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Results and exam entry forms are changing

20 Aug 2007

The new ACCA Qualification has brought with it the opportunity to review the information that is provided to students following each exam session. Details regarding their progress to membership have been added, and students will now receive a separate Examination Results and Status Report in addition to their Examination Entry Form for the next session.

EXAMINATION ENTRY FORM

Section A – examination options

A new section has been added to the Examination Entry Form to provide assistance in ensuring that the papers students wish to enter comply with the progression rules for the attempted qualification. Failure to enter for a valid combination of papers may delay or jeopardise acceptance of their entry.

Section B – examination entry

If a student is eligible to sit Papers F1 to F3 of the new ACCA Qualification, the computer-based exams(CBE) section will appear on the Examination Entry Form. This replaces the current extended deadline process as students can indicate here if he or she intends to take CBEs at a Licensed Centre during the current exam cycle, and enter for the balance of their four papers in the paper based section below. For example, if a student plans to take Papers F2 and F3  by CBE before 31 January 2008 at a Licensed Centre, he or she does not have to enter for these at the paper-based session in December 2007 and can choose to enter Paper F1 and any paper from F4 to F9 – which would usually contradict the progression rules.
 
The paper-based exams are displayed in timetable order. Students can only select one paper on each day. Papers that students are eligible to attempt will have a box alongside them which should be ticked or left empty.
 
ACCA Qualification students should use this section to select the standards under which he or she wishes to be examined if entering to sit Papers F3, F7, F8, P2, and/or P7. Students can choose between international standards (INT) or  depending on their tax variant – international standards adapted to national requirements in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Hong Kong SAR, or Malaysia. Students should make their selection by crossing the box under the relevant heading for any papers he or she wishes to attempt at the forthcoming session. Students do not have to choose the same standards for accounting as for audit, and individuals can update selections at any future session if they do not pass the paper chosen.

Conversion points to note for ACCA Qualification students holding a pass in Paper 3.7 and one option paper

If a student has passed Paper 3.7, Strategic Financial Management, and still has one option paper outstanding at conversion, he or she will receive a ‘provisional converted pass’ in Paper P1, Professional Accountant, and a ‘provisional converted pass’ in Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management.
 
If a student wishes to receive credit for Paper P4 he or she should enter for Paper P1 at any session from December 2007. On gaining a pass for Paper P1, a student’s ‘provisional converted pass’ for Paper P4 will be amended to a ‘converted pass’ and the status for Paper P1 will be updated to ‘pass’ in the examination status section of their Examination Results and Status Report.
 
Those students that wish to receive credit for Paper P1 should enter for an outstanding Options paper at any session from December 2007. On gaining a pass for the Options paper, a student’s ‘provisional converted pass’ for Paper P1 will be amended to ‘converted pass’ and the status for the Options paper will be updated to ‘pass’ in the examination status section of their Examination Results and Status Report.
 
If a student holds a pass in Paper 3.7, he or she will not be eligible to attempt Options Paper P4. A student will be able to select a different paper at any future session if he or she fails the chosen paper.

Special transition rule

Those students eligible to take an option paper in June 2007 (ie notified in their February 2007 Examination Entry Form) will be allowed to take new Options papers with or before Essentials papers, subject to timetable clashes.
 
Students are then required to attempt any outstanding papers in the Fundamentals level before, or with papers in the Professional level.

Section C – examination centre

If this is not a student’s first exam session with ACCA, the centre where he or she sat their last exams will appear in this section. If he or she wishes to sit at the same centre, no further information is required, and ACCA will allocate him or her to this centre (subject to capacity). If this is a student’s first exam session with ACCA, or if he or she wishes to change their centre, each individual will be required to complete the details in the ‘update centre name’ and ‘update centre code’ boxes, using the Examination Centre List issued with their Examination Entry Form.

EXAMINATION RESULTS AND STATUS FORM

This new form provides students with a complete picture of their status with ACCA.

Sections A and B – exam results and status

A student’s exam results and exam status following the most recent paper-based session are shown here. Their results will reflect exemptions and CBE passes awarded up to the end of the last exam cycle.

Section C: Professional Ethics module status

This section will confirm whether a student has completed this requirement. The Professional Ethics module is a mandatory element of the ACCA Qualification for students registering or re-registering from 1 January 2007. The module, which is interactive, can be accessed through myACCA.
 
If completion of the Professional Ethics module is not mandatory for a student, but he or she would like to undertake the module, the student must simply log in to myACCA and follow the link to the Professional Ethics module.
 
If a student has opted into the ACCA/Oxford Brookes degree partnership and intends to submit their Research and Analysis Project after September 2008, he or she will be required to undertake the ethics module prior to embarking on the project, irrespective of their date of registration.
 
If a student does not have regular access to the Internet, he or she can request a CD-rom or paper version of the Professional Ethics module. In these circumstances a handling fee will apply.

Section D – practical experience requirements status

This section shows the performance objectives a student has achieved and recorded with ACCA as at the date of the status report. In order to be eligible to apply for ACCA membership, students will need to achieve all nine Essentials and at least four Options performance objectives. If students are using the online trainee development matrix (TDM), any additional performance objectives he or she has achieved since the date of the report will be reflected online.
 
If a student is using the paper TDM, he or she will have the opportunity to update their performance objective status on their PER annual return. The student can access the online annual return through myACCA. Alternatively, a paper return will be dispatched with their 2007 annual subscription demand.
 
This section also shows the time in months in a relevant accounting or finance role a student has accumulated and recorded towards the 36-month requirement for ACCA membership. This information can also be updated on their PER annual return.

Section E: Oxford Brookes status

A student’s current status on the Oxford Brookes University degree is detailed in this section. If students wish to study towards the degree, and are eligible to do so, he or she must opt in prior to attempting Papers F6, F7, or F8.

Section F: Your progress to membership

This section summarises a student’s progress towards ACCA membership – including how many exams he or she has completed, the number of performance objectives achieved, and the length of experience the student has gained in a relevant role. A student’s Professional Ethics module status is also detailed in this section.

From teach accounting magazine