taxation):

• Description: An expansion of the TX paper, delving deeper into advanced taxation topics and scenarios.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 48%
  • Jun 2023 – 43%
  • Mar 2023 – 45%
  • Dec 2022 – 39%
  • Sep 2022 – 43%
  • Jun 2022 – 42%
  • Mar 2022 – 38%

AAA (Advanced Audit and Assurance):

• Description: Augments the AA knowledge, testing the analytical prowess of candidates in complex auditing scenarios.
• Pass Rate:
  • Sep 2023 – 34%
  • Jun 2023 – 34%
  • Mar 2023 – 34%
  • Dec 2022 – 32%
  • Sep 2022 – 34%
  • Jun 2022 – 31%
  • Mar 2022 – 33%

Conclusion

While the ACCA pass rates are indicative of the challenges of specific papers and the overall qualification, success hinges on meticulous preparation, clarity of concepts, and a well-devised exam strategy. As an ACCA aspirant, use the pass rates as an informative tool but lay your emphasis on understanding the depth and breadth of each paper.