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How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business Exam

If you’re wondering how to pass ACCA Accountant in Business this comprehensive guide will tell you everything you need to know to pass!

If you’re wondering how to pass ACCA Accountant in Business, this guide will tell you everything you need to know to pass the first time.

You were probably near enough to be a straight-A student. You probably graduated near the top of your class. The school wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult either. So when everyone tells you that the ACCA is hard, you don’t really believe them.

But then you enrol for ACCA Accountant in Business, and you realise this is no ordinary qualification. This is a BIG step up from whatever you were doing before.

Maybe you’re just starting out and want some advice, or perhaps you’ve already had a poor result and know you need to shake things up. Either way, you want (and need) to know how to pass ACCA Accountant in Business.

Without further ado, here’s our comprehensive guide on passing ACCA Accountant in Business. Here’s a list of contents:

  • Overview
  • Exam Format
  • Objective Test Questions
  • Multi-task Questions
  • Syllabus Guide
  • Study Tips
  • Exam Technique
  • What the Examiners Say
  • FAQS
  • Final words

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Overview

ACCA Accountant in Business is a foundation paper introducing you to the business environment. You’ll learn more about the world you’ll operate in as an accountant and the business and accounting terminologies you’ll need throughout your career.

This is an Applied Knowledge paper, the first – and least complex – module of the ACCA qualification. To become an ACCA member, there are four modules overall, plus your professional experience requirement:

Applied Knowledge:

  • Accountant in Business
  • Management Accounting
  • Financial Accounting

Applied Skills:

  • Corporate and Business Law
  • Performance Management
  • Taxation
  • Financial Reporting
  • Audit and Assurance
  • Financial Management

Ethics and Professional Skills:

  • Ethics and Professional Skills Module

Strategic Professional:

  • Essentials – Strategic Business Leader
  • Essentials – Strategic Business Reporting
  • Options – Advanced Financial Management
  • Options – Advanced Performance Management
  • Options – Advanced Taxation
  • Options – Advanced Audit and Assurance

Professional Experience Requirement

As you can see, ACCA Accountant in Business is the earliest paper in the overall ACCA qualification. You can take your ACCA exams in any order within each module, so ACCA Accountant in Business will be one of three papers you sit first.

Read more: ACCA FAQs: What order should I take my ACCA exams?

In fact, we generally recommend students sit ACCA Accountant in Business first, followed by ACCA Financial Accounting, then ACCA Management Accountant.

ACCA Accountant in Business is one of the least complex ACCA papers and does boast consistently higher pass rates:

ACCA-Accountant-in-Business-pass-rates

Saying that the biggest mistake you could make with ACCA Accountant in Business is to underestimate the paper. Those pass rates are comparatively higher than other papers, but they’re not high. Thousands of students still fail ACCA Accountants in Business every year.

Read more: How difficult is the ACCA really?

That’s because the syllabus is not especially deep, but it is incredibly wide, so you have to know lots of content. As Niall Cunningham, our expert ACCA Accountant in Business tutor, says, you need to be a ‘jack of all trades, and master of none’. Hear Niall’s three top tips on how to pass ACCA Accountant in Business in this short video:

As Niall says, there are 37 topics on ACCA Accountants in Business overall and you need a ‘light touch’ in every area. The questions will cover as much of this syllabus as possible to reflect this breadth, so you underestimate how long you need to study and miss any syllabus areas.

Let’s look more closely at the exam format for ACCA Accountants in Business.

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Exam Format

All three Applied Knowledge papers follow the same format. You get two hours to handle your ACCA Accountant in the Business exam and there are a total of 100 marks. The pass rate is 50%.

That should reinforce that this is a difficult paper. Although the 80-odd per cent of people pass, many of those marks will hover around 50, 51 and 52. This means almost half of all marks in ACCA Accountant in Business are missed, even by people who pass. Would you want a brain surgeon who scored 51% in their brain surgery exams?

But anyway. Back to exam format.

