ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)  announces the pass rates for the September 2018 exam sitting.

This latest exam sitting saw 91,365 students around the world enter a total of 113,936 exams, with 3,668 students completing their final exams to become ACCA affiliates.

As part of the qualification re-design, ACCA now proudly offers the Strategic Professional exams, which include two brand new style exams: Strategic Business Leader and Strategic Business Reporting. These two exams have been designed to meet the needs of employers and better equip students to be professional accountants of the future.

The Strategic Professional exams were created following extensive research into the skills that are needed for professional accountants of the future. Strategic Business Leader is an innovative new case study which integrates technical and professional skills in a real life business context. Strategic Business Reporting places a high priority on the skills required by financial reporting specialists in assessing the needs of stakeholders, rather than out dated number crunching skills now less valued by employers.

In common with the introduction of new exams, Strategic Business Leader attracted a smaller number of entrants at its first session than usual, although more students than predicted. At 45%, the overall pass rate is at the lower end of the former P1 and P3 exams that have been replaced, but not out of line with them nor unexpected given the smaller cohort.  Our prize-winners achieved top marks of over 80% and impressively, top scorers were from diverse parts of world including countries across Europe, Asia and Africa demonstrating the global aptitude for the skills being tested. Notably, students attending tuition from approved learning providers achieved better pass rates than those who self-studied, up to 20% better globally, showcasing the importance of students seeking quality support and undertaking guided practice for this new exam. 

The pass rate for the Strategic Business Reporting examination is 47% in this initial session, which is in line with the performance achieved in the previous Corporate Reporting (P2) examination, demonstrating the maintenance of our global standards.

Reacting to the latest exam results, Alan Hatfield, ACCA executive director strategy and development said, ‘We are pleased with the pass rates for the September 2018 exam session, especially as Strategic Professional results are in line with our expectations for their first ever sitting.  This follows the most extensive support programme for our learning providers that we have ever undertaken. 

‘We look forward to even greater success for our students taking the Strategic Professional exams, all gaining the forward-thinking strategic abilities and advanced skill-set, modern professional accountants need to shape the future of global business.’

The ACCA Qualification rigorously tests the skills, abilities and competencies demanded of a modern day accountant, preparing students for a rewarding career as a qualified and ethical finance professional.

Alan Hatfield concluded: ‘As always the pass rates for students attending ACCA approved learning providers combined with ACCA’s own resources are much stronger than those who do not. The learning of professional skills can be greatly enhanced by the broad and discursive nature of group learning.’

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