there are a few questions in there that need to be answered :
1) Self study is the approach taken by many myself included. If you feel that you are able to take in the ACCA expected level of study without any hand holding then its the recommended as an approach.
2) Sign up for Open tuition. There are about 40 hours of quality free online lectures for all ACCA papers (apart from Advanced taxation that they don't do yet).
3) For study texts there are two major suppliers. Kaplan and BPP. I recommend Kaplan Complete texts but both Kaplan and BPP for the Revision kits.
4) For a course on your computer the BPP I-Learn CD's are very good introductions to each paper
5) expect to budget an average of around £80 o £100 in study materials per paper plus the actual cost of sitting the exam.
6) Can you do three papers in three months. No, definitely not. I doubt if you could even read the books in that time let alone memorise them. Well, not unless you already know all of the stuff and theb three months is just about enough for a revision period. Note that the first three ACCA papers are the equivalent of the entirety of AAT up to completing level IV.
7) It starts off with weekend and evening study, and then creeps into you dinner time and reading before starting work and index cards on the toilet until you pretty much live, eat and breath ACCA.
8) sign up for PQ magazine to keep your finger on the pulse as to what's happening in the industry with the major qualifications and supervisory bodies.
The first three ACCA papers are very diffferent to all the the others and when people hit F4 the shock really see's a lot of people drop out of the qualification.
Stick with it, get into the ACCA way of thinking and you will get to like the format of the exams and even start looking forwards to the six monthly sittings even if they are ridiculously time pressured.
Make no mistake. The ACCA is very, very difficult. Paper P2 is officially the most difficult paper of any professional accountancy body but yet has quite good pass rates compared to the Options papers.
This decision will eat up the next five to ten years of your life but on the bright side you've got an eight year start down that path over when I started and I fon't regret the decision to go down that path even though I may never be able to use the qualification the knoweldge base that you come away with is second to none and very transferable to other professional bodies.
If you then wanted to start your own practice you would need to work for a suitably qualified accountant for a further two to three years before you could apply for a practice licence. That's when a lot of people are forced to jump ship to other bodies even though they would have prefered to stay ACCA as getting a suitable role in order to gain the right experience can be a nightmare.
The ACCA qualification does open doors but it is still not a guarantee of employment. You would be joining 260,000 other students and affiliates many of whom will not make it. For those who do there is stiff competition for every role that comes up and those with experience to back up their qualification will invariably win out.
That said those letters are a badge of honour that many very clever people before you have tried to get but failed to attain and as I say that will open doors for you that would otherwise have remained closed. Just perhaps not as easily as attaining the qualification should.
If you have more specific questions in relation to the qualification please feel free to post and I or one of the other ACCA students / members in practice on here will be happy to fill in any gaps.
kind regards,
Shaun.
-- Edited by Shamus on Monday 17th of September 2012 12:41:14 AM
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I'm 34 and have wasted my time doing clerical work at a university for 10 yrs after graduation and really feel i'm underacheiving. Applied for trainee accountancy positions but had no success also applied for higher positions at various universities with no success.
Is it worth doing ACCA to help me move up the career ladder? I've looked at the prices of the courses and I can't really afford it at the moment so I'm thinking about doing self study for at least the 1st three exams.
which books should I buy that will cover the first three exams? Is it possible to study evening and weekend and pass the 1st three exams in 3 months time?
Any other advice on how to prepare for these exams via self-study?
Also, if you pass the first three exams is it possible to apply for accountancy entry level positions? or are they too basic?
Any other courses worth doing that will help sell myself to employers?
I am an ACCA member and I would personally advise against self study as an option. As Shaun has mentioned before actually getting to practising certificate stage is a very long winded process.
If you can get a job in practice and get them to assist your studying that would be much better.
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Phil Hendy, The Accountancy Mentor
Are you thinking of setting up your own practice or have you set up and need some help?
If so a mentor may be the way forward - feel free to get in touch and see how I can assist you.
Thanks for your reply and useful tips. I assumed the first three exams would be straightforward but thanks for the reality check.I'm still willing to put my time and energy into ACCA studying as it is better than doing nothing.Also, I had some doubts because of my age but hearing about you starting at 40 makes me feel it is not too late for me!
I am an ACCA member and I would personally advise against self study as an option. As Shaun has mentioned before actually getting to practising certificate stage is a very long winded process.
If you can get a job in practice and get them to assist your studying that would be much better.
Hi Hendy,
Ideally, I would like to do this but I have applied for junior/trainee roles and had no success. I'm hoping that if I can pass the first two or three exams, I will have more success in securing a job with study support.
Also, in my work place(university) they do have a finance department with some accountants working in there. So, there might be an opprtunity for me to do some work shadowing or do a secondment which will at least give me some experience to apply for finance positions at other universities etc