ACCA Accountant in Business has two sections:

  • Section A—Objective Test Questions (OTs)
  • Section B—Multi-task Questions (MTQs)
ACCA-Accountant-in-Business-exam-format

This is a change from the previous exam format in 2014, for the old ACCA F1 paper where you had one section with 50 questions worth two marks each.

As you can see from that image, section A is the biggest section on the paper in some way. Overall section A represents 76% of the marks, with 30 questions worth two marks each and 16 questions worth one mark each.

Section B represents the final 24% of the total available marks, with six multi-task questions worth four marks each.

It’s important to note, you can no longer sit ACCA Accountant in Business as a paper-based exam. The ACCA has been following a paper-based phase-out program for the last several years and everywhere in the world now used on-demand CBEs for these exams.

This is better for you because you can sit the paper anytime during the year as suits (“on-demand”) and you see your results immediately because the papers are auto-marked.

Learn more about on-demand CBEs.

Let’s look at the question types in more detail, so you understand how to pass ACCA Accountant in Business.

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Objective Test Questions

Objective Test Questions are a type of single or two-mark question related to one scenario each.

Questions worth one mark are generally shorter and will have no, or almost no, background statements. Questions worth two marks will likely give slightly more of a scenario or background statement for you to work with. There is no partial marking, so for two mark questions, you can only score two (if everything is correct) or zero (if anything is incorrect).

These include multiple-choice, multiple-response questions (multiple responses is like multiple-choice but you choose more than one answer) and multiple-response matching questions (where you match questions to answers). Here’s an example of each:

Multiple-choice

Acca-exam-format-Multiple-choice

Multiple-response

Acca-exam-format-Multiple-response

Multiple-response matching

Acca-exam-format-Multiple-response-matching.png

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Multi-Task Questions

Multi-task questions, as the name implies, contain multiple tasks you have to complete. These tasks can relate to one or more scenarios and have several different question types.

Unlike Section A, Section B does allow partial marking – so you can score 1.5 marks out of two, for example, if you get three parts of a four-part answer right. These include multiple-choice, multiple responses and multiple response matching as well as number entry, hotspot and gap-fill.

  • Number entry – Type a numerical answer into the box given. You’ll be explicitly told which format your answer needs to take. These are fairly rare in this paper but you might encounter them.
  • Hotspot – Choose a point on an image as your answer. The cursor will display an “X” at the area you hover over. You simply place the X at the correct point on the diagram.
  • Gap-fill – Complete sentences (fill gaps) that appear in a given text, by clicking on the gap and choosing a response from the dropdown box.

Here’s an example of the hotspot and gap-fill questions:

Hotspot

ACCA-hotspot-and-gap-fill-questions

Gap-fill

ACCA-Gap-fill

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Syllabus Guide

The ACCA Accountant in the Business paper aims to help you understand the business environment. You’ll learn how different organisations can be structured and the role of accounting and other important business functions in running an efficient, effective and ethical business.

ACCA Accountant in Business is designed for students who may not have a background in business, so it’s a very good starting point even if you don’t know much about the business world.

You’ll learn the different types of businesses that exist and why, and the way those businesses are structured. You’ll understand how different stakeholders, people and systems interact within that business, and how outside factors impact the business externally.

You’ll also discover important issues that businesses have to consider to function effectively, like productivity, team behaviour and motivation.

The ACCA Accountant in Business study guide gives six key learning objectives:

ACCA-Accountant-in-Business-study-guide-learning-objectives

Download the complete guide from ACCA Global to read the syllabus in greater depth.

How to pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Study Tips

As you progress through your ACCA, you’ll hear lots of these tips crop up again and again. Adopt them now and set up the right habits from ACCA Accountant in Business onwards and you’ll find your path to full ACCA qualification is much less stressful.

1. Leave longer than you think

We’ve already said, don’t underestimate ACCA Accountant in Business because it’s one of the easier papers. It’s still not “easy”. One way that attitude manifests itself is students leaving too little time to study.

If you want to pass ACCA Accountant in Business first time, you need to leave enough time to study. We generally recommend 12 weeks dedicated to each paper, doing at least some study every day. That sounds easy now, but it gets hard – especially when you start to get behind, and especially if you’re studying and working.

Read more: The truth about studying the ACCA while working [Interview]

That’s also backed by science because one of the best-proven ways to pass your exams is called over learning.

Many studies have shown that learning beyond initial proficiency – the old practise makes perfect adage – is hyper-effective, because your knowledge because automatic. You then spend less time trying to remember the answer,  and more time thinking critically, and problem-solving – all those nice things that help you pass exams.

To put this into practice, experts suggest you invest a minimum of 25% of your total study time after you already know the material. And guess what? That takes time.

2. Don’t combine papers

If you mistakenly assume ACCA Accountant in Business will be easy, you might be tempted to combine it with another paper in one sitting. “I’ll pass both now”, you think, “and be on my way to full ACCA qualification sooner”.

Except it doesn’t work like that. Because that generally means you’re not leaving enough time to study each syllabus properly, you fail. And then you have resits complicating the matter, and you lose confidence, and time, and create more stress for yourself.

We recommend students take one paper per sitting, now the ACCA has introduced four sittings per year. In our experience, that’s the fastest and least stressful way to pass ACCA Accountant in Business.

Read more: How many ACCA exams should I take per sitting?

3. Study the full syllabus

ACCA Accountants in Business has a very wide syllabus, and the questions are designed to challenge you in as many areas as possible.

If you don’t cover the full syllabus in your study, you’re very likely to lose marks in the exam. And when lots of students are passing with 50, 51 and 52 – those marks could make the difference between passing ACCA Accountant in Business and fail.

4. Create a study plan

The best way to keep your study on track is to create a study plan, showing you which bits of ACCA Accountant in Business to focus on and when. This will give you confidence that you’re covering all the material, and ensure you don’t run out of time and the end of your studies for practice questions and a mock paper.

Read more: How to create an ACCA study plan that really works

5. Test yourself

You’ll hear us say this so many times throughout your ACCA journey: practising questions is the most important study technique in your arsenal. And that’s just as true to pass ACCA Accountant in Business as the later papers.

Self-testing (not just reading and writing notes, but actively testing your knowledge without looking at the notes) is the most effective way to study. Self-testing is scientifically-backed too – based on the principle of retrieval practice, which states that repeated self-testing improves your memory significantly.

Self-testing includes, of course, practice questions – but you can also test yourself by explaining your notes to a friend instead of reading them, or hiding your flashcards and trying to remember what’s on them. And of course, if you’re a Learnsignal student (you should be!) we include quizzes after each revision video plus oodles of practice questions. (Here’s how to get the most from your Learnsignal membership)

You know that feeling when your brain hurts because you’re trying to remember something? That’s what you’re going for with self-testing.

6. Understand how you learn

Different people learn differently. A good habit to get into, from ACCA Accountant in Business and throughout the rest of your exams, is understanding how you learn and structuring sessions that work for you.

For example, kinaesthetic learners will learn very differently from auditory learners. Or some people study best in a group, while others study better alone. Not sure which better suits you?

7. Create a learning environment

Some people love studying in a coffee shop, while others need the silence of a library. Different strokes for different folks. But there are several principles you need to take into account, to build an environment you can productively study ACCA Accountant in Business in – and maximise your chances of a pass.

Check them out: How to create the right ACCA revision environment

8. Use Learnsignal

Of course, we’d say this, but Learnsignal is genuinely revolutionising how students study for the ACCA – and how likely you are to pass. We consistently get amazing feedback from our students and have thousands of students passing first time every session. We’ve also had student prize-winners, which proves we’re doing something right!

We’re ACCA Gold Approved Learning Providers too, so you can trust you’re getting the best standard of teaching – and at a fraction of the price of the big providers. Nobody helps you pass your ACCA better, or faster.

How to pass ACCA Accountant in Business: Exam Technique

We’ve said before and you’ll certainly hear us say again: exam technique is often the biggest reason students pass – or fail – the ACCA. Now, that’s slightly less the case for ACCA Accountants in Business than later Strategic Professional exams – but exam technique is still important.

1. Read and review

You have a total of two hours for this exam but you don’t want to spend that entire time answering questions. We generally recommend students allow about 20% of the total exam time for reading the paper before starting (so you can identify any potential problem areas or any areas you definitely know) and reviewing their answers once they finish.

This sounds super obvious, but you’d be shocked how many students make basic mistakes like clicking the wrong multiple-choice question because they’re hurrying – and it’s such a shame to fail on that basis.

So for ACCA Accountant in Business, which is 120-minutes, allow roughly 20-minutes to read and review. This isn’t an exact science but that 20% rule gives good guidance.

2. Allocate time proportionally

Not allocating exam time correctly is one of the biggest mistakes students make, from ACCA Accountant in Business and throughout the ACCA. This means you end up spending too long on some questions and not long enough on others. Or even running out of time altogether.

Instead, you should allocate time proportionately depending on the marks available. To do that, take the time for the paper, subtract reading and reviewing time, and then divide by the number of total available marks.

So for ACCA Accountant in Business:

  • Total time: 120 minutes
  • Reading and review time: roughly 20 minutes
  • Total remaining time: 100 minutes
  • Total available marks: 100 marks
  • Total time per mark: 1 minute

So for ACCA Accountant in Business, you should allow no more than one minute per mark, which then leaves you 20 minutes to read the paper and review your answers.

3. Be disciplined and stick to your plan

Doing the above is great, but sticking to it is another question. The issue is, you think you’ll leave one minute per mark – but then there’s a question you’re not sure about, and you think you’ll just spend a little longer… and then suddenly you’re out of time.

To pass ACCA Accountant in Business, you need to be strict with yourself about sticking to time. You can go back and attempt incomplete questions at the end, but don’t spend longer than your allocated time during the exam because that could cost you time at the end.

This brings us to the next important exam technique tip for ACCA Accountants in Business.

4. Answer all the questions

If you don’t attempt all the questions, you lose the chance at a mark. And honestly, for the types of questions on ACCA Accountant in Business, you might get lucky. A one in four chance at guessing the right answer is better than a guaranteed zero in four chance.

If you don’t attempt all the questions, you give yourself less chance of passing – and one mark is the difference between a pass and a fail for this exam. There’s no negative marking so if you really don’t know an answer, you’re better guessing than leaving it blank.

5. Read each question carefully

This is true of all the ACCA exams, but because the ACCA Accountant in Business syllabus is so broad there will be lots of variation in questions. This essentially means you need to be especially careful not to misread and think you’re being asked one thing when you’re really being asked another. Silly marks to lose, that.

6. ‘Sweep’ the exam

This is advice from the examining team for ACCA Accountant in Business, who notes that the most successful students likely follow a ‘sweeping’ approach to the paper.

That could look something like this:

Sweep 1: Read the paper fully. DO NOT SKIM READ. Pick out any questions you’re completely confident about and answer those first, to secure the quick and easy marks. Flag the others.

Sweep 2: Go back through the flagged questions and answer any you think you can. Often the best way to do this is to try and think of the answer independently, without focussing too hard on the given answers. The phrasing might put you off when you do actually know the answer. At the least, this technique can help you eliminate wrong answers*, so you have less to choose between.

Sweep 3: Return to the flagged questions you really don’t know. Try and eliminate anything obviously incorrect, then as a last resort, guess from the remaining answers. There’s no disadvantage to guessing over not answering.

Final sweep: Review all answers, check you’ve read each question properly and have understood exactly what’s been asked. Pay particular attention to Sweep 1 and 2.

* On the subject of incorrect answers, don’t panic if nothing seems obviously incorrect. The ACCA don’t write intentionally easy questions, and the incorrect answers are specifically designed to match students’ most common mistakes. This is to ensure students who know the content are in a better position than anyone guessing.

We call these ‘distractors’ – because they’re there to distract you from the real answer.

ACCA-distractors

However, read the question carefully and you can generally eliminate at least one of the options – even if you don’t know the exact answer, you likely know which it’s definitely not.

7. Try to stay calm

Some people cope better with exams than other people, but staying calm will help you perform your best. In our experience, many students who don’t pass ACCA Accountant in Business often fail not because they didn’t know the content but because it’s their first exam at this level. They were overcome with stress and didn’t do themselves justice.

That’s such a huge shame when you’ve worked so hard to be here.
One thing that helps is knowing you have everything you need, so make sure you use our checklist for exam day preparation to ensure you’ve got everything you need.

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: What the Examiners Say

For each exam sitting, the examiners sit down and write a report about the exam. Many students don’t read these but you definitely should. They’re incredibly valuable because they tell you everything you need to know to advise your own studies, direct from the examining team.

First, some general advice, which comes up every time for all the Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills paper:

  • Time management. This is a constant theme. You do better if you attempt all questions than if you do a percentage of questions very well.
  • Practice calculation questions. The need for practice is significant with calculation questions. Reviewing questions and solutions over and again builds confidence, knowledge and speed – make time for practice.
  • Study the whole syllabus. As we already said, hedging your bets is a huge risk. You are better having a good understanding of all topics rather than a detailed understanding of a few.
  • Don’t answer the question you wanted. Answer the question you see – not the question you wished you saw. Read questions more carefully.

Then let’s get specific. Here are the main points from the most recent examiner’s report for ACCA Accountant in Business, from June 2018. You can read all the examiner’s reports for this exam back to June 2013, here.

Overall the examining team felt most students were well prepared and had studied the whole syllabus. Those who hadn’t were the ones who failed, in other words. Most candidates showed consistent knowledge across all areas, and no topics especially leap out as more difficult. However, there are some areas that students generally find easier or harder.

Let’s unpick those.

Areas of ACCA Accountant in Business with the best pass rates [Section A]

The team found students were most confident in syllabus areas C (basic accounting; the finance function; control) and E (personal management; dealing with conflict; coaching, mentoring and counselling).

Students apparently also showed high pass rates on questions about management and organisational theories, especially the Anthony hierarchy and scientific management.

Time management, leadership styles, types of business organisation, the role of Chairman and Secretary of a meeting, some accounting topics and the purpose of International Financial Reporting Standards were all areas students did very well, the examiners say.

It’s easy to look at that list and assume those are the easy questions. The ACCA address this exact feeling:

“It must be stressed that these are not ‘easy’ subjects, and indeed there are no easy subjects on the syllabus. As the examination is objectively tested, it is quite possible that a candidate who answers a question on time management correctly may not answer every question on time management as successfully.

Candidates should be aware that the very nature of the questions means that many questions can be asked on a single topic, so absolute certainty of dealing with all questions cannot be guaranteed. However, any student will have a reasonable prospect of success with sufficient study”

That last line is especially important: any student will have a reasonable prospect of success with sufficient study.

In other words, ACCA Accountant in Business isn’t especially difficult – as long as you do the work. Honestly, there’s really no excuse not to pass ACCA Accountant in Business and if you do, you should be asking yourself some hard questions about your attitude and focus, ready to step up for the next time.

Areas in ACCA Accountant in Business with the worst pass rates [Section A]

Overall the examining team found students struggled most with organisational culture, some aspects of corporate governance, the theory of the firm in microeconomics, recruitment and selection and some aspects of professional ethics.

So these are all areas you should look at closely in your studies, knowing that other students have previously struggled here.

Students apparently also struggled with theories like Schein and Herzberg. We recommend you focus your studies on those more complex theories to ensure you’re up to speed. Students also had trouble with ‘softer’ areas of study, where fixed black and white rules don’t apply and you can’t learn by rote.

This is an early warning sign that might not prove fatal for ACCA Accountant in Business but it certainly will for later exams. Learning by rote is not a good study technique – you should be practising thinking more broadly and applying your knowledge.

Let’s look at what the ACCA has to say:

“Questions with lower pass rates should be considered with care. It is understandable that candidates are less comfortable with some questions on more complex management theories, and this is inevitable if the theory is studied from a textbook and not backed by any practical managerial experience.

Some candidates have management experience while others do not, but this should not be a disadvantage for the latter, especially as real-life experience does not always mirror the conclusions of some of the authorities on management.

Candidates should not expect to get all of the objective test questions right, no matter how well prepared they are. However, those who can secure at least half of the 76 available marks in Part A of the examination should go on to pass by making a reasonable attempt at the multi-task and scenario questions in Part B”

In other words, don’t panic if you don’t have practical management experience. As we’ve said elsewhere in this guide, ACCA Accountant in Business is written from the ground up, and you don’t need a business background to pass.

This latter comment is also especially interesting. Even the best students are unlikely to get all the objective test questions right, so don’t hold yourself to that standard.

Full and complete knowledge of the syllabus should reliably secure you at least half of the Part A marks, so you can move on to Part B and secure the pass. You cannot assume a poor Part B performance won’t matter because you did well in Part A – both sections are needed to pass ACCA Accountant in Business.

Now let’s look at the examiner’s comments for Section B.

Areas in ACCA Accountant in Business with the best pass rates [Section B]

Students were generally better with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs than Herberg’s hygiene factors and motivators, the examiners say, but no definitive conclusions can be drawn here. As above, it’s important to make sure you understand every element of the syllabus – and test that knowledge too, to be sure you really know it.

Students were also strong on SWOT analysis and were good at identifying roles within the finance function.

Areas in ACCA Accountant in Business with the worst pass rates [Section B]

Students apparently weren’t as strong on questions around the marketing function, including matching role descriptions to components of the marketing mix. To pass ACCA Accountant in Business you must get your head around other crucial business functions, not just finance.

Examiners also found evidence that students need to study key ethical concepts in more depth, including terms like reputation, respect, judgement and accountability.

The examiners then go on to share some general advice to ACCA Accountant in Business students, based on their findings.

Summary of overall advice for ACCA Accountant in Business students

  • Students must aim to complete all the questions. For ACCA Accountants in Business, most do, and there was no evidence showing time pressure. What this means is, that some students aren’t completing an answer because they’re unsure – but there is no negative marking, so you might as well guess than not answer at all.
  • Students need to understand that not all questions will take the same amount of time. For example, shorter questions will take less time to read and digest than scenario questions.
  • For scenario-based questions, the examining team recommend you read the question before reading the scenario – so you know what you’re looking for when it comes to reading the scenario and don’t have to keep scrolling back.
  • The examining team recommend the exam technique of ‘sweeping’ the paper. This echoes the exam technique recommendation we made earlier in this guide.
  • Read carefully! As ever, students made mistakes because they missed vital words and phrases and so answered the question incorrectly. Also, some students answered ‘D’ for questions with only A, B, C options – a silly mistake.
  • Do more practice questions. The examining team note, “As the syllabus is very broad, there is a limit to how much information can be absorbed by reading and note-taking alone, and there is a strong case for practising questions [as much as possible!]”

Hopefully, this taster proves how in-depth these examiner’s reports are – and they’re available for every sitting since June 2013. One of the best things you can do to pass ACCA Accountant in Business is to go back through these reports, print them out, highlight them – and take the examiners’ comments on board. Students that spend time on this consistently do better than students who don’t.

Read the complete examining team guidance for ACCA Accountant in Business from June 2013 onwards.

How to Pass ACCA Accountant in Business: FAQS

These are some of the most common questions we hear about ACCA Accountants in Business. If you have a question we haven’t addressed in this guide, please get in touch with [email protected]  and we’ll be happy to help.

How much does ACCA Accountant in Business cost?

Once you’ve paid your one-off registration (£79 in the UK) and annual subscription fee (£95 in the UK) to be an ACCA student, you then pay individual exam fees. These depend on the CBE centre where you sit your exam. Discover the specifics of ACCA pricing for your country.

Read more: Everything you need to know about ACCA exam fees

Then there are the fees to study ACCA Accountants in Business, depending on which tuition provider you choose.

Where can I sit as ACCA Accountant in Business?

ACCA Accountant in Business is only available through the on-demand computer-based exam (on-demand CBEs). Here’s a complete list of global on-demand CBE centres.

Why are some students have an exemption from ACCA Accountants in Business?

There are exemptions available on all the Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills papers. They depend on your previous education background and exist because at certain levels students will already have covered that material.

For example, if you hold a Bachelor’s in Business Finance from the University of Durham, UK you’d be eligible for exemptions on all three Applied Knowledge papers including ACCA Accountant in Business.

Eligible previous qualifications include certain certificates and diplomas, relevant foundation, Bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees and other professional qualifications.

Do I have an exemption from ACCA Accountant in Business?

You can find out whether you have an exemption from ACCA Accountant in Business with the ACCA exemption calculator.

However, even if you can claim an exemption to ACCA Accountant in Business that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Exemptions can have the downside that you don’t build the foundational knowledge and skills that you’ll rely on in later papers. In fact, this is one big reason students fail later papers.

Read more: The upside and downside of ACCA exemptions.

Has the content of ACCA Accountant in Business changed since the name change?

Nope. The ACCA changed the name of all modules to encourage students to approach the exams in whichever order suited them. The content for ACCA Accountant in Business hasn’t changed, although there are now more scenario-type questions in this paper than previously.

Do more scenarios mean this exam is more difficult?

Nope. The ACCA has analysed exam results and found absolutely no evidence that students find scenario questions more difficult than any other type of question.

The ACCA introduced more scenario-type questions to help prepare you for later papers, which feature these heavily. Overall this change is a good thing that will help you prepare for later exams.

How much background knowledge do I need to pass ACCA Accountant in Business?

ACCA Accountants in Business is designed as an entry-level exam for students who might never have had experience in the business. It’s designed from the ground up and the syllabus covers everything you need to know. You won’t be tested on theories or models that aren’t explicitly named in the syllabus.

Does ACCA Accountant in Business involve calculations?

ACCA Accountant in Business mainly tests your verbal knowledge and skills but there are occasional parts of the syllabus that involve some calculations. For example, subject areas A4 and A5 examine macro and microeconomics.

So in summary, yes, but this isn’t a predominantly calculation-based exam. Mostly the knowledge is broad and general.

What resources are there to help me pass ACCA Accountant in Business?

You’ll hear us say this often. The ACCA exams are difficult, but the ACCA does everything they can to help students. You’re definitely not alone – there is endless support to help you pass ACCA Accountant in Business.

Check out the ACCA Global Exam Resource hub, which includes the syllabus and study guide, guidance from the examining team, study support guides, retake guides, specimen exams, mock exams and technical advice. Then don’t forget to check out Learnsignal’s comprehensive ACCA portal.

For only €89.99 per quarter, you get unlimited access to our expert ACCA tutor videos and content library, including mock exams, practise questions and unlimited tutor support. It’s a one-stop-shop to pass the ACCA, with everything you’ll need to become a fully-qualified ACCA accountant.

Final Words: Pass ACCA Accountant in Business Today

Hopefully, this comprehensive guide to ACCA Accountant in Business has answered all your questions about this exam – and helped you feel more confident about your own journey. Your main takeaway should be that it’s not too hard to pass ACCA Accountant in Business, as long as you leave enough time to study and review the whole syllabus.

There’s no magic formula to any of the ACCA, but especially not here: hard work and commitment are the paths to success.

And why not turbocharge your journey along that path, with learnsignal? We can’t substitute good old fashioned hard work but we can certainly make your journey easier with our convenient, affordable one-stop-shop ACCA study hub. Let us help you pass ACCA Accountant in Business the first time.

Conor Motyer
21 min read
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